Global Biz

iPad makes splashy international debut

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-28 10:45

Takechiyo Yamanaka, 19, who has been waiting in line to purchase Apple's iPad since Wednesday, reads a magazine in front of Apple Ginza store in Tokyo May 27, 2010. [Agencies]

Sales Gallop

Analysts said the iPad was sure to match the success seen in the US in overseas markets, helped by a large base of Apple fans who already own the iPod or iPhone.

RBC Capital Markets estimates iPad's total shipments will reach 8.13 million units worldwide by the end of this year. Apple does not provide iPad sales forecasts.

But analysts also warned Apple may struggle to supply enough of the device and noted competition from faces a spate of competitors set to significantly expand the number of rival offerings in the tablet market this year.

"It's a little bit hard to say because there's still going to be supply constraint, but I'm expecting them to sell every single thing they can ship," Andy Hargreaves, a US-based analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said ahead of the overseas launch.

On Tuesday, Dell unveiled its Streak tablet computer that can double as a mobile phone and will have a front-facing camera for videoconferencing. Sony Corp said on Thursday it would launch an e-reader in Japan by year-end.

Application providers and telecoms firms in Japan are closely watching the arrival of iPad for business opportunities.

In Japan, where 476,000 iPads are expected to be shipped this year, according to RBC, Apple suspended taking pre-orders of the device after only three days due to a supply shortage.

Dentsu Inc, Japan's top advertising firm, which operates an online book store to distribute magazines such as Newsweek Japan to smart phones including the iPhone, plans to distribute content to the iPad.

NTT Docomo, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, will sell wireless LAN routers for the iPad's Wi-Fi connection next month to rival No.3 operator Softbank, which exclusively provides 3G networks for iPad.