New iPad hits South Korea, 11 more countries on Friday

New iPad hits South Korea, 11 more countries on Friday
Apple said today that its new iPad will hit a dozen new markets, including South Korea, on Friday. Along with South Korea, the new iPad will be available in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. The following Friday, it will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.The new iPad, despite minor upgrades such as a higher-resolution screen and slightly improved processor, has been another success for Apple, which continues to dominate the tablet business. The expansion into 22 new markets over the next two weeks should only help to cement its lead over rivals running on Android or Research in Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook. The iPad, along with the iPhone, is expected to power the next phase of growth for the company. South Korea, meanwhile, marks an important market because it is the home country of rival Samsung Electronics, which Apple is combating in the courtroom over a myriad of patents, as well as in the market against Samsung's line of Galaxy tablets. The prices for the iPad remain the same, starting at $499 for a Wi-Fi only 16GB version, and going as high as $829 for the 64GB 4G version, although Apple notes that 4G LTE is only available in markets in North America.