Apple Ready to Launch iPad 2 in 13 More Countries

Apple COO Tim Cook said the iPad 2 is set to roll out in 13 more countries next week. He made the announcement during the Apple’s second fiscal earnings conference call on Wednesday where the the company also reported US$24.67 billion in revenue.

Apple began selling the second generation iPad in the U.S. on March 11, and quickly sold through its inventory. Customers have continued to line up to get their hands on one, and online sales are currently delayed one to two weeks.

iPad 2: Coming to a country near you!Apple’s iPad 2 will go on sale in more countries next week

“We sold 4.7 million iPads during the March quarter, launching iPad 2 in the U.S. on March 11 and in 25 additional countries on March 25,” Mr. Cook said. “Customer enthusiasm has been tremendous for iPad 2, and we are working hard to get it into the hands of customers as quickly as possible.”

He added, “We sold every iPad 2 that we could make during the quarter, and would’ve liked to end the quarter with more channel inventory.” 

Combining the original iPad and the iPad 2, Apple is selling its tablet multimedia device in 59 countries.

Apple reported selling some 4.69 million iPads in Q2, coming in at the low end of analyst expectations. The lower figure could be a result of the introduction of the second generation model and customers waiting to get ahold of the new design instead of buying the original iPad.

In comparison, Apple sold 7.33 million iPads during its first fiscal quarter, which also includes the holiday buying season.

iPad and iPad accessories sales came in at $2.8 billion even with the lower sales compared to last quarter.

“I can tell you that I’m extremely pleased with the progress of the manufacturing ramp,” Mr. Cook said. “So I’m very confident that we can produce a very large number of iPads for the quarter.”

Despite the limited availability of iPad 2 and customer frustration in getting ahold of the new tablet, Apple seems pleased with the public response.

“iPad 2 has been staggering,” Mr. Cook said. “And we are still amazed at it.”