IPad 2 hits Australia 5pm this Friday

The company as well revealed pricing for the iPad 2. The top of the line model, with 64GB of storage space and an on-board 3G mobile broadband connection will go for $949, and prices will scale down to $839 and $729 for the 32GB and 16GB 3G models respectively. The Wi-Fi only version of the iPad 2 will sell for $799 for the 64GB model, $689 for the 32GB model and $579 for the 16Gb model. All of the prices listed here include GST and are in Australian dollars.

The prices are not too dissimilar from the cost of the same devices in the United States, with most models suffering a price hike of less than $100. Multinational innovation giants on the whole add a premium onto global products shipping in Australia, ranging from a few percent to - for some companies - as high as 50 percent or more.

Apple's new iMovie and GarageBand apps for the iPad will be available through the company's App Store, and will go for $5.99 each. Should the contingency arise, Apple will sell its iPad Smart Covers locally in a range of colours for $45 for the polyurethane model, or leather for $79.

When the first iPad went on sale in Australia in May last year, hundreds of Apple fans around the nation braved a cold night on city streets to line up outside Apple stores to be one of the first to buy one of the Apple tablets. Apple scheduled the launch of its new Bondi Junction store in Sydney to coincide with the launch on the morning of May 28.