With a growing middle class, China is now home to numerous Apple fans. Like all its previous versions, it's believed the iPhone 5 will kick off another big craze in China. However, before it's officially become available in the Chinese mainland, it has received mixed reviews from some users and the media.

At the recent China International Communication Exhibition held in Beijing, we met Miss Sun. Like many people her age living in China's big cities, she is a fan of Apple products. She said she had to try hard just to get an iPhone 4. However, not long ago, she abandoned her iPhone. According to her, she's lost interest in it.

Ms Sun, a mobile buyer, says, "I think the iPhone is not that cool anymore, the screen is not big enough compared with many other phones. And its functions have not changed."

Some industry insiders have their opinions as well. They claim they are disappointed in the iPhone 5, which should have been a revolutionary product following Apple's style.

Li Zhiyu, editor of science section of Sohu.com, says, "The iPhone 5 doesn't give us a brand new experience. There's only slight changes compared to its previous version the iPhone 4S. The pace of Apple is getting slow now."

And some found a chance to mock Apple. Some Internet users joked that the iPhone 5 should really be called iPhone 4SL, since it's a longer version of the iPhone 4S.

As for China's cellphone manufacturers, who are usually inspired by Apple products, some say there is limited new features on iPhone 5.

Li Wang, VP of Coolpad technology, says, "We think Apple has entered a plateau stage. Many of its technical features are following the trend instead of creating new ones. It's becoming more conservative in screen design and CPU speed."

They say some of the latest features such as direct call and smart stay are already in use in other smart phones, but the iPhone 5 seemed to ignore them.

Communication carriers like China Mobile say they are not as interested in the iPhone 5 as they were in the previous versions.

Maybe next time, Apple will be able to excite people more.

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