Coming March 16, the new iPad will be available for retail. Apple stores throughout the world are opening 8am sharp regardless of the time zone to accommodate customers who want to grab one. The announcement came from Apple itself to avoid confusion. No matter where you are in the world, you can skip breakfast, line up at the nearest Apple store, and be one of the first people in the world to have the new iPad. Those who pre-ordered won’t get their tablets until March 19th. Meanwhile, if you order via Apple stores online, you have to wait two to three weeks based on the new shipping schedule.
This Friday, the new iPad will be available for retail in the following regions:
• Asia: Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore
• Europe: France, Germany, Switzerland, and UK
• North America: Canada, US, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands
• Australia
In the US, Apple Authorized Resellers like RadioShack, Verizon, and AT&T will also have the new iPad available for retail. Their opening hours will probably be the same. Wi-Fi models in both black and white are to be sold in selected regions. The suggested retail price for Wi-Fi only iPads are as follows:
• USD $499 for 16GB model
• USD $599 for 32GB model
• USD $699 for 64GB model
Wi-Fi + 4G models of the new iPad will also be sold worldwide in black and white with the following pricing details:
• USD $629 for 16GB model
• USD $729 for 32GB model
• USD $829 for 64GB model
By March 23, retail availability of the new iPad will expand to 23 more countries. That includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. Apple stores will open 8am local time in these countries to accommodate customers.
The new iPad features Retina Display, a dual-core A5X chip with quad-core graphics, a 5-megapixel camera, and 4G connectivity if you opt for LTE models. It set the bar as the highest-resolution device.
