NEW YORK (dpa): Shares in Apple soared past 600 dollars for the first time Thursday amid strong demand for the company's new iPad, which goes on sale in 10 countries this week. Hundreds of people crowded the Apple store on Sydney's George Street in a bid to become the first customer in the world to get the new tablet computer, which boasts a sharper screen, better camera and stronger processors than its predecessor, the iPad 2. The stock milestone was reached just a month after Apple's shares passed the 500-dollar mark and reflected analysts' optimism about strong sales of the new device and other Apple products driving the company's revenues and profits even higher. The stock is now up almost 50 per cent on the year. The iPad sold out last week in pre-orders from the company's websites and Apple is opening its stores in the United States two hours earlier than usual to meet demand. Analysts have raised their price targets for Apple following the announcement of the iPad, with many predicting it will shoot past the 700-dollar-mark. Apple is expected to sell over 1 million iPads on Friday, when the device hits stores in the US, 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 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. Cannacord Genuity predicts 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/gA8Ot Tags: Apple, iPad, Soars, Stock Section: Business, Latest News, Tech, World
