Dubai Apple's latest iPad will be available on the UAE's ‘grey market' in one or two weeks — at a premium — if as expected the product is launched on March 16 in the US, retailers said Thursday.
Major outlets such as Jacky's Electronics expect interest to be significant once the new iPad arrives in stores.
"Jacky's expects demand to be very high once the device is launched in the grey market. Premiums will be very high for a month,'' Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer at Jacky's, said.
"Max Electronics will sell the new iPads on the grey market, but we will not be buying directly from overseas. The price in the UAE is expected to be double what Apple has quoted in the US," Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Max Electronics, said.
Meanwhile, Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager at International Data Corporation, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said that since Apple has kept the price of the new iPad the same as for the iPad2, the demand will be massive.
A grey market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unauthorised by the manufacturer.
But analysts told Gulf News that while Apple was well ahead of its competitors in the tablet market, potential manufacturing pitfalls lay ahead.
Vinita Jakhanwal, senior manager for small and medium displays at IHS iSuppli, said Apple will not be able to ramp up the production of retina display panels due to a shortage of supply. The main panel suppliers for iPads are Sharp, LG and Samsung.
The shortage may be felt till the second quarter as Sharp and LG put in place the infrastructure for mass production.
