iPad 2 Arrives in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore ... this week !!

CUPERTINO, California—April 27, 2011—Apple® today announced that iPad® 2, the second-generation of its breakthrough post-PC device, will arrive in Japan on Thursday, April 28 and Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UA on Friday, April 29. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores at 9 a.m. local time, select Apple Authorized Resellers, and online through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) beginning at 1 a.m. Additionally, iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in China beginning Friday, May 6.

iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect.

Pricing & Availability

iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in Japan on April 28 and Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UAE on April 29 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in China on May 6, and further international availability will be announced at a later date.

Breaking News: Japan earthquake 7.4 magnitude just reported

News from CNN.com :

Tokyo (CNN) -- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Japan on Thursday, triggering a tsunami warning for one prefecture.

Workers evacuated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the quake, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Tokyo Electric said it has communication with the plant and the power is still on. There were no immediate reports of damage, it said.

The quake's epicenter was off the coast of Miyagi in northeastern Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Public broadcaster NHK reported a tsunami warning for Miyagi prefecture, saying people in that area should evacuate away from the shore to a safe place.

NHK also reported a tsunami advisory for Iwate prefecture, saying a tsunami is expected to arrive in coastal regions there as well.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on all available data, "a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is not a tsunami threat to Hawaii."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 41 miles (66 kilomemeters) from Sendai -- one of the areas worst hit by last month's 9.0-magnitude quake -- and 73 miles (118 kilometers) from Fukushima, where a crisis has been under way at the nuclear plant since last month's tsunami.

The quake was centered 207 miles (333 kilometers) from Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

It was 15.9 miles (25.6 kilometers) deep, the agency reported.

It took place shortly after 11:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. ET).