"I feel like everyone has an iPad. I don't want to buy the same thing as everyone else," she said. "I think the Surface tablet can become popular in China. It's what all my friends have been talking about."

But not everyone was so optimistic about the device's prospects in China. Kang Zheng, who is 23, also waited in line to buy the Surface tablet. But he criticized Windows RT for not being able to run legacy Windows software. The iPad, on the other hand, can run a vast number of apps from Apple's App Store.

"I don't think the Surface will be more popular than the iPad," he said. "There is so much software the Surface tablet can't use, and the price is still too high."