China Unicom is attracting the ire of iPhone enthusiasts around the country. The telecom giant announced it will only sell the iPhone 4 in a bundle with a SIM card, effectively locking the phone to its network.

Under the new policy, China Unicom will lock iPhone 4 handsets purchased after December 1st to its network. If the subscriber is found to be using the iPhone with another network's SIM card, their accounts will be frozen. They also face being slapped with hefty penalties, or having their accounts cancelled permanently. On the news, many other iPhone 4 sellers have raised prices on the popular smartphone.

Song Wan, reporter said "I'm standing at a store in Zhongguancun electronics market, I find that the iPhone 4 price has increased in recent days. For example, this 16 GB iPhone 4, its price soared to 6000 yuan from 5800 yuan originally."

One salesman of Electronic Market said "The price has risen since November 30th. Now the 30GB model sells for more than 7,000 yuan. Stock is very low, and China Unicom's new policy has also had some effect. Many customers don't want to change their mobile numbers, so they come to our store to buy an unlocked iPhone 4."

One customer said "I have used my number for many years, I don't want to change to a new one. And I don't really care about the price, as the iPhone 4 is what I want."

With the holiday season fast approaching, sales of the iPhone 4 are set to increase rapidly. Many customers intend to give the iPhone 4 as gifts, so they won't want to purchase the handset together with a SIM card.

The demand for Apple's latest gadget seems insatiable, and the waiting lists at Apple and China Unicom stores are long. All this has contributed to the price rise of the iPhone 4.

Some customers may lose their patience, and opt for another smartphone instead. But for those who only have eyes for the iPhone, it's worth the wait.