Beijing – China: The big Apple iPhone 4 launch started on Saturday morning, where flocking buyers queued for hours to get hold of one of the new mobile devices. China, which is where most of the technology of the world is produced, was one of the last launches for this handset, so it was surprising to see the 1000′s of people who had spent hours waiting for the doors to open.
One of the new Apple stores which is based in Xidan’s City shopping mall witnessed crowds nearing 1000 people, which is only one of the two new stores that Apple has opened in Beijing this year. Some of the anxious buyers had been camping out in front of the store for over 48 hours, to make sure they were one of the first to get their hands on the new handset.
One of the first people in the queue was Yu Zhong Hui, who said, “Physically, it has been painfull, yet mentally, I am VERY happy.” He continued with, “When you want something, you have to pay a price. The price I paid was everyone having to see me waiting outside.”
What seems to have surprised Applemore than anything is that the iPhone 4 launch has attracted far more customers in China than the previously launched 3G model. And whilst Apple refused to comment on how sales were doing, the mobile carrier for the device, China Unicom, claim that they have signed up more than 50,000 people for the latest iPhone 4 within the first day of release.
Much like the launch of the iPhone 3G, the black market was always going to be making handsets available way before the official launch, where by eager buyers have been purchasing the new model from overseas on platforms like eBay and Amazon.
The release price for the iPhone 4 16GB with no contract was set at $744 or 4,999Yuan, whilst the 32GB handset was $893 or 5,999 Yuan.
What is surprising is the amount of followers of Apple in China who waited for the official release, considering that manufacturers of “copied” handsets have been selling like hot cakes for the last 3 months.
