Asian iPad 2 launches greeted with long lineups
updated 11:40 am EDT, Fri April 29, 2011
Japanese debut previously postponed after quake
Asian launches of the iPad 2 were met with long lines on Thursday, reports say. The most significant of these may be in Japan, which was first slated to get the tablet on March 25th, but had the introduction delayed because of the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the north on March 11th. By the time Apple Japan's flagship Ginza store opened at 9AM on Thursday, the iPad 2 lineup was reportedly three blocks long.
Agence France-Presse notes that in Hong Kong, around 400 people waited in the rain outside one store. Mall staff are said to have have handed out raincoats to people who had forgot an umbrella. Some of the buyers may have been gray marketeers, however, as several groups are said to have piled as many as a dozen iPads into shopping trolleys. AFP adds that Apple's online store for Hong Kong was out of stock by midday.
Other Asia-Pacific launches are occurring in Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and South Korea. One Singapore reseller is noted to have had only 100 iPads in stock. In South Korea, 100 people lined up at the central Seoul outlet of carrier KT. Elsewhere in the world India, Israel, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are getting the device.
