科技英语新闻:4S phone fever hits China

"The turnover on my first day selling the iPhone 4S was more than 300,000 yuan. I sold more than 40 iPhone 4S devices and had orders for 60 more," said Zhou, who claimed to be the first online shop offering the 4S in the area. "I'm breaking records every day. I was lucky that I didn't hesitate to stock up despite the high purchase price of around 7,000 yuan. He said his stock came from Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. "On the busiest day, I had more than 100 4S devices in my warehouse."

In Beijing, Apple fans paid more than 10,000 yuan apiece for the 4S on the day of its arrival, according to Ma Qun, a seller at Apple House, an Apple retailer in the Zhongguancun area.

"Some bought it for personal use and some as a gift for others," Ma said. "It may take another two months or so for the iPhone 4S to be officially launched on the mainland."

However, not every retailer in the area is cashing in on 4S fever. Xu Nan, another retailer in Zhongguancun, said his shop didn't sell a single iPhone 4S although people did ask for information about the device.

While some customers are waiting for the price to fall for the latest device, sales of its predecessor, the iPhone 4, registered a good performance. Xu said he sold about 20 recently because they were far cheaper than the latest gadget.

Kong Deming, who works at Shanghai's Huaihai Road Apple Store, said prices for the iPhone 4 were reduced by around 500 yuan and 1,000 yuan for the 16 gigabyte and 32 gigabyte models respectively soon after the launch of the iPhone 4S.

"Crowds lined up in front of our store but during morning business we only sold the iPhone 4 to those who pre-booked online," said Kong. "The rest had to line up and take their chances in the afternoon."

Chen Limin contributed to the story