iPad 2

India get iPad 2 in first week of May?

New reports indicate that Apple will next week announce availability of iPad 2 in India from the first week of May.

According to Boy Genius Report, a website that reports on cellphone and tablet trends, Apple will issue a press release next week, announcing availability of iPad 2 in 13 more countries. India is expected to be one of them.

According to BGR, iPad2 will be priced similar to iPad when it was originally launched in India. That means consumers will be able to buy the cheapest iPad 2 — Wi-Fi only and with 16GB storage — for around Rs 28,000. Currently, the cheapest iPad sells for Rs 24,500.

Two days ago, Apple, while declaring its financial results, revealed it had sold 4.69 million iPads in its second fiscal. Analysts said the company had sold even more units if supply constraints had not hit the operations.

If iPad2 launches in May, it will mark a welcome change from the unsavory iPad launch. Apple brought iPad in India nearly nine months after launching it in the US and several other developed countries, prompting many to say that the company was trying to dump unsold unit in India ahead of iPad 2 launch.

Samsung will start selling second-generation Galaxy S tablets in India from June. Sources say Samsung tablets have been positioned as direct competitor to iPad 2 and the move may have prompted Apple to launch its tablet relatively early in India.