Apple fans jostle for earlier iPhones in Hong Kong

Tensions were high at Apple's plush new harbourside store in the Chinese territory as people queued to buy a maximum of five iPhone 4 models at a time, sometimes only to hand them over to friends outside and return for more.

The 16GB version was selling at a six-percent discount for HK$4,688 (US$600), while the 32GB had been reduced by almost 16 percent to HK$5,088.

Unidentified men pushed and shoved an AFP photographer as he tried to photograph the scene outside the store in the upmarket International Finance Centre mall.

Apple spokespeople refused to comment on the buying frenzy.

One man was seen trying to sell just-purchased iPhone 4S models to people waiting in the queue, while another stuffed dozens of the devices into a large bag, apparently in preparation to re-sell them.

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to Apple's flagship Australian store in Sydney and at its counterpart in Tokyo, where staff inside clapped and cheered as customers lined up to buy the newly released 4S models.

Hong Kong media reported earlier this week that scuffles broke out as about 1,000 customers waited anxiously for their turn to buy a cut-price iPhone 4.

(c) 2011 AFP