iPhone comes to China without key feature

Apple's iPhone is making its long-awaited formal debut in the world's most populous mobile phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black market models.

BEIJING - Apple's iPhone made its long-awaited formal debut in the world's most populous mobile phone market, without a key feature and at higher prices than widely available black market models.

Apple's local partner, China Unicom Ltd., hopes the sleek smartphone will give it an edge against giant rival China Mobile Ltd., the world's biggest phone company by subscribers.

Unicom started selling iPhones equipped for third-generation service Friday night at 2,000 stores in areas as farflung as Tibet. Chinese news reports say Unicom hopes to sell 5 million in three years, but the company declined to confirm that.