[/caption]Today, Apple Inc. announced that Wi-Fi models of its iPad will be available for customers in China from Apple Retail Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. They will be available on Friday, September 17, with sales beginning at 10:00 AM. This means that all the Chinese people who have been waiting to purchase an iPad, but didn't want to buy one for up to $1000 on the "gray market" will now have a chance.
The iPads will be sold at an 18% premium over the United States price. The 16GB model will be priced at 3,988 Yuan ($590) and the 64GB model will be priced at 5,588 ($826). That's quite a bit more expensive than the United States prices that are between $499 and $699, however, I'm sure it's worth it to them. After all, it's cheaper than what they would be paying if they didn't buy it legitimately.
The Cupertino, California company plans to open an additional 25 new Apple Store is China by the end of next year, as the only have 2 currently open in the country. In China, Apple has less than 1% market share in all of the personal computer shipments. That's much less than the share they enjoy on the U.S.
The iPad may drive more customers to Apple's App Store in China. It's not as popular amoung Chinese iPhone users as users elsewhere as it isn't available in Chinese. Many iPhone users in China have opted to hack their iPhones and get pirated applications instead of having to have a dual-currency credit card, which is necessary for users to purchase apps on the App Store in China.
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Apple has a huge market available in China, they just have to hurry up and get their stores open. Also, they have declined to say when an iPad with cellular capabilities will be released in China. This would also be an important step for getting the iPad to really fly in China.
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