This appears to be the first WAPI/WiFi-based phone by a major global handset maker. Reports are popping up left and right in China, saying the A3100 started selling about a week ago. It was officially feted on the 18th, and will work on China Unicom's WCDMA network . It can be found in major electronics retailers Suning and Yongle, as well as at some online shops.

Nokia is rumoured to have its own device, the 5530 XM, which has apparently passed the certification process in China. Close to 10 other phones from various manufacturers are also in the pipeline, according to C114.net. Taiwan’s HTC and China’s Coolpad (天语) will be among them. You can see the specs for the A3100 here -- look about three-quarters of the way down the page to see the line item for both WAPI and WiFi support.

Why the sudden love, after so much hatred of WAPI? Till now, WiFi has been officially banned in handsets sold in China – although plenty are available in the grey market. Back in April, I wrote about a WAPI-based Haier smartphone for China Telecom’s CDMA network. That was released shortly after China’s IT regulator, MIIT, called a sudden meeting to let the handset supply chain know that henceforth it would be OK to add wireless LAN capability to handsets – as long as WAPI was included.

So to prevent domestic rivals from getting an edge, global handset makers will now include WAPI functionality in their handsets. To not do so risks consumer wrath over a high-priced 3G phone that doesn’t include wireless LAN support. It’s that simple.

On a related note, China has also recently resubmitted a bid to ISO, requesting WAPI be anointed as an international standard. Its last attempt was a fiasco, mostly because of the secretive nature of the people who created the technology.