One would have thought that as China Unicom actually offer the Apple iPhone they wouldn’t need to announce a new smartphone that would rival the iOS device, but apparently that’s what China Unicom has done.

According to an article over on Computer World, executives of China Unicom have said they have created the Wophone and software platform to “avoid being marginalized by other mobile industry players that have opened their own app stores.”

Apparently the Wophone will become available right away and rival the iPhone 4, Android devices and China Mobile’s Ophone, which is based on the Android OS. China Unicom has said they expect the WoPhone to become available shortly but wouldn’t give an exact date.

According to China Unicom the Wophone is Linux based and has been completely developed by China Unicom and their partners, which includes some government offices, and doesn’t rely on the Android operating system.

Do you think China Unicom’s Wophone will be able to rival the iPhone in China, or do you believe the iPhone is unstoppable no matter where it is released?