Apple’s iPad 2 finally hit the shelves in China with many consumers in Beijing and Shanghai waiting in line overnight and gets launched in China at Apple stores on Friday at 8 am and also at China Apple Online Store, which was in use before time on Friday and returned through an iPad 2 shipping guess of 1 to 2 weeks.The queue was controlled by Apple retail staff carefully by sending just a couple of customers at a time and dozens of scalpers gathered outside the retail store; offering to sell Apple iPad 2, which starts at $568 (3688 Yuan) for a profit of $30 (200 Yuan)……………..
Apple’s iPad 2 went on sale at Apple Stores in China on Friday and the launch at Beijing Apple Store is outrageous, drawing hundreds of customers and scalpers to the store.Interestingly, at the Cupertino, California Apple’s flagship store in Beijing, the queue by 10 am went almost up to hundreds. The queue was controlled by Apple retail staff carefully by sending just a couple of customers at a time. Dozens of scalpers gathered outside the retail store; offering to sell Apple iPad 2, which starts at $568 (3688 Yuan) for a profit of $30 (200 Yuan).Well, the launch of Apple iPad 2 has grabbed more customers than last year’s launch of iPad (original).This year, Apple retail staff has provided waiting rooms and numbered wristbands for the customers who choose to wait overnight. According to the reports, the first customer arrived at the retail stores at 5 p.m. the day before (Thursday). Where in one of the new rules read as, if any of the customers leave the line, the staff member of retail stores will take the wristband and if the customers return within 1hour, then the wristband will be given to the customer and if the customer does not return within 1 hour it will be given back to another customer. Simultaneously, a new wristband will be given for different place in the queue.
Apple White iPad 2 was more popular than the black model. White versions of Apple’s products are very popular in China. Well, last month when White iPhone 4 was released in mainland China it has sold the devices quickly.On the other hand, Apple the giant has reduced the gap between U.S and China in its products sale. Where in the original iPad took 4 months to officially arrive in China, while iPhone 4 has been delayed by 2 months and iPad 2 has been launched in China lees than 2 months after U.S release.Unconfirmed reports coming out of Beijing China indicate that there was an incident between Apple Store employees and a man who is believed to be a scalper on Saturday afternoon. Throngs of excited customers and scalpers lined up outside the Beijing Apple store. They instituted a number system to try and control the flow. It is still unclear exactly who was involved in the scuffle but the front door of the Apple store was shatttered in the process. In a country of approximately 1.3 Billion Apple currently has only four retail outlets. Apple has said that they plan to ad as many as 25 retail stores in China over the next few years.
Four people were taken to hospital and a glass door smashed as a near-riot broke out at Beijing‘s top Apple store among crowds rushing to snap up the popular iPad 2 tablet computer, state press said on Sunday.Angry consumers began rushing the store on Saturday afternoon after a “foreign” Apple employee allegedly stepped into the crowd to push and beat people suspected of queue jumping, the Beijing News said.After the employee retreated back into the store, a crowd of consumers smashed the glass front door and shoved security guards as they surged forward in anger over the alleged beatings, the report said.Consumers have lined up for hours at Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai since the iPad 2, the updated version of the tablet computer, went on sale in the world’s biggest Internet market on Friday.Apple officials were not immediately available for comment when telephoned by AFP.Police were investigating the incident and have interviewed four people hospitalised with injuries, the Beijing News said.Lines for the popular iPad 2 have grown so long that people have begun selling their places in the queue, while a secondary market has also developed with consumers reselling their tablet computers for profit after leaving the store, the report said.Late Saturday, the store posted a notice saying that queue jumping and the unauthorised sales of Apple products would not be tolerated, the paper said.
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Sources:9computerstore,thejakartaglobe,tabletcrunch
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