Apple's much anticipated iPad 2 tablet computer will be available in Oman from the first week of April, following its official international launch on Friday.

The iPad 2, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras for video chat, was introduced in the United States on March 11.

Retail outlets in Oman have already worked out the price but will sell only the Wi-Fi version initially. “We do not have the confirmation about the release date but hopefully stocks will be available in the market in the first week of April.

We are expecting to start receiving deliveries from Hong Kong,” said Amir Khan, head of buying operations at Emax Oman.

 “There is a huge demand and a shortage of supply of the 3G models in the US market, so only Wi-Fi models will be available here initially. 3G versions will be available a bit later,” said Khan.

There is a lot of excitement and interest surrounding the new iPad in the sultanate as well, he added.

After the launch of the iPad 2, deliveries of the first generation iPad have been discontinued.

The existing stocks of the first-version iPad in stores are being sold at lower prices. The prices of rival Samsung's Galaxy Tab were also reduced last week.

“There would not be an immediate effect of iPad 2 on the sale of the Galaxy Tab as the availability is a big issue in the US market for this Apple device.

Price correction depends on market dynamics. Last week, we revised  the price of the 32GB model of Galaxy Tab to RO299 from RO315 and the 16GB model to RO260 from RO275,” said Ajay Ganti, CEO, Al Seeb Technical Establishment (SARCO), a distributor of Samsung products.

Ganti added that Samsung will launch the new 10.1” version of the Galaxy Tab in May in the Gulf region. source:muscatdaily.com