China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (CHU) aims to complete the delivery of 200,000 pre-ordered iPhone 4 handsets by mid-to-late October, China Unicom Senior Vice President Li Gang said at a news briefing Tuesday, according to a China Unicom official who declined to be named.

China Unicom said Sunday its supply of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone 4 handsets was insufficient to meet user demand but it would boost its stock as quickly as possible, in the latest sign the popularity of the smartphone has strained availability.

China Unicom has delivered about half of the 200,000 iPhone 4 units that were pre-ordered before it launched sales of the handset on Saturday, the company official said.

Hong Kong-based Apple spokeswoman Jill Tan said: "More iPhones will be available soon and customers should check back with their local store or online for updates on availability."

The Unicom official also cited Li as saying Unicom aims to launch its own mobile application download store, called the Wo Store, next month.

-By Owen Fletcher, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 8400 7702; owen.fletcher@dowjones.com
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