January 12, 2012 at 4:17 pm

Breaking out of Beijing right now: the flagship Apple Store cancelled selling the iPhone 4S after a fight broke out between scalpers (via Mic Gadget). Beijing’s SWAT team is on the scene right now to help tame the rowdy lines. Bloomberg said the angry crowd eager to get the iPhone 4S is pelting the store with eggs.

The Store was set to open at 7 a.m. local time to begin selling the iPhone 4S on China’s second largest carrier China Unicom. we showed you the large lines earlier today as customers gathered. What most people do not know, however, is that the majority of the people in line are scalpers looking sell the devices on the street. Scalpers reportedly started the fight in Beijing, according to MIC Gadget:

There are over thousands of people at the scene and seems like 99% of them are scalpers, according to local media reports. And according to our tipster, the scalpers are well organized, and they are divided into hundreds of teams, just like military forces. each team includes 10-20 scalpers. some of them even threw eggs at the glass door of the Apple store, while others threatened to assault the police.

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Flagship Beijing Apple Store cancels selling iPhone 4S after fight breaks out

Apple, in an apparent attempt to deter scalpers, has introduced a new lottery system for customers in Hong Kong who want one of its smartphones.

A new page on Apple’s Hong Kong store Web site requires users to submit their personal information, including a government-issued ID number, to reserve an iPhone. Apple began selling the iPhone 4S in Hong Kong this past November.

The new lottery system allows users to request a device during a three-hour time period each day, between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Those who are awarded a reservation will be notified via email before 9 p.m., and told what time they should come pick up the phone, Apple said.

Reservations for the popular phone were previously afforded to individuals on a first-come, first-served basis. But scalpers abused the system, creating automated programs to secure iPhone 4S reservations as soon as they were made available.

“Due to high demand, we are accepting a limited number of iPhone reservations per day,” reads the new reservation site, which was first reported by 9to5Mac.

Only those who receive an email reserving their confirmation will be able to receive the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. Apple is not selling the devices to walk-in customers. To receive the phone, users will need to provide a government-issued ID that matches the name and ID number used to request the phone.

Earlier this month, Apple temporarily suspended sales of the iPhone 4S at its flagship store in Beijing due to large, chaotic crowds who gathered outside looking for an early purchase. the massive crowds weren’t just made up of Apple fans, but also included large groups of professional scalpers looking to buy up the coveted device for resale on the grey market at inflated prices. Scalpers had reportedly hired migrant workers to stand in line and buy the phone.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty this week predicted that Apple will over the next year add China Telecom and China Mobile to its iPhone distribution partners, a move that would make the phone available on all three Chinese carriers. doing so could ratchet the number of iPhone subscribers in China alone to 40 million in 2013.

For more, see PCMag’s review of the iPhone 4S and the slideshow below.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Apple Using Lottery System to Deter iPhone Scalpers in Hong Kong

The sale of Apple iPhone 4S in mainland China on its first day on Friday, January 13, 2012 was postponed due to customer safety concerns and stores did not open on the scheduled 7 a.m.

Apple fans in Shanghai, waitingto buy the iPhone 4S on its debut saleImage Credit: Eugene Hoshiko/AP

As noted at CNN that day, Apple said that the debut sale of iPhone 4S in retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai was halted temporarily and cited the safety of the public amid the unruly crowd outside the stores.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokesperson was quoted telling to AllThingsD, as some of the supposed early shoppers got mad over the announcement.

“unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not be available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.” Apple added.