iPad 2s sell out in minutesBy Asina Pornwasin
The Nation 2011-05-07The iPad 2 was launched in Thailand yesterday, with the first 100 iPad 2s at iStudio in Siam Discovery selling out within minutes.Pichai Vipapan, branch manager of iStudio Siam Discovery, said people were queuing to buy iPad 2s for two hours before the shop opened. All had purchase orders in their hands, and all of the shop's initial lot was sold out shortly after it opened at 11am.
"We do not know about our next allocation - either how many units we'll get or when the next lot will be available at the shop. Demand for iPad 2 is bigger than for the iPad, as the time period for the official launch of iPad 2 in Thailand has been faster when compared with the official launch of the iPad five months ago," Pichai said.
He added that the best-known iPad 2 model was the white 32GB 3G model.
Kriangsak Chamadol was the first iPad 2 buyer at iStudio Siam Discovery. He was first in the queue at the shop from 5pm on Thursday.
Kriangsak owns a games shop in the Digital Gateway building. He bought two white Wi-Fi iPad 2s, a 32- and a 64-gigabyte model, one for himself and one for his sister.
"I do not have an iPad, but when I heard that iPad 2 would be available in Thailand I decided to get one. I would like to play games on the iPad 2, as currently many games are being developed for it," he said.
"I am a game lover and I think I would like to get experience using the iPad 2. I have an iPhone 4. That's why I do not need a 3G iPad 2, as I can log on to the Internet in areas without Wi-Fi networks via iPhone 4," said Kriangsak.
He added that he had not slept all night. He updated his Facebook status with his movements and photos, from arriving at the queue at 5pm on Thursday to his successful purchase yesterday morning.
The second and third buyers at the store were in the queue from 3am yesterday. Most people started to arrive in the queue in the early morning.
The iPad 2 is available in Thailand at iStudio, U-Store, Apple Shop in Power Buy, Power Mall and Banana IT.
The prices of iPad 2 Wi-Fi models with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage are Bt15,900, Bt18,900 and Bt21,900 respectively.
The prices of 3G models with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of storage are Bt19,900, Bt22,900 and Bt25,900 respectively.
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