Apple launches global sells of new iPad

Apple Inc (AAPL) began selling its iPad 2 to queues of consumers in Australia and New Zealand today, as part of a release in 25 countries including the UK, France, Switzerland and Germany, Bloomberg reported.

Lines of hundreds of consumers in the streets of Sydney and Wellington marked the release of the device in more nations today as Apple defends its market share against rival products from companies including BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. The proportion of Apple’s sales outside of the Americas rose to 62 percent in the last fiscal year, the highest in at least seven years amid the growing popularity of iPhones in China and Asia.

The iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Singapore and additional countries in April. It was released in the U.S. on March 11, when hundreds of people queued at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York. Store workers handed out free hot chocolate and water to those waiting.