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Hong Kong was gripped by iPhone 4S fever on Thursday as more than 1,500 fans and resellers queued outside the Apple store ahead of the release of the smartphone in the southern Chinese city.
The crowd -- including the elderly and parents with children in tow -- began to converge on a footbridge opposite Apple's plush new harbourside store on Monday, setting up tents with mats, chairs and blankets.
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"We had to stand and queue last night even though it was raining and it was very cold. We don't know whether there's a quota for each customer but I want to get as many iPhone 4Ss as I can," he said.
A man from mainland China who refused to give his name said he had been waiting all week.
"I'll be very proud to own this latest phone. And I'll be very embarrassed if I can't get anything," he said, adding he would buy as many as he could and sell those he didn't want for himself.
Stunned tourist Dustin Moore said: "I'll just wait for a few weeks or even a few months to get the phone. This is just crazy, I don't know what to say."
More than four million of the smartphones have been sold since its world debut in markets including Germany, Britain, France, Japan and Australia on October 14, according to the company.
The buyer frenzy comes despite software bugs that have caused some iPhone 4S owners to report lower than expected Apple store.
Other iPhone4Ss will end up on the grey market in nearby cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou in mainland China, where they have yet to be officially released.
