“Apple Inc. staged a low-key launch of its latest iPad in China on Friday, free of the chaotic scenes that plagued the tech darling’s previous product debuts in its most promising growth market,” Melanie Lee reports for Reuters.
“The calm, orderly queues in Shanghai and Beijing came as a surprise to many Apple fans in China, who are used to standing overnight in snaking queues with scalpers to get their hands on the latest product,” Lee reports. “Apple adopted an online reservation system that allowed it to control the flow of people to its stores and avoid a repeat of the riotous iPhone 4S launch in January, when one of its flagship stores in Beijing was pelted with eggs by scalpers who had turned rowdy. ‘My friend came here last year and queued for the whole day. So I think the process now is much more convenient,’ said Wang Yue, 26, outside the Lujiazui store.”
Lee reports, “Demand for Apple products is so high that many choose to buy from unauthorized resellers who peddle smuggled goods or from online stores that sell parallel imports. An avid Apple fan can easily buy one as they are readily available in electronics malls across China.”
Read more in the full article here.
Don’t kid yourself… It’s a failed product launch. No one wants an iPad! It’s going downhill from here. Denial at its best.
De Nile is in Egypt. Chinese trolls live under bridges crossing de Yellow River or perhaps de Yangtze…
Or, perhaps: 鴨綠江
OMG, no lines. The end is near. Sell, sell, sell.
With just 3 trading days till earnings I’m a little surprised how subdueded the stock is.