SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese gadget fans are scouring the Internet to locate gray market Apple Inc's new iPhone 5, giving an early indication of robust demand in Apple's second-biggest market globally.
Although smuggled iPhones are available offline, it is online, on platforms like Taobao Marketplace where about 150 million people shop, that is drawing the most interest.
According to Reuters calculations based on the Index Taobao, the consumer research website data of Alibaba Group, the iPhone 5 over the past six days had an average turnover value of 713 Compared with the iPhone 4S that had an average turnover value of 314. A higher value indicates more turnover transactions done on Taobao for an item.
This indicates strong demand for the yet-to-be-released iPhone 5 Officially on the mainland, where Apple is losing market share to smartphones running Google Inc. 's Android system.
But while demand is strong, constraints on smuggled supplies are limiting online sales and a rough calculation shows sales of only about 4.000 units via Taobao.
Apple's latest iteration of its popular phone went on sale Officially last Friday in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK. It took little more than five hours for the first iPhone 5 to go on sale in China after being smuggled across the border from Hong Kong.
"We smuggle our iPhone 5s from Hong Kong to the mainland. You do not need to worry about fake ones," said one online seller on Taobao Marketplace, Whose shop has sold more than 700 units.
Demand for smuggled iPhones in China is strong Because The release in the mainland Usually happens months after the product's release elsewhere. Local media reported on Wednesday that the iPhone 5 has received approval from China's product quality certification center, but the phone still needs approval from the telecom network the government before it can be Officially Launched.
In August Data Showed industry that Apple's share of China's smartphone market almost halved to 10 percent in April-June as buyers waited for the iPhone 5 or switched brands.
But penny-wise customers are not jumping on the bandwagon just yet as the iPhones are sold at a premium Hefty Compared to official prices.
"I think the new iPhone 5 will be released at the end of this year, but I will wait for a while because i believe the price will go down," said Yu Xiaochen, 21, a graduate student in Shanghai.
(Additional reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Matt Driskill)
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