For many of us, the launch of Apple’s new iPad device seems like an age away. The early adopters have spent the last six weeks enjoying the Retina display, quad-core GPU, LTE connectivity and the iSight camera which collectively equate to a pretty substantial upgrade.
So spare a thought, then, for our friends residing in China, who, despite taking most of the production responsibilities, has yet to see an official launch date – despite the nine countries added today bringing the grand total to 57. What is now the fourth wave of the 3rd-gen iPad launch sees Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand stores stocked with Apple’s latest and greatest tablet device.
The release of the device throughout many parts of the world has really helped Apple continue its incredible exponential sales growth, with its latest progress report revealing almost 12 million iPads have been sold worldwide in the last quarter. With in excess of 35 million iPhones also shifted in this time – a large chunk of which retailed in China, it’s certainly surprising that the world’s most populous nation has yet to see the new iPad.
There are a variety of reasons which could go lengths to explain why China appears to have been given the cold shoulder. In an ironic turn of events, Chinese officials declared in February that Proview owned the iPad trademark, and the native outfit was then seen to be seeking a block on iPad sales throughout the country. With Apple always so quick to drag rivals through the courts on patent and intellectual property complaints, it was an incident viewed by many as the Cupertino company perhaps receiving its due comeuppance.
Not withstanding, Apple never seems to be in a particular rush to deliver products to the Asian country, and the device isn’t cleared to launch regardless of any lingering legal issues. The Wi-Fi version of the new iPad is thought have passed the necessary processes required before an official release, but the cellular offering has apparently yet to pass certification.
With much of the Chinese market leaning increasingly towards Apple’s range of products, the delay does give Tim Cook’s company a sufficient amount of time to prepare the numbers for what will undoubtedly be high demand.
(via TNW)
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