Apple started online sales of its iPad 2 in the early hours before the evening store launch on Friday at all 236 Apple retail stores in the US.
Apple’s iPad 2 is thinner, faster and slightly lighter than the original. It features two cameras, the front one meant for video conferencing.
The tablet computer runs on the new dual core A5 processor and for the first time, available in white, apart from the standard black. The iPad 2 also has Apple’s latest operating system, iOS 4.3.
However, Apple has not changed the pricing of the device, with models starting at $499.
After its US launch today, the iPad 2 will hit stores in 26 other markets, including Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and the UK on March 25.
Earlier, Apple had said consumers can start buying the iPad 2 on Apple’s website at 4 a.m. ET on Friday while customers who want to purchase it in a store will have to wait until 5 p.m. (2200 GMT).
Apple’s iPad 2 is also available beginning at 5 p.m. local time at AT&T, Best Buy, Target, Verizon Wireless, Walmart and other Apple authorised resellers.
