SAN FRANCISCO (dpa) – iPad mania soared around the world Wednesday, two days before Apple's latest tablet computer was set to go on sale. Apple said that its US stores would open two hours earlier than usual to meet the clamor for the gadget, which has already sold out in pre-orders from the company's websites. The strong demand for the tablet, which boasts a higher resolution screen and stronger processors than its genre-defining predecessors, has sent Apple stock soaring to record highs in recent days, making the company the most valuable ever with a market capitalization of some 530 billion dollars. Analysts have raised their price targets for Apple following the announcement of the new iPad, with many predicting it will shoot past the 700 dollar mark from its current level of 580 dollars. Apple is expected to sell over 1 million iPads on Friday when the device hits stores in 10 countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and Britain. Consumers in a further 25 countries, including Mexico, Spain, Ireland and Denmark, will be able to get their hands on the new iPad on March 23. Prices will match those of its predecessor, the iPad 2, starting at 499 dollars for the 16GB wi-fi only version and up to 829 dollars for a 64GB version with a 4G cellular option. Many analysts have raised their forecasts of the number of iPads Apple is expected to sell, with Cannacord Genuity predicting 2012 totals of 65.6 million units sold, up from a previous estimate of 55.9 million. For 2013 the firm predicts iPad sales of 90.6 million, up from 79.7 million in an earlier estimate. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/GRpqH Tags: iPad, Mania, Surges Section: Business, Tech, World
