"New iPad Debuts in China"

iPad China

After settling its legal battles over ownership of the iPad trademark in the country, Apple released the latest version of the iPad in China last Friday. Customers were required to place orders in advance to prevent crowding.

Several dozen shoppers surrounded the Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai, which opened at exactly 8 a.m. local time. The scene was in contrast to the chaos that happened last January when Apple’s Beijing store released the iPhone for the first time, where customers shouted and threw eggs after managers delayed the opening due to safety concerns.

In fact, the 30 customers waiting in line in the Shanghai store were outnumbered by the reporters covering the event, leaving the buyers surprised at how nobody else were waiting.

Apple had to undergo a major legal hurdle to sell the iPad in China, as it paid $60 million to settle a dispute with a local company over ownership of the iPad trademark. The Cupertino-based company said it bought global rights to the iPad name from Shenzhen Proview Technology Ltd in 2009, but Chinese authorities say the rights in China never pushed through.

Source: Newsday