Long lines of buyers greeted the launch of the Apple iPad2 when it debuted in Australia and New Zealand Friday. It went on sale there and in 23 other countries after it had just debuted in the U.S. market two weeks prior.
So far, the demand for the iPad2 has exceeded the supply as Apple didn’t expect this many customers to want to purchase it so soon and are having trouble keeping up with enough of a supply. Apple says that along with the amazing demand the device is showing in the states, that worldwide, customers are saying they are also anxious to get it.
The analysts say that about a million units were possibly sold during the first weekend of the iPad 2’s debut in the U.S. Apple says that worldwide demand is great, but they are worried that the recent disasters in Japan may slow the progress of the device being sold.
The first iPad came out in April 2010 and customers purchased more than 300,000 on its first day of sale. In only nine months, the unit had sold at least 15 million devices, of which about half were sold during the holiday season.
The iPad 2 has some new features, such as dual-cameras, with camera-focused apps, plus it is thinner and comes in two colors: black and white. The price range is between $499 and $829, depending on the storage price and features, which is the same as the original iPad.
The countries the new iPad 2 can be bought in right now are Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. Next month, they expect to release it in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and other countries, but the Japan debut is postponed until the country can recover from the recent disasters of the earthquake and tsunami.
