Global Biz

iPad makes splashy international debut

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-28 10:45

Hans-Henrik Duessel from Svendborg, Denmark, displays his old Apple Macintosh Classic computer from 1990 beside his newly purchased Apple iPad after being among the first to purchase the new device during an iPad launch event at the Apple retail store in Hamburg May 28, 2010. [Photo/Agencies]

Apple Inc's iPad made its overseas debut on Friday, with buyers storming Japanese and Australian shops to be among the first outside the United States to snap up the long-awaited tablet PC.

The device, which has a 9.7-inch color touchscreen for surfing the Web, watching movies, playing games and reading e-books, also goes on sale in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the UK and Canada later on Friday.

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At Apple's flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, about 1,200 people lined up before the store opened at 8 a.m.

"I wanted to touch it as soon as possible. I felt a true excitement when it was finally in my hands," said Takechiyo Yamanaka, a 19-year-old who camped out in front of the Ginza store from Wednesday evening to be the first in line.

Apple has sold a million iPads in the US since its April 3 debut, exceeding even the most bullish pre-launch estimates. Demand was so heavy the company had to delay the international roll-out by a month.

Enthusiasm for the iPad in Japan, the world's second-largest economy, is good news for Apple as international sales are increasingly important for the maker of the Macintosh computer and iPhone.

An iPad model with 16 gigabytes of memory and WiFi-capability is selling for 48,800 yen ($537) in Japan, compared with $499 in the US.

Apple gets almost three-fifths of its revenue from overseas now, and is seeing stunning growth in Europe and Asia.

On Wednesday, Apple shot past Microsoft Corp as the world's biggest technology company based on market value, the latest milestone in the resurgence of the maker of the iPhone, which nearly went out of business in the 1990s.

A man wearing a costume representing the iPad waits to buy an iPad at an Apple store in Tokyo May 28, 2010. [Agencies]