Apple's iPhone, an Indian Flop, Prepares for China

The failure of Apple's iPhone to make a dent in India's lucrative telecom market may hold lessons for its upcoming push in China

Take the most talked-about phone in recent history and launch it in one of the fastest growing cell-phone markets in the world, and you'd expect fireworks. But in India, where carriers Vodafone (VOD) and Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) have been offering Apple's (AAPL) iPhone since last August, unsold phones are stacking up at shops around the country. Apple won't break down sales figures by country, but a senior Airtel executive confirms analyst estimates that total official iPhone sales here have yet to touch 15,000 handsets