Apple opens in China
Posted by: gracelim / Category: iPad, iPad Accessories, iPad Apps, iPad News, iPhone Accessories, iPhone News, iPhones
Apple opened its second store in China on Saturday which drawled crowds of all ages as early as 5 am. Some people drove several hours or flew in from different provinces in china for a chance to be there on the opening of the Apple store. Many hoped to catch a glimpse of the iPhone 4 or of Steve Jobs, but were disappointed.
Bystanders were interview and said:
“I didn’t come to see a specific product. I just see it as a chance for us Apple fans to party,” said Penguin, owns a Macbook and an iPhone.
Apple’s retail stores are known to create buzz and serve as successful a marketing tool for the brand in its home market, which has left many wondering why it took so long for Apple to open more of the stores in China, the world’s second largest PC market after the U.S. According to IDC, Apple computers still make up less than 1% of PC unit shipments, and iPhones make up less than 1% of handset sales in China.
Those dints stop a total of 150fans from waiting overnight to be among the first to go into the Apple store. One 20-year-old customer from Zhejiang province took ka buss to Shanghai last night with his friends, hoping to see the iPhone 4. “I guess it may not be available in the store, but it was still worth coming. I came to experience the atmosphere and the culture!” he said.
The building is made entirely of glass, similar to Apple’s flagship New York City store on Fifth Avenue. It has a glass cube entrance that leads customers underground to a space covering some 1,500 square meters, bigger than Apple’s first store in Beijing, which opened two years ago.
Apple said it expects to open a second store in Shanghai, but an opening time has not yet been released. The company has said it plans to open 25 new Apple stores in China by the end of 2011, but gave no additional details on those stores at the opening.
After much controversy and waiting, Apple’s 
