Apple Opens Online Store for China

Apple announced Tuesday that it has launched an online app store for the China market, in a move to expand its presence in a sector it has ignored for years. Customers in China can now order the iPhone 4, iPad, and other Apple products online and arrange for delivery to their home or work location. Previously, iPhone buyers had to order the handsets on Apple's Chinese website and pick them up at one of the company's four mainland flagship stores in Beijing or Shanghai.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company said customers must have dual-currency credit cards in order to make purchases within the store, which most citizens do not own.

The opening of an online store for the China market represents a major step taken by Apple to make inroads in a burgeoning global market. Though Apple is dominant in the U.S., it ranks only fifth in the country, holding only a 5.9 percent share of the market and trailing Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson.

Apple, however, has been steadily growing its presence in China, opening two new flagship stores last month in Beijing and Shanghai, bringing its total to four retail outlets. The iPhone 4 launch in China this past September also saw hundreds of customers lined up outside stores.

The device is hugely popular in the region, and Apple now requires customers to reserve an iPhone 4 on the company site in order to buy it at one of its retail locations. But customers using the online store will only need to wait one to two weeks to get their hands on the device.

With Apple opening a Chinese-language version of its online store, the company is clearly hoping to capitalize upon consumer interest in its products in a market that will only get bigger and more profitable.