iPhone news: France "implosions", Chinese expansion

Two iPhone news stories reported by the Mercury News today. First, France is questioning Apple about "imploding" iPhones. (I don't think "implosion" is the correct word, but hey, they're looking into it. For the record, "implode" means to burst inward, or undergo violent compression.)

Here's a quote from that story:

"Herve Novelli, secretary of state for trade and consumer affairs, said in a statement he will question Apple's Michel Coulomb (the financial director of Apple France) about the 'causes of the implosion of these devices and eventual measures they could take.' The issue was raised by France's agency for consumer fraud protection."

Second, the iPhone is finally coming to China (legally) in a deal between Apple and China Unicom Ltd. Here are a few more excerpts from the Mercury News:

"China Unicom Ltd. said today it will sell Apple Inc.'s iPhone in China this year...""

"The phones are expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter under a multiyear deal ..."

"Unicom, one of three major state-owned carriers, would be the first Chinese phone company to formally support the iPhone ... It is the only company in China that supports the network standard needed for the iPhone, known as WCDMA."

In an interesting and somewhat-related related story from 2008, the New York Times reported that out of the first 3.7 million iPhones made, only 2.3 million of them are actually registered on Apple's wireless partner networks in the U.S. and Europe.