The iPad 2 is a phenomenal tablet. The successor to Apple's magical tablet has certainly taken the world by storm and now residents of mainland China won't have to throng to fake Apple stores in order get their fix of the 3G iPad 2. Apple has been granted permission to officially sell the 3G iPad 2 in China.
The particular 3G iPad 2 that Apple will sell bears model number A1396 and is compatible with the WCDMA network provided by China Unicom Ltd. Previously Apple was not allowed to sell 3G iPad 2 in China, only the wi-fi models were allowed to be sold until the authorities in China certified Apple to officially begin selling the 3G iPad 2.
China's Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center has issued the network access license needed by Apple to officially begin the sale of 3G iPad 2 in China. As previously mentioned, the iPad 2 will be compatible with the 3G standard WCDMA provided by China Unicom, which also happens to be the local iPhone selling partner of Apple. China Unicom has been rumoured to take its business with Apple to the next level by allowing its users to buy iPhone 5 starting November 2011.
For a brief while yesterday, the 3G iPad 2 went up for sale on the Chinese website of Apple. Shipping was estimated to take around 2-3 weeks but recent reports indicate that this product listing has since then be removed from the website. Regardless of that, it looks like Apple is doing the best it can to defeat the wide variety of fake Apple stores that have cropped up in China. In the humongous IFC mall of Hong Kong, it is said that Apple is gearing up to unveil its latest retail store. At the moment, Apple has four fully functional retail stores in mainland China which obviously are not enough owing to the increasing demand of Apple products in the country and hence the advent of fake Apple stores and smuggled Apple products.
This market holds promise for Apple and the company has been trying its best to tap in to it. According to an estimate, Apple has earned a total profit of $3.8 billion from the Chinese market only through sales of the iPhone and the iPad in particular. The 3G iPad 2 in China will only see more sales because it is now compatible with the second largest mobile network of the country.
So who's getting one?