Apple and China Mobile have been in on-and-off talks to bring the iPhone some to China for some time now. When the iPhone is released in mainland China, consumers may be in for an unpleasant surprise, however. Apparently, China Mobile's asked Apple to disable Wi-Fi and 3G wireless networking in the iPhone, according to Foxconn, Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner.

By removing these features, the carrier-giant thinks it'll make the iPhone less attractive to those who would buy and one only to unlock it for use on competitor China Telecom's network. You'd think that crippling the iPhone's wireless data functions would cut both ways, making the smartphone equally less attractive to China Mobile subscribers as its rival's.

Also, aren't Wi-Fi and 3G two of the iPhone 3G's most important features? And Isn't Wi-Fi essential for accessing the iTunes music store from the iPhone, let alone the massively successful App Store, which can also be reached through 3G? The App Store, in particular, is one reason for the iPhone 3G's massive popularity.

I guess Apple can't accurately call the iPhone 3G by that name in China if they nix 3G technology. And without Wi-Fi the version of the iPhone shipped in China would be something less than the original model available here in the U.S.  How does the iPhone 0.5 sound? 

By the way, there are already a lot of iPhone users in China, a reported 400,000 or so on China Mobile's network alone. That's the power of unlocking for you.

One analyst firm estimates a potential market of 28 million customers for the iPhone in China.

[ cellular-news via tuaw]