By Kim Yoo-chul
KT spokeswoman Kim Yoon-jeong said Wednesday that the company will start selling WiFi+3G and WiFi-only iPad2 models from next month.
Kim declined to reveal pricing plans, only adding that the specific launch date will be announced later.
Apple added Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong as new countries to release the iPad 2 in, and while not providing any pre-sales figures it said the demand was ``amazing.’’
KT was Apple’s first partner here, starting in November 2009. Kim declined to unveil the sales figures of the previous iPad in Korea, though it’s known that over 2.5 million have been sold.
SK is set to follow this up with its own spring arrivals.
``Along with the iPad 2, Motorola’s Xoom, Samsung Electronics’ new 8.9- and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs and LG’s Optimus Pad are set to go on sale in April and May as part of the strategy to diversify SK’s tablet portfolios,’’ said a high-ranking SK Telecom executive, asking not to be identified.
The iPad schedule follows Samsung’s decision to introduce its new 8.9- and 10.1-inch Galaxy Tabs at a technology exhibition in Orlando, the United States.
The two Galaxy Tabs are being billed as the thinnest tablet computers on the market at 8.6 millimeters, and weigh just 470 grams.
The screen is 1280x800 pixels in resolution and the computer is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor.
Samsung plans to launch massive promotions for the upgraded tablets in its strategic U.S. and European markets because it believes awareness of the Galaxy Tab has increased to better compete with Apple’s iPad.
The 10.1-inch Tab will be introduced in America on June 8, while the 8.9-inch one will be released sometime during the third quarter, according to Samsung officials.
Shin Young-june, a senior Samsung spokesman, declined to confirm this.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs listed Samsung in the so-called ``copycat’’ league by saying that sales of the existing 7-inch Tabs were smaller than earlier expected.
The cost of the cheapest 16GB-based iPad 2 overseas was $499.
Market research firm IDC said Apple will take up between 70 percent and 80 percent share of the global tablet market this year and expected Samsung to face tougher competition.
``With different sizes, Samsung will attract more tablet demand. We will also maintain flexible pricing plans according to the market situation,’’ said the Samsung official.