China Unicom sells only 5,000 iPhones over the weekend.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009 at 10:58 AM | Posted by kazouz

China Unicom has sold only 5,000 iPhones since the carrier began offering the device late last week, Reuters reports.

China Unicom chairman Chang Xiobing is still showing optimism despite a poor opening weekend for the iPhone in the world’s largest mobile market.

“We are satisified with iPhone sales so far, and we aim to have an additional 1 million new 3G subscribers each month in the near future,” he said.

Subsidies for the iPhone and marketing costs are likely to reduce profit margins, but Xiobing still believes that the iPhone will help boost the company’s fourth quarter revenue.

One of the major drawbacks for the iPhone in China is the lack of Wi-Fi functionality, prompting many users to purchase unlocked iPhones.