The iPhone 3G is now on sale directly from Apple in the city of Hong Kong, despite no prior announcements, listings reveal. An 8GB phone is selling for $5,400 HK ($692), while a 16GB model costs $6,200 HK ($794). Notably, iPhones in the region can be "activated with any wireless carrier," according to Apple, and require only that a carrier's SIM card be installed prior to sync with iTunes 8.

Hong Kong's iPhones may prove to be unique to China, as the South China Morning Post claims that a stripped-down iPhone without 3G or Wi-Fi is being prepared for the rest of the country. This would allegedly reflect the Chinese government's favor of a local 3G standard, TD-SCDMA, instead of common protocols like HSPA.

Source:→ MacNN