Thousands line up in China ahead of Friday launch of Apple's iPhone 4S
Hours before the iPhone 4S is set to go on sale in China, massive lines with thousands of people have formed outside of Apple's heavily trafficked retail stores.
Throngs of people gathered outside of Apple's stores in China were captured in pictures shared by Penn Olson on Thursday. China Unicom also began reminding its customers that the iPhone 4S will go on sale Friday at 12:01 a.m. local time with text messages.
The pictures show Apple's two stores in Beijing and three in Shanghai with hundreds of people lined up at each. Most of the stores have a ticketing system to help protect everyone's place.
Apple announced earlier this month that it would launch the iPhone 4S in China on Friday, Jan. 13, along with 21 other countries. The device will be sold through China Unicom, which remains Apple's only carrier partner in the nation of over one billion people.
As an added incentive for mobile customers, China Unicom is offering a heavy subsidy on the iPhone 4S at launch. Subscribers will be able to get Apple's newest smartphone model for free with a new multi-year service contract, and as little as $285 yuan ($45 U.S.) per month.
China has become a very important part of Apple's business with tremendous growth in a relatively short period of time. A year ago, Apple executives revealed that the company's retail stores in China were its most visited in the world, only three years after the company opened its first retail store in Beijing in 2008.
Comments
Since Samsung can't copy this, they resort to making fun of it
Does anyone have photos of people lining up for any Samsung product release?
Does anyone have photos of people lining up for any Samsung product release?
I think you misunderstood, that is the Samsung returns line...
Tom
99% of these people are buying it to resale...
That's an incredibly inflated percentage.
That's an incredibly inflated percentage.
True! At least 10% of Apple products get shipped to Samsung HW for dissection.
99% of these people are buying it to resale...
If your claim is true, that would mean Apple needs another 200 Apple Stores in China.
If your claim is true, that would mean Apple needs another 200 Apple Stores in China.
What's the point in buying a newer phone for yourself, staying in a huge line, the phone that looks the same as the previous one (in the culture where image is everything), the phone with the main feature not even supporting the native languages of the country?
There is none. You just get iPhone-4 instead.
That's an incredibly inflated percentage.
92.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.
What's the point in buying a newer phone for yourself, staying in a huge line, the phone that looks the same as the previous one (in the culture where image is everything), the phone with the main feature not even supporting the native languages of the country?
There is none. You just get iPhone-4 instead.
Everything but the case design was significantly updated.
3 words: GET A LIFE!!
? Who?
? Who?
Pause.....(Hint: the thousands of people in the pictures)
Pause.....(Hint: the thousands of people in the pictures)
Ah, so we can just ignore you, then. Okay.
If your claim is true, that would mean Apple needs another 200 Apple Stores in China.
Not sure about 200, but they sure need a lot more. The demand is huge in China, but the way those people got the iphones is very inefficient. Basically, people in China produced the iphones, then shipped to US to sell, then bought by people who'd then ship back to China and sell at a higher price. If Apple could just meet the demand in China through stores in China, that'd be great for Apple because more people would be able to get them without all this hassle and wasted resources.
Fanboys. They are all fanboys. Anyone who like and buy an Apple product is a fanboy
i like and buy an Apple product and i'm happy to be called a fanboy.
What's the point in buying a newer phone for yourself, staying in a huge line, the phone that looks the same as the previous one (in the culture where image is everything), the phone with the main feature not even supporting the native languages of the country?
There is none. You just get iPhone-4 instead.
A lot of people did not have a chance to buy the iPhone 4 in China. Whether it is the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 4S, they are still willing to lineup for the phone.
Apple is the most important company in the USA.
lol, no they are not.
And so far you are the only person I've seen even on this site suggest such a thing.