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iPhone 4S Launch Delayed in Beijing as SWAT Teams Respond to Violence

Hmm

Sounds to me like it's the Apple stores fault. I'm not sure I understand the entire story. All that was happening is they were chanting open the doors and then they said they weren't going to open, THEN they started throwing eggs. After all if I had been waiting in line all night I would not be very happy about this! Throwing eggs is not that bad. It's not like they hurt anyone. But I am not going to say the people were right, first of all I completely disagree with then throwing a fit that fast and also throwing eggs. But what was going on with that apple store?
 
You don't see this happening for the Droids ;)

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bwillwall said:
Sounds to me like it's the Apple stores fault. I'm not sure I understand the entire story. All that was happening is they were chanting open the doors and then they said they weren't going to open, THEN they started throwing eggs. After all if I had been waiting in line all night I would not be very happy about this! Throwing eggs is not that bad. It's not like they hurt anyone. But I am not going to say the people were right, first of all I completely disagree with then throwing a fit that fast and also throwing eggs. But what was going on with that apple store?
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Delaying a launch is not as bad as throwing eggs like @#$%s. I waited 3 years for my brother to find a working iPhone 1 in the electronic waste bin. I think those people can wait a few minutes or maybe a week for a device that is useless in a practical sense.

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MacRumors said:
Apple has seen similar large crowds dominated by scalpers at many of its major product launches in China, with teams of people working to purchase as much of the available stock as possible for resale at higher prices. Violence has occasionally erupted both between scalpers and between scalpers and those upset with their strategies.
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Are scalpers those retards who sell Apple stuff on eBay for way more than it costs new? Who the heck would buy that? If I'm going to deal with long shipments and risk Chinese sellers ripping me off with fake items, I want it to be cheap.
 
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That doesn't seem very communist of them.
 
entatlrg said:
To eliminate scalpers they should limit the sale to 1 or 2 phones per person. Problem solved.

Oh, but that would hurt sales volume. Depends if you want orderly, non violent lines or the highest possible volume of phones sold.
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What's wrong with scalpers? Riots? And why buy an iPhone from a scalper when you can buy it from Apple?

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marksman said:
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That doesn't seem very communist of them.
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Well, it is the uneducated forming a riot to try and get what they want.
 
???

Chinese really must love Apple for this alone.

Throwing eggs at the Apple store is not a good Apple fan :)

Even though, I may get on edge of a delayed launch, doesn't seem right to me. I mean If you were in that situation, would you act like that? *shrugs*


Thats China for ya.
 
Speaking as a person living in a country that Apple have decided to shun as far as physical presence goes, this just feels so unfair. If china cannot behave themselves why doesn't Apple just pull out and leave them to suffer with third party resellers and online shops, and then bring their shiny nice genius staffed apple stores over here to NZ
 
MattOfStLouis said:
Think about it this way: for a large part of the crowd, it's not a phone. Reselling that phone is their livelihood.
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true that.

Apple could just as easily stop selling to Chine, and bring more to Australia :) or the rest of the world.

Define re-selling ? You mean in Apple store, or cheap knock-offs ?
 
Tech198 said:
Apple could just as easily stop selling to Chine, and bring more to Australia :) or the rest of the world.

Define re-selling ? You mean in Apple store, or cheap knock-offs ?
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You don't seem to understand what is going on here, do you?

They're scalpers. These people mobbing stores are buying genuine iPhones from genuine Apple Stores then reselling them on the open market at a higher price. That margin is their profit.

Their buyers are people who desperately want to buy an iPhone and are willing to pay above the advertised price.

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TuiSong said:
Speaking as a person living in a country that Apple have decided to shun as far as physical presence goes, this just feels so unfair. If china cannot behave themselves why doesn't Apple just pull out and leave them to suffer with third party resellers and online shops, and then bring their shiny nice genius staffed apple stores over here to NZ
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China now generates 16% of Apple's total revenue worldwide. They are Apple's second largest market (by revenue), trailing only the United States. In 2009, China generated 2% of Apple's total worldwide revenue; a year later, it was 12%.

Apple cannot ignore China any more.

New Zealand is a wonderful country (I've visited myself), but Apple is a business. There is far more growth potential in the People's Republic than there is in New Zealand. Beyond that, there may be local barriers (legal issues, cost, etc.) to retail store development that makes building a physical store more difficult in Auckland rather than Shanghai or Beijing.

Remember, a city of 10 million people in China is just a run-of-the-mill town, a typically unmemorable Hicksville. How many people live in the country of New Zealand? Half of that, maybe?

You are not comprehending the scale of China and its vast potential.
 
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Tech198 said:
true that.

Apple could just as easily stop selling to Chine, and bring more to Australia :) or the rest of the world.

Define re-selling ? You mean in Apple store, or cheap knock-offs ?
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There are third-party dealers that try to buy as many iPhones as possible so that when the stock is depleted, which it almost always is because they and other scalpers keep buying the Apple stores out, they can sell the phone to buyers for a substantial profit.
 
faroZ06 said:
Well, it is the uneducated forming a riot to try and get what they want.
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I travel to that area of China two or three times a year. After the first few trips the cultural difference between us became clearer, even though our company trains those of us before we go. If one has never spent some time there, you simply cannot imagine just how different it is.

It's certainly enhanced my appreciation of the American lifestyle.
 
This really puts a bad image on Apple's launch days.
I personally believe that Apple needs to do something to limit the ways people can save spots in line for others, and ensure a fair amount of product...
 
Not surprised

My wife and I stood in line overnight at that same exact store when the iPhone 4 launched. We were the only foreigners there, and probably only the ones actually buying it for ourselves. One instance occurred around midnight when the line collapsed when someone rushed ahead, but order was restored and number bracelets were distributed. After that launch, the iPhone really took off over there (the 3GS was limited by the government-no Wifi) and I swore I'd never attempt to attend another launch there. Having lived in being for 4 years, I can safely say that the Chinese culture is Darwinism at its finest. No sense of moral respect for other people. They may have more money saved up, but the vast majority of them are so unhappy inside, don't recognize it, then lash out at everyone around them. Money and hot tech products won't save you from the horrible government and air pollution, folks. Get out if you have the chance.
 
A little pepper spray and they'd be just like America! Awwww, how CUTE!

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Ping Guo said:
Leave it to the Chinese to ****** up a perfectly good product launch. Oh, and Chinese police are about as effective as mall security guards, so good luck with the crowd control.
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Leave it to Wal-Mart customers to trample to death a pregnant woman for a Black Friday sale item.
 
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Chinaman ain't civilized?
 
It's moments like that where Samsung needs to put up shop next door. Sell Galaxy S IIs from a van.
 
Yumunum said:
It's moments like that where Samsung needs to put up shop next door. Sell Galaxy S IIs from a van.
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I hope this comment is made as a joke, because in the Village, there is a samsung store next door, and it is never busy like the Apple Store. The Galaxy S II is nice, but it is an android phone, and there are many brands of it, only one brand that is apple, bottom line...the Chinese urban population wants a designer phone, and they are willing to pay for it... Samsung phones are ubiquitous and easily available, where is the fun or symbol in owning one.

btw, i have an iphone and an Galaxy 1, i prefer iOS over android because of the lack of viruses, crashes, etc that comes with any android phone.
 
Some free good PR for Apple!

Scalpers are good imo, thanks to them doctors and other highly productive citizen can work instead of waiting in lines. They provide a highly desired service to the people who pay for it.

If you think it's wrong that the rich get the products first, see it as a tax on the rich.

The way to solve the problem for Apple is to have auctions for their products while the supply is low, but Apple dont want to do this so then its free game for the scalpers.

The way to beat the scalpers(if you think this is desirable) is to not buy from them so they might eventually have to sell their product for less than what they paid for them.
 
This isn't just about a long wait in a line. Many of these people work making the nice shiny toys we all take for granted. The opportunity to own one is bound to cause excitement.

A caveat comes to mind here though. When they get Thier new toys just exactly how much functionality will they be allowed? I rather suspect that many features will be either unavailable or restricted.

Internet access is bound to be limited, and I'm not sure what the Chinese govt. will make of iMessage, iCloud etc.

I guess they will just be happy with owning a device that they put in shipping boxes everyday. For now.....
 
Apple should adopt one phone one person policy........

Love is eternal - Albus dumbledore
 
ArtOfWarfare said:
Wow.

Where does violence like this come from, or I suppose more to the point, how do we remove it from society? Initially, I figured we as a species need to promote stronger family ties so that people don't feel the need to join gangs, but then I remembered family feuds and such. I suppose everyone needs to be able to learn how to forgive each other (that doesn't mean forgetting they've wronged you in the past... you can still not trust them, but you should decide not to escalate the violence.)
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In China an iPhone represents a huge status symbol, sort of like having a BMW in America. You have to remember in China they pay the full price for an iPhone, not the subsidized $199 in America.
 
xxgilxx said:
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Chinaman ain't civilized?
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Chinese are except a few hardcore Apple fans;)
 
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