Apple has suspended sales of its iPhone 4S in mainland China after violence and vandalism broke out at its flagship store in Beijing.
The Chinese launch of Apples latest smartphone was expected to go ahead today, but as demand skyrocketed past supply Chinese police ordered that the store in the Sanlitun district of Beijing remain shut to avoid unrest.Unfortunately this had the opposite effect, with people who had been camping out all night becoming frustrated with the news. Eggs were thrown at the Apple stores glass windows and people shoved police.Part of the problem is due to scalpers, who are paying people to buy the device for them, which they then resell at inflated prices. People working for these scalpers were told they would get the equivalent of around $16, but since the sales did not go ahead, they will be lucky to get a tenth of that as a food allowance, despite spending the night in the cold.The incident caused Apple to postpone sales of the iPhone 4S in all five of its Chinese stores, which will likely only exacerbate the situation. The device can still be bought online, however, or through authorised resellers.The Sanlitun store was previously the location of similar violence when the iPad 2 was released, resulting in the smashing of a glass door and four people being injured. Until supply meets demand we can likely expect similar incidents in the future.Source & Image Credit: New York Times
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