Microblog insights

Topic 1: Apple Inc's latest iPhone 5 handsets officially went on sale on Friday in the Chinese mainland, almost three months after the iPhone 5's debut in the United States.

China Unicom will offer service contracts for the device starting at 5,899 yuan ($944) and China Telecom will offer it at a contract-plan price starting at 5,288 yuan.

China is Apple's second-largest and fastest-growing market. It brings in around 15 percent of total revenue.

Little black: the phone I ordered in the United States will arrive two weeks later. It is almost 1,000 yuan ($160.3) cheaper than the price in China so it is worth waiting.

Hujiaohe: Instead of raging battles between customers and scalpers, we see a fight between operators during the release of iPhone 5. It is proof that Apple Inc's marketing strategy in the Chinese mainland has shifted quietly. It has experienced a trajectory from the domination of smuggled goods to that of licensed goods by telecommunication carriers. During this evolvement, the product's prices have risen.

Amanda: I walked past an Apple store in Huaihai Road (in Shanghai). People were not lining up. How tragic!

Tianyayongnuo: If you say the release of the iPhone 5 received a cold welcome, guofen (fans of Apple products) will rise up and condemn you. Run away!

Topic 2: The world's longest high-speed rail route from Beijing to the South China city of Guangzhou will open on Dec 26, the Ministry of Railways said on Friday.

The 2,200-plus kilometer route will cut travel time between Beijing and Guangzhou from 22 hours to around eight.

It comes two weeks after the Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway, the world's first high-speed railway in an area with an extremely low temperature, went into service.

Bingqianer: I love this route so much! It is so inspiring to finish the trip from Beijing to Zhengzhou (capital of Central Henan province) within two hours.

Li Tanjun: based on the price of the previously opened Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway, it is likely that every hour costs 100 yuan. In this respect, the eight-hour trip could cost 800 yuan, almost the same as the price of a discounted flight ticket between Beijing and Guangzhou.

My-aviva: It is indeed another choice (of traveling between the two cities by train). But the price should take account of ordinary people's income. After all, most will pay the price by themselves.

Sherman: What about the price? Put price aside, the opening of the rail route will have a huge and profound impact on China's economy, I believe.

All the information is from Sina Weibo.