Apple confirms iPad 2 on track for March 25 international launch

Despite continued sellouts of the iPad 2 in the U.S., an Apple spokesperson has confirmed that the international launch of the touchscreen tablet will proceed as planned on Friday, March 25, a new report claims.

"Everything that is on [Apple's U.K.] website still holds true; the website says 25 March and that's when it'll be," an Apple spokesperson told TechRadar.com earlier this week.

Rumors that Apple would delay the international launch of the iPad 2 were fueled last week by immediate sellouts of new shipments of the device and long lines that continued in the week after launch. Last week, analyst Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities questioned whether Apple would be able to produce enough iPad 2 units to launch in more than two dozen countries this Friday after checks to several key Apple Stores.

Also stoking speculation of iPad 2 delays were reports of supply chain disruption caused by a massive earthquake in Japan that took place earlier this month. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster told investors last week that the production status from Apple's Japanese-based component suppliers remained unclear, with many partners unable to accurately quantify the extent of their damage.

Late last week, a report from iSuppli identified five components in the Pad 2 that are likely sourced from Japan: NAND flash from Toshiba Corp., DRAM made by Elphida Memory Inc., an electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor, a touchscreen overlay glass likely from Asahi Glass Co. and a system battery from Apple Japan. The report noted that while some of the suppliers' facilities were undamaged, "delivery of components from all of these companies is likely to be impacted at least to some degree by logistical issues now plaguing most Japanese industries in the quake zone."

Apple announced last week that it is delaying the launch of the iPad 2 in Japan "while the country and [Apple's] teams focus on recovering from the recent disaster."

The iPad 2 is scheduled to go on sale March 25 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. According to Apple, launch dates and pricing for further international launches will be announced at a later date.

Last year, overwhelming initial demand for the original iPad forced Apple to delay the first-generation tablet's international launch by a month. The company went on to sell 15 million iPads from April to December 2010.

IPad 2's Bill of Materials Close to First IPad * Article * Stock Quotes * Comments more in Tech »

Apple Inc.'s latest iteration of its popular iPad is new and improved—but its parts cost about the same as the first version of the tablet device, according to a researcher who dissected the product.

The iPad 2's 32-gigabyte model with a GSM/HSPA air standard carries a bill of materials totaling $326.60, while the 32-gigabyte version equipped with a CDMA air standard has a materials bill of $323.25, according to IHS iSuppli. That compares with a $320 bill of materials for the first-generation 32-gigabyte iPad, based on April 2010 pricing.

Much has been made of late of Apple's ability to price the iPad lower than many competing tablets, helping to keep the California computing giant's device floating at the top of a growing list of competitors.

"Despite the obvious changes to iPad like the enclosure and the battery and the less obvious changes in the touch screen, the iPad 2's components and design are remarkably similar if not the same as those of the iPad 1," said Andrew Rassweiler, teardown-services manager for IHS.

He noted that many components "have the same suppliers and are essentially new revisions of the chips found in the previous iPad and other iPhones."

The iPad 2 flew off the shelves in its first weekend on the market: It was introduced Friday evening and by Sunday, Apple's online store was showing a shipping delay of three to four weeks for all versions of the device.

Analysts put sales of the new iPad in a range of 400,000 to 600,000 units during its first three days on the market, about the same range as the original model sold in its first week.

Write to Nathan Becker at nathan.becker@dowjones.com

Analyst: iPad 2 Already Sold Out

Apple began selling its new iPad 2 at 5PM on Friday, March 11, and by Saturday it appears the company’s entire inventory of the multimedia tablet was already sold out. Every retailer Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster checked with over the weekend was out of stock, and he estimates between 400,000 and 500,000 units were sold,according to Fortune.

“We believe this shows Apple is expanding its base of iPad users, which is critical to maintaining its early lead in the growing tablet market,” Mr. Munster said. “As the user base grows Apple’s lead widens, and the company has a proven track record of building unmatched brand loyalty, which

About half of the iPad 2 buying crowd were PC owners (49 percent), based on interviews Mr. Munster and his team conducted at Apple Stores in New York City and Minneapolis. In comparison, about 26 percent of the original iPad launch weekend buyers owned PCs.

The number of first time buyers was fairly high at 70 percent, and some 17 percent of iPad 2 buyers said they plan to use third-party apps and games on their device. During the original iPad launch only 9 percent of buyers said they planned to use third-party apps.

Nearly half (47 percent) of the opening weekend customers were buying 3G-capable iPad models, and 65 percent already owned an iPhone.

Shoppers hoping to avoid long waits in stores for iPads won’t have any better luck ordering online. Apple’s Web-based store showed a three week wait time only hours after opening up for iPad 2 sales early Friday morning, and that shipping delay had crept up four weeks by Monday morning.

Apple introduced the iPad 2 at a special media event earlier this month. The device includes a 9.7-inch display, front and rear-facing digital cameras, a dual-core 1GHz A5 processor, faster graphics, a built-in gyroscope, built-in Wi-Fi wireless network support, support for GSM and CDMA 3G wireless data networks, and is thinner than the original iPad.

Apple is currently trading in the pre-market at US$352.40, up 0.41 (0.14%).

we believe will be a potent combination as the tablet market evolves.”