Apple to Open Beijing Store in July

by , 12:40 PM EDT, June 27th, 2008

Apple will be making its first brick-and-mortar debut in China with its Beijing store's July opening. The three-level store will be in the fashionable bar area in Sanlitun, according to Shanghai Daily.

While Apple hasn't announced the official grand opening date, industry insiders are claiming the doors will open to the public on July 19. Insiders also claim that Apple has plans to open a second Beijing store during the Olympics.

Apple is set to launch its new iPhone 3G with faster data speeds and GPS support on July 11, but China won't be in the first wave of countries offering the second generation handheld because the Cupertino-based company has not yet reached a distribution deal with China Mobile. Apple does, however, hope to bring the iPhone 3G to China before the end of the year.

Moving into China's market could help Apple gain more traction with its Macintosh computers in markets outside of the United States, and also help boost the popularity of the iPhone even more.