iPhone 3GS & Chinese characters

[hanxue]

I might be getting the latest iPhone 3GS in the near future, but I'm concerned about three things:

1. Will I be able to receive/read text msgs written in Chinese? (I will be buying iPhone either in Europe or USA)

2. What are the latest options available for Chinese characters input on iPhones? PinYin? Handwriting?

3. How to unlock iPhone so that I'm not only bound to US but can also use it in other countries (should I go abroad for study)?

Thanks

[phyrex]

1) yes

2) both

3) use google. That topic is moving too fast to give any definite answer. My iPhone 3G works, but last time *I* checked the 3Gs wasn't supported yet. That might have changed since then

[Gibbs]

1) Of course. My Chinese friends and I text in Chinese characters all the time.

2) You can us pinyin and handwriting but I only use the pinyin b/c I find it faster. Under "Settings" you can choose from a number of international keyboards. If I'm not mistaken, you can choose between simplified or traditional characters.

3) I do not know how to unlock any of the iPhones but it is rumored AT&T has a plan for traveling to China. It is also rumored Apple is looking to introduce the iPhone to China minus WiFi.

[tony1343]

The iPhone definitely supports both Chinese pinyin and handwriting (with its touch screen), as well as lots of other languages.

I know you can jailbreak it to make it work with other networks, but I've never tried. That is the major problem with the iPhone and AT&T. I'm taking a trip to China and would like to just be able to swap in a Chinese SIM card, but I guess can't. Actually, I don't want to do that, as I just found out my company is upgrading my plan to work there with unlimited data (but they told me not to use the phone unless for emergencies because that is expensive). So looks like I can surf the web / text with my iPhone in China, and use the Skype application for phone calls when near WiFi. For normal calls, I'll probably get a cheap phone and slap in a Chinese SIM card.

One thing you need to be aware of is that AT&T makes you sign a 2 year contract. So you don't want to buy one and be paying monthly fees for 2 years if you are immediately leaving the country. Quick eBay search tells me you can buy an unlocked one there without the contract, but there are huge premiums for that (they are $700). I definitely love my iPhone but I would not be willing to pay more than $200-$300 for it (I'd probably get the $200 one).