Apple iPhone action heats up in Asia

Fervor for Apple's new iPhone 3GS continues, nearly a month after the launch of the new model. Crowds gathered in Singapore for the device, and SingTel, Apple's local carrier partner, estimated that 1,500 to 2,000 people turned up at one launch event.

[1]Apple also is close to inking a deal with the Chinese government that would allow the iPhone to be sold in the world's largest mobile market, according to a report in BusinessWeek. Apple has reportedly applied for a  Network Access License, which would allow it to legally sell the phone in China. One major caveat? The Chinese iPhone would not be equipped with WiFi. It is unclear when an official launch would occur, but speculation is that it may be before the end of the year.

In other Apple news stateside, the price of the iPhone 3G keeps on dropping. AT&T Mobility is now offering refurbished models of the iPhone 3G 8GB model for $79--or 87 percent lower than the original sticker price for the 8GB iPhone. The price of the iPhone 3G dropped to $99 with the launch of the iPhone 3GS.

For more:
- see this Fortune blog post on Singapore [2]
- see this BusinessWeek article [3]
- see this Fortune blog post [4]

Related Articles:
Apple inching closer to Chinese iPhone deal [5]
Apple unleashes second wave of iPhone 3G S launches [6]
Apple launches new iPhone 3G S to lines around the world [7]
AT&T backtracks, offers break on new iPhone pricing [8]
AT&T already sold out of iPhone 3G S pre-order stock [9]