Apple fans braved the elements to lay their hands on the shiny new iPhone 4S.
The iPhone 4S in an Apple store window Image: MJ/TR |
Though the Chinese enthusiasm for anything Apple comes as no surprise, the fervour of fans in Hong Kong really takes the cake. A 1,500 strong mob of diehard iPhone fans queued on the footbridge opposite Apple's new harbour-side store, equipped with tents, mats chairs and blankets, in order to be the first to purchase the coveted new iPhone 4S.
Eager would-be customers braved chilly weather and overnight rain for the chance to have the latest Apple gadget and local bank worker, Man Chow, even took leave from work in order to join the queue several days in advance.
Meanwhile the applications (apps) market for Apple mobile products is also booming. By the end of September 2011, there were 150 million app users in China, up almost 50% from the previous quarter, with 3G phone users increasing to over 100 million users.
The country is now the world's largest mobile phone market by mass as the number of users reached 1.24 billion this year. In addition, China is constantly opening telephone and broadband services in rural areas, which now have a 94.4% and 81.3% penetration rate respectively.