Now that China Unicom is heaving its 156 million subscribers into the ring across from China Mobile's 350 mil in the opening wrassle for the iPhone's Chinese distribution rights, the American market is looking pretty small. A Unicom exec said: "We're not in any discussions with Apple right now, but we're always willing to discuss a good business opportunity." Yesterday China Mobile said it was interested in the iPhone, but not the revenue-sharing scheme that cuts Apple a piece of subscriptions. Analysts say that although this could give Unicom some leverage (if they cave in to Steve), Unicom isn't any more likely to be cool with rev-share either. Oh China, don't you want to sell your soul for a pretty pretty iPhone? [NewsFactor]

Contact information for this author is not available.