White iPhone 4 produces long lines in Beijing

The white Apple iPhone 4 made its retail debut today, and China is one market where demand is high for the long-awaited device. According to a report from Computerworld, hundreds of customers lined up outside the Apple Store in Beijing to buy the long-delayed white model.

Customers in line confirmed they passed on the black model, which launched in September 2010, and waited for the white one to make its debut. "I don't like the black color," said line-waiter Annie Zhang. "I've always been waiting for the white-colored iPhone 4."

Apple's presence in China is growing at an extraordinary rate. Apple's iPhone models account for 8.3 percent of China's smartphone market share, and sales of the iPhone in Q1 2011 grew by 250 percent year over year. The introduction of the white iPhone 4 will boost sales even higher in China, as white devices are popular there; the color white is often associated with purity and fulfillment in Chinese culture (also with funerals and mourning, but that's probably not what Apple is going for).