Japan, other countries getting the iPad 2 this week

By Geoff Duncan April 27, 2011

Apple iPad 2 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple still can’t make enough iPad 2s to meet consumer demand in any market, so what’s the company doing? Launching the iPad 2 in a dozen new markets this week, and revealing plans to put the Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 on sale in China beginning May 6.

The iPad 2 will go on sale in Japan on Thursday, April 28—the announcement is particularly significant because Japan was originally slated to get the iPad 2 on March 25, but the launch was delayed by the catastrophic 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami on March 11. April 29 will see the iPad 2 launch in Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. Suggested pricing is essentially the same as U.S. pricing: $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi only model, escalating to $829 for a 64 GB model with 3G capability.

Apple also announced the Wi-Fi only version of the iPad 2 will launch in mainland China on May 6, and that the company plans to announce additional international availability for the device at a later date.

Apple launched the iPad 2 at the beginning of March and, so far, has been unable to meet demand for the device. The company actually fell short of sales forecasts for the iPad 2, in part due to component shortages brought on by the Japanese earthquake. Apple sold almost 4.7 million iPad 2 tablets during the second financial quarter of 2011, and while that was lower than expectations, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer noted that the company had “sold every iPad 2 we could make.” Retail availability of the iPad 2 remains spotty, and wait times for online orders remain one to two weeks.

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