iPad to hit more countries on Friday

The iPad's market is going more global starting this Friday.

Apple announced Monday that its popular tablet will reach residents in nine more countries: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi+3G models will go on sale.

The iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S.

In U.S. dollars, the Wi-Fi models now sell internationally for $499 for the 16GB edition, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB, while the Wi-Fi+3G units sell for $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for 64GB.

Apple said its tablet will reach more countries later this year and that it will announce availability and local prices at a later date.

In the iPad's first 80 days on the market, Apple sold 3 million units. Estimates on how many sales the tablet will rack up over the foreseeable future vary. In April, iSuppli forecast that iPad sales would hit 7.1 million units this year, followed by 14.4 million next year and 20.1 million in 2012. But earlier this month, Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi projected that Apple would sell a minimum of 18 million units and as many as 25 million in 2011.