In Hong Kong, you have to win the lottery to buy an iPhone (Yahoo! News)

In an effort to combat scalping, Apple will only sell the iPhone 4S to lottery winners in the Chinese territor??

Think lining up overnight for an?iPhone launch is bad? Try snagging a new?iPhone 4S in Hong Kong, where?Apple recently implemented a lottery system in an effort to combat scalping. If you're in Hong Kong and want the newest iPhone iteration, forget waking up early to be the first person outside an?Apple Store ? the company doesn't sell any to walk-in customers. You have to first join a lottery on the company's website and?then win before you can even be eligible to buy a unit.

The recent iPhone 4S launch in mainland China was riddled with scalpers, and one particular?incident in Beijing even turned into a brawl fest. This new system is super strict, with the lottery remaining open to entries for only three hours each day. Winners get an email before 9 P.M., and they can claim their iPhone 4S units the next day provided they have a government-issued photo ID with the same name and serial number they submitted to the lottery.

No word yet on whether Apple will implement this lottery system elsewhere, though it may subsequently be used in places where scalping is rampant.

(Source)

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/techblog/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20120131/tc_yblog_technews/in-hong-kong-you-have-to-win-the-lottery-to-buy-an-iphone

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