The iPhone 4S just went on sale in China, and before they even got started Apple had to close the store due to concerns for customer and employee safety. The iPhone 4S sold out quickly, and customers weren’t impressed:
From Reuters,
The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokeswoman said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd. And to ensure the safety of our customers and our employees, iPhones will not be available in our retails stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being,” she said.
That’s PR jargon for, “Holy crap, these guys are about to riot for an iPhone.” Chants of “Open, Open!” were heard just before the store opened at 7 a.m, then a scuffle broke out. Doors were closed, police broke up the crowd and put yellow tape around the palaza, deeming it closed. Police even had to drag away people who refused to leave, kicking and screaming the whole way.
I’d say that it’s absolutely insane that the iPhone 4S almost incited a riot in China, but Black Friday led to shootings, stabbings, and muggings in the US, so China was pretty tame.
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