•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Diehard fans mobbed Apple stores in Asia and Europe as the iPad tablet computer went on sale outside the United States for the first time on Friday.

The device, a little smaller than a letter-size sheet and with a color touchscreen, is designed for surfing the Web, watching movies and reading. It has been hailed by the publishing industry as a potential life-saver.

Apple has sold a million iPads in the United States since its April 3 debut, exceeding the most bullish pre-launch estimates. Demand was so heavy the company delayed the international launch by a month.

RBC Capital Markets estimated the iPad’s total shipments would reach 8.13 million units worldwide by the end of the year.

“I wanted to touch it as soon as possible. I felt real excitement when it was finally in my hands,” said Takechiyo Yamanaka, 19, who had camped out in front of Tokyo’s flagship Apple store on Wednesday evening to be the first in line.

In Indonesia, no date has been set for the launch of the iPad, but gadget buffs are already able to buy it on the gray market. Dwi S, a store manager at EMAX, Apple’s official retailer, said she was expecting delivery of the iPad some time around September.

She expected the price to be about Rp 7 million ($756) for the Wi-Fi model to Rp 10 million for the top-of-the-line 3G version.

Hoesin, who owns a small electronics store in Plaza Semanggi shopping mall, said he had sold two “black market” iPads brought in by friends from the United States over the past month. He said he sold the devices, which did not come with official warranties, for about Rp 7.5 million each.

Another small vendor, Andi, said he had two gray-market iPads in stock. “The demand is not high compared with other products. But we try to have it available if someone wants to buy it,” Andi said, adding that he had sold three iPads in the past month.

Meanwhile in Munich, Anna Kistner said as she emerged from an Apple store with two iPads: “It’s a bit of a gut decision, an emotional decision, because it’s not really rationally justifiable. It’s a lot of money.”

The iPad is now on sale in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Britain, Japan and Australia, and went on sale in Canada late on Friday. Prices for the cheapest version range from $499 in the United States to the equivalent of $617 in Britain.

The buzz around the iPad helped propel Apple past Microsoft this week to become the world’s most valuable technology stock, a remarkable turnaround of a company that nearly went out of business in the 1990s. Inter­national sales are increasingly important to Apple, which now gets almost three-fifths of its revenue outside the United States.

It is counting on its pre-existing base of fans as rivals line up with their own tablet offerings.

Dell’s Streak tablet computer will go on sale next month in Britain. Sony and Hewlett-Packard also have tablets in the works.

In London, the circus-like atmosphere that has become traditional at Apple product launches prevailed.

“Jake! Jake! Jake!” Apple store staff chanted as Jake Lee, a 17-year-old student who had waited 20 hours entered the store.

“This is ridiculous, amazing. I can’t believe it,” he said, adding that the first thing he wanted to do when he got home was sleep — and then play with the iPad.

Apple has yet to announce a launch date for mainland China, where bootleg versions are being snapped up.