Reuters reports: “Apple Inc’s iPhone is unlikely to hit Chinese shelves soon because of technical and fee issues, industry executives said on Wednesday, a day after shares in the U.S. company shot up on hopes of a deal with China Mobile.”

“The iPhones — one of the hottest gadgets to hit U.S. and European stores this year — might be incompatible with the Chinese telecoms market because of their “locked” SIM cards — meaning the device would not be able to piggyback on another operator’s network.”

“China Unicom, the smaller of the country’s two wireless carriers, said it had no immediate plans to bring the iPhone to China but said it could be open to the idea.”

“The iPhone, a cellphone that accesses the Internet and plays music, moves for about US$500 in the United States — about double the average monthly salary in China. Gartner analyst Sandy Shen said it might be premature to start factoring in the launch of the iPhone for China, not least because of the high price the device would command, and because China Mobile would resist departing from age-old practices.”

“Shen added that, unlike in the United States, where Apple operates a popular “iTunes” song-download service, Chinese users might be left bereft of content initially.”