Steve Jobs announced the availability of iPad 2 from March 25th onwards for countries other than USA during the launch event in San Francisco. Apple’s anticipated iPad 2 is now available in Dubai and Japan’s “Grey Markets”, almost a week before the official international launch of the tablet computer. In Dubai, high demand and limited supplies have already pushed prices up, by as much as Dh700 above the original rate in just one day on some models. Yesterday prices ranged from Dh3,900 for the 16gb Wi-Fi model to Dh7,000 for the 64gb 3G version. The comparable US prices are US$499 (Dh1,832) and $829. Currently, only the gadget store Tarsam Image – which has a stall in Marina Mall and a shop and micro-stall in Mall of the Emirates – has a substantial supply of the device. The iPads are being kept in locked cabinets, away from prying hands, and customers are not allowed to try them before they buy. “We have got both black and white versions and they are proving very popular,” said a Mall of the Emirates Tarsam shop assistant, who did not want to be named. “People seem to be really going for the white model at the moment, particularly the 32 and 64gb 3G. We have all the models except the 64gb Wi-Fi version and we’re not sure when we will get our next delivery,” she added. The Tarsam stall in Marina Mall had only the 16gb and 32gb Wi-Fi versions of the product. On the other hand, catastrophic conditions in Japan are not stopping retailers to procure iPad 2 for early adopters by importing them from US well before time, like Dubai and HongKong, US version of iPad 2 have now started appearing in stores in Japan’s Grey markets which are being sold for more than double. As reported, the price ranges from 79,800 yen to 138,000 yen for iPad 2 Wi-Fi 16GB (white / black), iPad 2 32GB (black), iPad 2 3G model is 64GB (white). Apple Wi-Fi 16GB iPad 2 79,800 yen (about $990) Apple Wi-Fi 32GB Black iPad 2 89,800 (about $1110) Apple Wi-Fi 3G 64GB White iPad 2 138,000 (about $1710) iPad 2 was expected to be released on March 25 (Friday) but due to the earthquake in northeastern Pacific Ocean, the release has been postponed. Even the new release date is undecided. The iPad 2 currently in circulation in Japanese market is being imported from USA and many retailers’ claims to have sold it on day one. As usual, stay tuned by following us on our new Facebook page, Twitter, and/or subscribing to our RSS feed. Related Posts: Authors:

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