The updated version of Apple‘s iPad tablet computer went on sale in the U.S. Friday afternoon, and was greeted by the now-familiar lines of buyers outside Apple stores.
The Cupertino company opened online sales of the iPad 2 at 4 a.m. Eastern time, well before they became available in East Coast stores at 5 p.m.
When the original version of the iPad went on sale in April, Apple said it sold more than 300,000 in the first day. It ended up selling more than 15 million in the first nine months, including 7.3 million to holiday shoppers in the October-December quarter.
The new iPad model comes with several improvements over the original version but the same price tag–$499 to $829, depending on storage space and whether they can connect to the internet over a cellular network–hobbling efforts by rivals at breaking Apple’s hold on the emerging market for tablet computers.
The iPad 2 looks much like the first iPad, only with a sleeker, lighter body with a curved back. Among changes is the inclusion of cameras for videoconferencing, one on the front and one on the back.
With the original iPad, Apple proved there is a large market for a tablet that’s less than a laptop and more than a smart phone, yet performs many of the same tasks. Competitors including Dell and Samsung have been trying to lure consumers with smaller tablets, without much success. In February, Motorola Mobility’s Xoom went on sale with a new version of Google’s Android software that was designed for tablets, not smart phones.
To underscore the importance of the iPad to Apple, company CEO Steve Jobs emerged from a medical leave earlier this month to unveil the new version to bloggers and Apple enthusiasts. Jobs, 56, announced in January that he would take a third leave of absence to focus on his health. In the last decade, he has survived a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer and undergone a liver transplant.
After its U.S. launch Friday, the iPad 2 goes on sale March 25 in 26 other markets, including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and other European countries.
