3G iPad 2 Finally Coming to China, Starts at 4,688 RMB

The iPad 2 has been in China for some time now, but Apple’s 3G products are always slower to enter the Chinese market. The arrival of the 3G iPad 2 sooner or later was inevitable, but a recent update to Apple’s official China website makes it look like we may be seeing 3G iPad 2s in the wild quite soon. Moreover, we now know what they will cost.

Sina Tech reported early this afternoon that Apple’s official China site had posted the prices for 3G iPad 2s. As of this writing, the products and prices are still available in Apple’s online store, and all listed as shipping “within two to three weeks.” In case that’s taken down later, here’s a screenshot:

The cheapest 3G iPad 2 will apparently retail for 4,688 RMB, or about $732. This is more expensive than the cheapest 3G iPad 2 in the US, which is the same exact model but retails for $629. This is disappointing, of course, but mainland Apple fans are used to disappointment, as the price of Apple products in China is almost always higher than the prices for those same products in the US or even in Hong Kong. If you want to take the comparison even further, check out this handy chart for iPad 2 prices across Europe.

The 3G models are currently only available via search, and haven’t yet been added to the actual iPad 2 page of Apple’s China site. The posting of these models and prices could be a mistake, but it seems more likely that an official release announcement is imminent, especially given that all the products are listed as shipping within two to three weeks.

We’ll keep an eye on this and so, we imagine, will almost everyone else in China. These things will sell like hotcakes (or maybe mooncakes), we imagine.