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Apple's iPad Air sold out in Hong Kong, still available elsewhere

Canary in a coal mine or simply the way the stock's spread out? Either way, Apple's iPad Air has sold out online in one of its launch countries.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
CNET

Apple's latest iPad hits stores on Friday, which has already arrived in some parts of the world.

That includes Hong Kong, where the device has sold out online -- about two hours after it became available for sale. Before that, new orders faced estimated one- to two-week delivery times.

That hasn't been the case in some other countries where the new tablet is available, including Australia, which is three hours ahead of Hong Kong and still listing 24-hour ship times for new buyers. The same goes for Japan, Singapore, and mainland China where the tablets also went up for sale.

As usual, it's unclear exactly how much stock Apple has, though the scale of the launch in 42 countries and the fact that it's about a week and a half after the device's unveiling, suggests the company is comfortable with what it has. The same cannot be said for the Retina Display model of the iPad Mini, which Apple has only said will ship sometime in November.

Online sales in the US kick off at midnight, with the company's retail stores opening up at 8 a.m. local time. The company's carrier and retail partners are also selling the tablet, including Target which may have inadvertently let loose the ship time for the new iPad Mini last night.

You can read CNET's review of the iPad Air right here.

(Via 9to5Mac)

Watch this: iPad Air: Thinner, lighter, faster, better