Going nuts for mobile devices, mostly to play games, the iPad 2 sold out in Beijing in just 4 hours. However we do not know how many units were allocated and if that was deemed to be sufficient. In Niko's latest research report we cover mobile devices and the popularity of iPad and iPhone games in China.

There was a melee at the Apple store in Beijing Saturday when the iPad 2 was released, resulting in injuries, a broken glass door, and other havoc. Allegedly a "foreign" employee beat up a Chinese customer for jumping the line but the news reports are spotty and we have seen no confirmation. This shows the strong demand for Apple's products, but the situation was out of control that day.

The only new part of this news item is that the name of Lenovo's business unit Eedoo's eBox has been changed to the iSec, short for Sports Entertainment Center. The company hopes to sell 1 million units in China and after hitting that mark will likely embark on international sales. Now for the moment we've all been waiting for: how will the government justify allowing the iSec without allowing the Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360?? The iSec is scheduled for sale in the "second half" of 2011 - which means the regulators have until then to make their case.

China's Renren.com, one of the biggest social networking services, went public on the NYSE on Wednesday and its shares rose 29% that day, raising $743.4 million by selling 53.1 million ADRs at $14 each. The company disclosed an accounting issue though that didn't sway the global investors from indulging in its potential. The world watched this IPO to see the importance that global investors put on the Chinese Internet market growth - clearly it is of high importance, even if the company's financials were not sound. 

Niko Partners released our 9^th China's Games Industry Annual Review & Forecast Report last week. The 78-page report is chock full of data and analysis we wrote based on our proprietary data collection and market model. After conducting more than 1,200 surveys and interviews in 10 cities and gathering 70,000+ points of data, we were able to compile this important market intelligence study that is a must-read for any company serious about success in China's games market or related fields of business.

Visit the research store on www.nikopartners.com or contact evan@nikopartners.com to purchase.