iPad 2 on sale in Hong Kong, Singapore in April
Apple said Tuesday that the iPad 2, the latest model of the hot-selling tablet computer, will go on sale in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea in April.
The iPad 2 hit stores in the United States on March 11 and will be available in 25 other countries on Friday.
The iPad 2 had been scheduled to go on sale in Japan on Friday but Apple announced last week that it was delaying the sale of the iPad 2 there because of the devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said there had been strong demand for the iPad 2 in the United States.
"While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we've changed the game again with iPad 2," Jobs said in an Apple statement.
"We're experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the US, and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it," he said.
"We appreciate everyone's patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone," said Jobs, who went on medical leave in January for an unspecified illness.
The iPad 2 goes on sale on Friday in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Apple said it will be available in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and unspecified additional countries in April but did not release an exact date.
Apple sold more than 15 million iPads last year and rival electronics manufacturers have been scrambling to produce their own touchscreen devices.
Blackberry maker Research In Motion announced Tuesday that its iPad rival, the PlayBook, would go on sale in the United States and Canada next month at a price identical to that of the iPad.
(c) 2011 AFP
