Believe it or not, the Apple iPad is selling like hotcakes in some Asian countries despite the fact that it is not yet officially available in those countries. PC World, via Yahoo News is reporting that the iPad appears to be selling well in Asia despite the fact that Apple’s official release won’t be happening until end of May.
The report also mentioned about two stores near Taipei’s main electronic Bazaar which are both selling iPad units. And guess what, the two stores are not even competing with each other so much so that one doesn’t even need to lower the iPad’s price. Â No matter how pricey the mark up they put on the iPad, it will still sell – like hotcakes. In fact, the store owners want to buy some more because demand is becoming too much as against the supply.
Any idea how much these two stores in Taipei are selling the iPad? Hold your breath folks because the 16GB iPad WiFi sells for around $800, $925 for the 32GB WiFi and $1,020 for the 64GB. In Apple Store U.S. , the prices of these iPads are only $499, $599 and $699.
Interestingly, despite the unavailability of official distributorship, estimates of iPads sold outside the U.S. are already around tens of thousands.
What’s even more surprising is the fact that Asians still buy the iPad despite some possible setbacks of having an unofficially released iPad. Â For one thing, there will be no available technician and in case they encounter problems with their iPad, they have no choice but to send it back to Apple.
Aside from Taipei? Where else could the iPad has possibly arrived? In the country where I am right now, there are probably less than 500 owners of the iPad right now.
Originally posted on April 22, 2010 @ 11:16 am