New iPads reach HK market

Like victors in a sporting event, each person who managed to get a new iPad was cheered and applauded by Hong Kong Apple Store workers on Friday, the first day the tablet was available to consumers.

Some who hoped to be among the first to take a bite of the new Apple entered a drawing on the company's website, others waited in long lines at stores.

"This one is for my friend in Hangzhou, because it's still hard to get the new iPad on the Chinese mainland," said a consumer surnamed Zhang, who won the right to buy the tablet in the drawing. He bought a 32 gigabyte new iPad, priced at HK$4,688 ($604), for his friend in the capital of Zhejiang province. It's not known when the new iPad will be sold on the mainland.

Apple Inc started selling the new iPad on Friday in more than 10 countries and regions, including Hong Kong.

Not all of the customers wanted them for personal use. Scalpers were out in force on Friday, trying to score the tablets at the Apple Store and from other retailers.

Meanwhile, the Guangdong Provincial High People's Court is still handling the trademark dispute between Apple and Proview Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd, and some local governments have started confiscating Apple iPads, generating concern that the company's newest product won't be available on the Chinese mainland's market.

While potential customers may have worried about the legal dispute, scalpers and gray-market vendors were uncertain they could meet the overwhelming demand for the new iPad.