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IPad 2 hits overseas stores after US sellout

Updated: 2011-03-25 14:18

(Agencies)

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WELLINGTON/SYDNEY - Hundreds of customers lined up outside Apple stores in Australia and New Zealand on Friday for the international launch of the iPad 2, which has flown off the shelves in the United States leaving the company struggling to meet demand.

IPad 2 hits overseas stores after US sellout
Customers stand in line outside Apple's flagship 5th Avenue store to purchase iPad 2 tablets in New York, March 16, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

Analysts forecast some 1 million devices may have been sold in the first weekend of the launch in the United States, but many warn that it's not clear how supply constraints will affect availability following the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The iPad 2, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras for video chat, was introduced in the United States on March 11. But some would-be buyers have expressed frustration at how difficult it has been to secure one of the wildly popular tablet computers, sparking speculation Apple misjudged demand.

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It went on sale in New Zealand at 0400 GMT. One store in Wellington was allocated just 12 of the gadgets and they were snapped up in a matter of minutes.

Sales kick off in Australia at 0600 GMT and then roll out to other countries including France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain.

"If it wasn't for the iPad, I wouldn't be in Australia right now," said Alex Lee, a backpacker from Canada, who was the first in the queue outside the glass-fronted Apple store in Sydney's central business district. He said he diverted his travels from Singapore to attend the launch.

"It's like a habit. I've also lined up on Regent Street in London for the iPhone", added Lee, who had a folding chair and blanket and had spent two nights waiting.

Apple staff in Sydney, dressed in the company's blue branded shirts ,handed out trays of sandwiches to those in the queue, some of whom had bedded down on blankets overnight before being awoken by bright sunshine.

Its retail price in Australia starts at A$579 ($568), against $499 in the United States. The iPad 1 started selling in Australia from A$629 when it was launched.

In Wellington, staff at electronics retailer JB HiFi said they had only received about a dozen iPad 2s and they were snapped up in about 10 minutes. A sales assistant said the store did know when the next delivery would come in.

IPad 2 hits overseas stores after US sellout
Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs introduces the iPad 2 on stage during an Apple event in San Francisco March 2, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

The first iPad, which went on sale a year ago, sold 500,000 units in the first week and crossed the 1 million unit mark in 28 days. Nearly 15 million iPads were sold in nine months of 2010, two or three times as many as analysts had predicted. 

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said on Tuesday the company was "working hard to build enough iPads for everyone."

Fiona Martin, a spokeswoman for Apple in Australia, declined to comment on whether there was enough stock to meet demand.

"We don't comment on speculation, we've got plenty down there for all those folk that are in the queue."

A prospective buyer in Wellington, 22-year-old student Ian MacDonald, said he had held off buying the first generation iPad because it lacked a camera and he wanted any bugs ironed out.

"This version looks way better, with the cameras and it beats all the other tablets because there are so many apps (applications)," he said.

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