As consumers lined up around city streets to buy the iPad 3, one firm that took the device apart said Qualcomm (QCOM.O), Broadcom (BRCM.O), and Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) had all held onto their prized roles as key parts suppliers.
Apple's own outlets were beaten to the punch for the first store sales by Australian phone company Telstra (TLS.AX), which started selling in Sydney and Melbourne just after midnight, eight hours before Apple's flagship stores opened.
David Tarasenko, a 34-year-old construction manager who was the first to pick up the iPad from Telstra, said ever since Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook revealed the tablet's third iteration, he couldn't wait to get one.
"When Tim Cook announced it, it sounded like such a magical tool. I just got hyped into it, I guess," he said.
Others were happy to wait for the Apple flagship Sydney store to open, and by morning the queue outside had snaked around a city block.
"I've come from Hong Kong because this model is not available in Hong Kong. The features are very revolutionary," second-in-queue Bob Cheung told Reuters.
"I've got the first one and I skipped the second one. This is a big difference form the first one. The processing speed, memory, graphical capabilities and everything like that," said another customer, Michael Kelly.
Crowds were down on previous Apple launches, but there was still excitement as stores opened. The buzz helped propel its shares to record highs in U.S. trade on Thursday, with Apple stock touching a high of $600.01 before easing back.
It peaked half an hour after the first iPad went on sale in Australia, extending the market worth of the world's most valuable company to almost $560 billion. Only a month earlier, it had crossed $500. The stock has jumped 45 percent this year.
At the closing price of $585.56, the stock is still more expensive than the $499 starting price for a Wi-Fi-only iPad. (Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment