Apple starts iPad2 sales in China

Apple Inc. started selling the latest version of its iPad tablet computer in China, as the world’s most valuable technology company fends off competition from products offered by local rivals including Lenovo Group Ltd.

According to Bloomberg News, hundreds of people waited in line outside Apple’s store in Shanghai’s Lujiazui financial district before the 8 am opening time.

The store sold out of the white-coloured version of iPad2 with 16 gigabytes of memory within hours.

Apple is offering the iPad2 in China, home to its highest-grossing stores worldwide, as demand in the US for the upgraded product surpassed the first version since its debut in March.

The Cupertino, California-based company faces increasing competition in China from local vendors of smartphones and tablets including Lenovo and ZTE Corp., according to Shan Chao, an analyst at BDA China, which advises companies.

“They previously had the market all to themselves, but now rival products have sprung up,” Shan said by telephone from Beijing on Friday. “The new upgrades will help Apple, which is already leading local products in terms of technology.”

The new iPad, which comes in white and black, is lighter, thinner, includes a more powerful processor and front and rear cameras, and sells from 3,688 yuan ($568), according to Apple’s China website.

Apple’s stores in China generate, on average, the highest traffic and highest revenue of any company stores in the world, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a January 18 earnings call.