New Apple iPads sell for nearly 2,000 US dollars in Hong Kong

Mar 14, 2011, 4:52 GMT

Hong Kong - Parallel imports of the new Apple iPad 2 computing tablet are selling in Hong Kong for up to 15,000 Hong Kong dollars (1,925 US dollars), news reports said Monday.

Electronics shops in the city, where the new version of the popular gadget is not officially available, have been selling parallel imports from the United States, where the iPad 2 went on sale only on Saturday.

Stores are offering iPad 2s at prices ranging from 7,980 to 15,000 Hong Kong dollars, more than twice the top price of 699 US dollars for the iPad 2 in the US, the South China Morning Post reported.

The highest-priced model was a white, 64 gigabyte 3G Wi-fi model, the newspaper quoted one shop as saying. Half of iPad 2 buyers are from mainland China, according to the Post.

The Hong Kong Standard quoted a shop that had 100 iPad 2s arrive Sunday morning and sold all but 20 by the end of the day.

Parallel imports are genuine products imported without the manufacturer's authorization. Apple has not yet announced when the iPad 2 will go on sale in Hong Kong.

Apple iPads and iPhones are hugely popular in Hong Kong, a wealthy city of 7 million where people are quick to snap up the latest electronic gadgets.

Read more about HongKong Technology