White iPhone sparks skirmish at Beijing Apple Store

IDG News Service - The long wait for Apple products in Beijing turned ugly over the weekend when a skirmish erupted outside one of the company's stores, resulting in a broken glass door and injuries to customers and one employee. Apple's iPad 2 had just gone on sale, but it was the white iPhone 4, released a week earlier, that caused the trouble. 

News of Saturday's incident has circulated in the local Chinese press, with photos on the Web showing an Apple customer bloodied and laying on the ground. A spokesman for Beijing's public security bureau said on Monday that the parties involved in the dispute had resolved the matter, but he gave no other details.

Apple said in a statement that its Beijing store located in the Sanlitun district closed for several hours on Saturday after a group outside of the store "became unruly."

"The store team acted to protect themselves and our customers by closing the doors and preventing the group from entering. The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority," Apple said.

In the last two weeks, long lines have formed outside the Beijing Apple store for the local launch of the company's white iPhone 4, and then the iPad 2, which went on sale in the country on Friday. Demand for the products has been so great that sales of the devices have also attracted scalpers, who triggered Saturday's skirmish, according to a source familiar with the incident.     Read More