[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krakOMTsITA]YouTube - China iPad Launch[/ame]
Apple finally launched the iPad in China today, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that a "small crowd" gathered outside the Apple Store in a rainy Beijing to buy the first iPads. As has happened at iPad launches all over the world, the first few customers were applauded by Apple employees as they purchased their iPads! One customer, who had been queuing since 6:30 a.m., when asked why he hadn't opted to buy an iPad on the massive gray market in China, replied "you can't be sure about the quality of those iPads."
A gray-market iPad vendor was also in the queue to enter the store, and said that his store in Beijing has been stocking the iPad for many months, usually managing to sell around 10 a day. He said that the 3G with Wi-Fi gray version is more popular than the Wi-Fi only version, which makes it a little strange that Apple is currently only selling the Wi-Fi-only iPad, with the 3G/Wi-Fi version not yet on sale officially in the country.
According to the WSJ, almost everyone leaving the Beijing store had bought an Apple product, and the second floor was full of new iPad owners wanting to learn more about their new purchase. Each customer was only allowed to buy a maximum of two iPads.
"I see the iPad as a major win for Apple in China," Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group, told the WSJ. "There's not much competition in the market."
Source: Wall Street Journal
