The painfully slow release of the white iPhone 4 can only be described as a saga. A series of delays have pushed the product into a uncertain future. For those calling China home, that future could materialize into the present as reports now suggest white iPhone 4s are being sold on the grey market.
A quick jump over to website Giz-China and the first published photos of the white iPhone 4 in full retail packaging can be seen. Tucked away in the familiar box with an ivory finish sleeps the mythical creature we’ve been dreaming about the past five months — the white iPhone 4.
According to Giz-China sources, the white iPhone 4 is currently being sold in the grey market, ranging in price of 5500 Yuan to 8000 Yuan. The news might come a shocker to some, but this is not the first time we’ve seen the illegal resell of Apple products. Back in 2008 a report in the New York Times suggested that nearly 1.4 million iPhones were purchased by illegal means.
Without a limit to the number of iPhones one can buy, cash remains king at retail. Walk into any Apple store New York to Beijing with the cash and leave with the goods in tote. Apple’s focus on retail sales is the company’s own demise, at least as far as illegal resale of their products is concerned.
The white iPhone 4 is just the latest in a series of product launches by Apple which have fueled the underground grey market. At the end of the day, unless these white iPhone 4s were stolen from the factory, money exchanged hands and Apple likely walked away unscaved.
For the rest of the would-be white iPhone 4 owners in the world (mark us at the top of that list), the news is bittersweet. Being one of the first to own the white iPhone 4 would have been a great way to ring in the New Year. As things currently stand, a trip to China for a white iPhone 4 might be the only chance we get this side of 2010.
So who’s up for a little trip to the east? The price is a bit rough, but being one of the select few to own the white iPhone 4 could be a treat.
via TUAW
