US-ordered G1’s have been “pouring into China” illegally since it was released in the US on October 26 through T-Mobile, reports Pacific Epoch, citing the Chinese IT site DoNews. The handsets are going for a lofty 3,999 remminbi ($584) in Bejing’s Zhongguancun, or consumer electronics shopping area, plus another 500 remminbi ($73) to unlock the phone. Will the G1 go the way of the iPhones in China? Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) has openly admitted it struggled with the gray market for the handsets. In February, there were some 1.4 million iPhones that hadn’t been activated on their respective networks—with China and India’s gray markets supposedly sucking them all up.

• The Case Of Missing iPhones
• Apple Sells One Million iPhones In 3 Days; Gray Market Still Thriving In Asia
• iPhone Shortage: Runaway Gray Market In Emerging Markets To Blame?