Enraged Chinese Shoppers Pelt Apple Store in Beijing Over iPhone 4S

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Enraged Chinese Shoppers Pelt Apple Store in Beijing Over iPhone 4S [reuters.com]

Enraged Chinese shoppers pelted Apple Inc's flagship Beijing store with eggs and shoving matches broke out with police on Friday when customers were told the store would not begin sales of the iPhone 4S as scheduled.

Apple said later after the fracas at its store in Beijing's trendy Sanlitun district that it would halt all retail sales of the latest iPhone in China for the time being, but said the phones would be available online, through its partner China Unicom or at official Apple resellers.

Apple, in a statement, said its other stores had sold out.

"Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, the iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being," it said.

What I think is quite funny is that some of these people had eggs with them to pelt the store. hehe

[ken_b]

What I think is quite funny is that some of these people had eggs with them to pelt the store. hehe

I saw that on the news report, made me wonder if they were just stopping at the Apple store on the way home from the market, or if they "came prepared, just in case".

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Yeah, wasn't it lucky they hadn't been to the hardware store buying hammers! hehe

[lucy24]

I've often had the same thought about theatregoers in days when audience response was more, um, physical than it is today. Did people equip themselves with eggs, rotten tomatoes and bouquets to cover all options, or did they decide beforehand what their reaction would be and fill their pockets accordingly?

Or did some people make a nice living buying up rotten fruit and unsold flowers at the market and re-selling them at theatre doors?

[vik_c]

It may have been sabotage.

[lucy24]

Not only eggs but also wooden shoes?