Beijing ( CNN ) -- Apple halted sales of its iPhone 4S in Beijing and Shanghai on Friday after scuffles broke out over a delayed launch of the device , sending a shopper hurling eggs at one of its stores in the capital . Hundreds of devout fans -- along with scalpers -- braved subfreezing temperatures and camped out overnight , awaiting the phone 's debut near the trendy Sanlitun Village shopping mall in Beijing . As dawn broke Friday , the mood turned sour when the store 's doors remained shut beyond 7 a.m. , when the sale was scheduled to start . `` Open ! Open ! '' people chanted and booed at the employees inside . After the scuffle , the bad news came via a megaphone that the phone would be unavailable at this Apple Store on its first day of sale . A large contingent of police officers arrived and put yellow tape around the plaza . Dozens of police and guards slowly pushed people out of the perimeter , dragging away those who resisted , despite their screaming protests . The tech giant -- based in Cupertino , California -- said it is halting sales in Beijing and Shanghai for customers ' safety . It launched the iPhone 4S in mainland China on Friday . `` The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible , and our stores in China have already sold out , '' the company said in a statement . `` 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 has seen phenomenal sales growth in mainland China and opened Asia 's largest Apple Store in Shanghai in September . The company announced in July that its revenue from the Greater China region , which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan , reached $ 8.8 billion for the first three quarters of the fiscal year , a more than sixfold increase compared with the same period in the previous year . While many in the crowd criticized Apple for not opening the store when it said it would , others turned nationalistic , blasting the United States in general . The plaza was soon cleared , leaving iPhone fans standing outside the police tape as a giant screen teased them with Apple commercials .
An CNN store in a trendy Beijing district fails to open amid unruly crowds . the previous year is the date of the introduction of the iPhone 4S in mainland Shanghai . Apple says it wo n't sell the new model in Shanghai and China retail stores for now . The police clear away crowds of disgruntled consumers .