Apple to Launch New iPad in China July 20th – Domination Efforts Begin

Apple has made the announcement that the new iPad will at long last launch across the Chinese market later this month on July 20^th – a product launch thought to be something of a precursor to a full-scale invasion by Apple of one of the largest and indeed the fastest growing of all technology markets in the world today.

A full four months after the new iPad saw its official release in the US, the Chinese iteration will carry exactly the same $499 to $828 price-tag, Apple confirmed by way of official statement this week.

Explosion in Demand

Interest in consumer technology has exploded in China over recent years, propelling the country to second-position in terms of available consumer markets. As general standards of living and disposable income levels rise across the country, more and more Chinese consumers are investing in iPhones and iPads than ever before.

In fact, for the second quarter of 2012, the Chinese market was responsible for nearly $8 billion of Apple’s total $39 billion revenue – marking a 300% increase over the same quarter in 2011. As such, Apple appears to be sidestepping something of a general economic slowdown across the country as reported by other technology giants including Advanced Micro Devices, which has recently cut down its financial projections for the year as a whole.

The release of the new iPad has come along at perhaps the ideal time, as any further delays may have seen the Google Nexus 7 or the Amazon Kindle Fire 2 arrive first and take a serious bite out of the enormously lucrative tablet PC market in China.

Failure to Launch

Apple’s recent track record of product launches in China has not exactly been favorable, though it appears past lessons have been heeded in the case of the new iPad. Just last year, the iPhone 4S launch was marred with unmitigated chaos when stock shortages and frenzies crowds led to heated stand-offs and Apple stores being vandalized – ultimately resulting in police intervention.

According to Apple’s statement, any buyer wishing to take home a new iPad will have to reserve theirs in advance and none will be made initially available directly from store shelves. They also suggested that a close eye will be kept on resellers and third-party distributors in the early days.

iPad sales account for no less than 17% of all Apple product sales on a global basis, bettered only by the iPhone. Rumor has it that Apple is also gearing up to launch the very first 4G LTE iPhone in conjunction with China Mobile later this fall – a network which serves over 600 million subscribers across the Greater China region.