iPad 2 fights break out in Apple store lines between customers and scalpers

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• Japanese tsunami may delay future deliveries
  

Lines outside Apple stores across the country show no signs of shortening, causing frustration for the thousands of fans desperate to get their hands on the iPad 2.Now some of that disappointment is turning to anger, with reports of fights breaking out as genuine die-hard Apple lovers lash out at line members suspected of buying the gadgets to sell on for massive profit on the Asian black market.Several hundred have been queuing at New Yorks Fifth Avenue flagship store every day, with many Asian customers being paid between $100 and $200 to buy iPad 2s which are then shipped off to China and sold at up three times to US retail price.

Scores of Asian customers have been seen queuing outside Apple stores. Some are thought to be buying them to sell on on the Asian black market in China

In some cases frustration has turned to anger because of the high demand for the iPad 2sThe New York Post reports that police had to be called to the Manhattan branch to break up crowds, after genuine customers tried to push in front of alleged accomplices of scalpers.IPad 2s were being sold on eBay today for more than $1,000.
Elsewhere there are reports that lines of customers are continuing to be disappointing, with deliveries not getting through of the slimline gadget that costs up to $700.

The heralded iPad 2 was launched on March 2. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, despite being on sick leave, wanted to tell the world about the company's latest productOne store in Charlotte, North Carolina, ended up giving customers Smart Covers when a shipment failed to arrive, while at a Los Angeles store staff were answering! the pho ne with the greeting: Hello, this is the Apple Store and no, we dont have any iPad 2s available.Lines are unlikely to ease, as the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that caused devastation in Japan, could have serious effects on the supply of parts.Several components are made in Japan, but most factories have closed and the technical specifications mean they are unlikely to be sourced elsewhere.Some factories have policies in place that means they cannot restart production until the tremors and aftershocks have completely ended.Apples website recently said shipping of the new product will take between four to five weeks up from three to fourweeks on Monday.Some stores are turning customers away if they believe they are coming back to buy a new iPad every day. There is a limit of two per customer.In the past Apple has stopped some Asian customers from purchasing new products such as the iPhone 4 whenit was launched but they were forced to back down when there were concerns that they could be seen to be racially profiling customers.

The company also refused sales to people using credit cards that had been used to buy a large number of the same products.A New York Times investigation at the time found that the products which are made in China would be bought by line waiters, then sold to middlemen, who would unlock the products, smuggle them out of the country back to China and sold on to wealthy Asian businessmen.When asking Asian line members who they were buying the iPhone 4s for they would say for a friend, when spotted buying two phones, the response would be I have two friends.