Sanlitun iPhone 4S Launch Cancelled; Xidan Already Sold Out

Lauren McCarthy | Jan 13, 2012 11:00 am | 4 comments | 4458 reads

The launch of the Apple iPhone 4S, originally planned for today, has been cancelled, possibly because of overnight fights in the massive crowd. Queues began forming yesterday at both the Sanlitun and Xidan stores. The Xidan launch went ahead but their stock sold out within two hours.

In Sanlitun, after the store failed to open at 7am, angry customers began throwing eggs at the glass walls of the Sanlitun store. Crowds were then asked to leave; they were told there would be no release of the latest iPhone. Police were also brought in to clear the crowds. It’s rumored that the majority of the crowd was made up of teams of scalpers.

An online ordering platform for the iPhone is up on Apple's site but it is showing that all phones are currently unavailable.

Photos: MICgadget.com, Josh Ong, apple.com.cn

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Jerry's picture Jerry Submitted by Guest on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 14:08

Here's an update from Apple Insider:

Quote:
Update: Apple has confirmed in a statement to AllThingsD that it will delay sales of the iPhone 4S at retail locations in Beijing and Shanghai.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokesperson told the publication. “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, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers.”

Apple retail staff at the Sanlitun Apple Store in Beijing put signs out Friday afternoon with a note saying, "This store will not be selling the iPhone in the recent future."

Jerry Chan, Digital Marketing & Content Strategy Director

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