Now that the mystery of the missing iPhones has been solved, Apple can rest assured that its “wonder phone” will continue to thrive on the Chinese market before the official release. China Mobile, the largest carrier of its kind in China, said that at the end of 2007 its services reached 400,000 unlocked iPhones, a larger number than the initial estimations.

Apple and China Mobile reportedly met to discuss a future collaboration, but failed to reach an agreement, which will stall the official release of the iPhone on the Asian market a bit more. But if we look at how things stand at this moment, the Asian market is not willing to wait that long… Not only did they unlock the “un-lockable” iPhone, but they even came up with a Chinese version of the software.

There is a logical explanation to this phenomenon: the iPhone turned out to be a world hit, but customers disagreed with Apple’s strategy of slowly introducing it to other markets outside the United States. Chinese consumers want to have the latest gadgets before the whole iPhone-mania wears out, even if that means paying up to $150 extra for it, and an additional $25 for the Chinese software.

“The main reasons that Chinese mobile users purchase smartphones include entertainment (such as music players, cameras and video) and to access mobile Internet applications (such as IM, e-book, and games). We believe the iPhone will be favored by these consumers as it can better meet such demand”, Anty Zheng, Content Manager In-Stat China, explained in a February report.

Apple only launched the iPhone in the U.S. and a few European countries, but if we took a tour around the world, we would find it in almost every store, no matter the continent. The iPhone-mania took its “normal” course and hundreds of thousands of iPhones have been already unlocked and adapted to any local carrier in the world.