They had come from kilometres around, stood in sub-zero degree weather for hours, and patiently queued for the store to open its doors. Today was iPhone day in Beijing! But when the doors did open, the huddled masses were told there would be no iPhone 4S, not today. And then shit got real.
Apple customers at the flagship Beijing Apple store on Friday nearly rioted after standing in -20°C temperatures overnight only to be informed that the store would not begin selling the iPhone 4S that day. Reportedly, no other explanation was given and the crowd was none too happy with fights and scuffles between citizens and police occurring in the pre-dawn hours.
According to one witness, Huang Xiantong, “Around 5am the crowds in the plaza broke through and the line disappeared entirely. Everyone was fighting, several people were hurt,” said Huang. “The police just started hitting people. They were just brawling.” Order was restored approximately five hours later. [Yahoo News]