iPad expected to hit UAE market by April-end

Apple's iPad touchscreen tablet computer goes on sale in the United States on Saturday – but eager early adopters in the UAE will have to wait until the end of April before it becomes available here, say retailers.

"There has been no communication yet from Apple or the distributor, but we are expecting the iPad to hit this market by the end of April," Ali Junedi, Manager of the iStyle Apple store at Dubai Mall, told Emirates Business. "There are both Wi-Fi and 3G models and we are expecting the former to be launched first, with the 3G coming later after a gap of one or two months."

The model featuring Wi-Fi wireless connectivity will be available at Apple's stores in the US from April 3 and the version with both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular connectivity will appear there in late April, said Apple. Both the Wi-Fi and 3G models will go on sale in Australia, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland in late April and in other countries later this year.

Retailers in the UAE expect the Wi-Fi model to be sold via retail channels, though the 3G version may be supplied by telecom service providers.

"We are expecting the Wi-Fi model to be sold through retail stores. On the 3G model, it is still not clear whether the retail or service provider channel will be adopted," said Junedi.

Other Apple retail partners such as iStore, Computer Direct Access and Virgin Megastore confirmed that they were expecting the new product to reach the UAE market by the end of April.

None of the retailers was able to give exact details on the pricing as six different versions are being launched globally ranging from $500 (Dh1,836) to $830. It will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models.

US customers who ordered iPads from retail stores in advance should receive the device on Saturday. Demand for the iPad has evidently greatly exceeded Apple's expectations and on Monday a notification on the online Apple Store told buyers that new orders would not be shipped until April 12 or late April, depending on the model.

Customers in the UAE, unlike those in the US, are not able to pre-order the device.

A source at Computer Direct Access said: "There are no pre-orders here, but we are expecting inquiries to start coming in next week after the launch. It is difficult to comment on the price as we have to wait for a communication from Apple."

Virgin Megastore sources were also upbeat about the launch and expected customer inquiries to start coming in next week.

IT advisory and analysis specialist Gartner is expecting the launch of the iPad to trigger a major industry shift in sales from desktop PCs to mobile devices. The firm expects sales of traditional and next-generation tablet devices to reach 10.5 million worldwide in the coming year and to account for 70 per cent of all shipments of PCs worldwide by 2012.

Principal analyst Ranjit Atwal said: "Apple's iPad is just one of many new devices coming to market that will change the entire PC ecosystem and overlap it with the mobile phone industry. This will create more opportunities for PC vendors."

Gartner Research Director George Shiffler said the PC industry was set for a dramatic shift as users looked to new and more innovative devices rather than traditional desktop machines.

"Mini-notebooks are forecast to boost mobile PC growth in 2010, but their contribution is expected to decline noticeably afterwards due to growing competition from ultra-low-voltage ultra-portables and next-generation tablets," he said.

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