Apple's iPad launches in China

Analysts predict strong demand for the iPad in China, the world's largest internet market.


Afp September 17, 2010

BEIJING:


Hundreds queued up Friday for launch of Apple's iPad in China after months of grey-market action among avid buyers unwilling to wait for the Apple tablet.

In Shanghai, up to 200 people queued outside the underground Apple store which opened in July. Apple plans to have 25 new stores in China by the end of next year. The first Shanghai buyer, Ma Ya, a 46-year-old art dealer, said he had been waiting since 1:00 pm on Thursday for his chance to snare a new iPad.

Apple stores in Beijing and Shanghai as well as authorised retailers around the country began offering the Wi-Fi model of the touchscreen device, millions of which have already been sold in the United States and a dozen other nations. Analysts predicted strong demand for the iPad despite a paucity of Chinese content and the country's huge unofficial market for Apple products, which are slipped in from Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States and resold.

At the US tech giant's Beijing store, Han Ziwen, 35, said he had camped out for 60 hours to ensure he was first in line when the flagship outlet's doors opened at 8:00 am. Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with "I buy iPad No. 1", the bookstore owner held two iPads above his head in a victory sign as hundreds of people standing in the rain cheered.

The 16-gigabyte, Wi-Fi version of the iPad costs 3,988yuan ($593), compared to 499 dollars in the United States. The more expensive 64GB version is priced at 5,588 yuan.  Apple has not said when the 3G-equipped version will go on sale in China, the world's biggest Internet market. China Unicom, the country's second-largest mobile operator which already offers the iPhone, says it is interested in joining forces for the iPad.

The iPad -- which made its US debut in April -- allows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books. However, observers say one hurdle to the iPad is that access to content is difficult for many Chinese users. Apple's App Store is not available in Chinese and users must have dual-currency credit cards to make purchases. But Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, said social kudos, not applications, are what most Chinese want from their iPad. "People are buying this more for style and fashion. It just looks cool," Rein told AFP.

Charles Zhou, 30, an online transaction operator for a fund management company in Shanghai, said he got up early Friday to buy the device. "I saw my boss using one and it looks pretty good," he said.

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