New Delhi: It's official. The second generation of the world's best selling tablet computer, the Apple iPad is officially landing in India on April 29. Apple announced that it is launching the iPad 2 in 12 more countries, including India, this week. The iPad 2 will start selling in Japan on April 28 and on April 29 in India and nine other countries.
In India the iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available for Rs 29,500 for the 16GB model, Rs 34,500 for the 32GB model and Rs 39,500 for the 64GB model. iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of Rs 36,900 for the 16GB model, Rs 41,900 for the 32GB model and Rs 46,900 for the 64GB model.
Even before Apple announced the official release of the iPad 2 for India, it was already available in the Indian market through online shopping sites, such as HomeShop18.com, and a number of retail vendors.
The iPad 2 is thinner than the iPhone 4, twice as fast as the first generation iPad and is also camera-equipped for taking photos and video chatting. The battery life is also the same as the original - about 10 hours of usage and a month on standby.
The iPad 2 was launched on March 11 in the US and went on sale in 26 other markets from March 26. Apple has been criticised for its delayed releases in the Indian market, often only months before the company announces a new generation of the product. With a relatively early release in India, Apple could be making amends to appease consumers and sceptics in one of the world's largest growing markets for consumer electronics.
Apple sold 4.7 million iPads of both kinds in its latest quarter. Apple launched the original iPad last April, and it's turned out to be the first really successful tablet computer. The company has sold 19.5 million iPads through the latest quarter. According to Apple the demand for iPads is greater than the supply and the company couldn't manufacture the new iPads fast enough.
The rush for iPads sparked dozens of copycat touch-screen devices, but so far, none have broken into the mainstream consciousness the way the iPad has.
Apple's iPad is expected to continue to dominate the tablet market, controlling more than half of the tablet market for the next three years, but its share is seen gradually declining to 47 per cent in 2015 from 69 per cent this year, giving way to Android devices.
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