Apple's iPhone 4S has obtained the necessary network access permit which will enable it to go on sale in China.

The permit was issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the device could be on sale before the end of the year.

China Unicom, the licensed iPhone carrier in China, has been awaiting the permit for about a month and is ready to sell the 16GB version of the device at 4,999 Yuan (about $785 or£500).

Ready willing and able

China Unicom executive Yu Yingtao spoke with Sina.com in November and highlighted the necessity for the permit.

"We will start sales once we get the certificate from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology," Yu said.

"It's not up to us. We've already done all of our preparations; we're just waiting on the permit."

The iPhone 4S has already been launched in Hong Kong, where police had to be summoned to quell crowds anxious to get thier hands on the popular device.

Similar scenes could potentially unfold when the mainland release arrives, given that the device has managed to overtake Nokia as the number one smartphone brand in China.

[source: AllThingsD]