Lines observed in Sydney, Tokyo, London

The iPad's official launch in nine additional countries has drawn lines of prospective buyers in certain locations. Customers are reportedly camping out in London, Tokyo, and Sydney, among other cities. Apple Stores in the UK will open an hour early, at 8am, to accommodate the influx of customers picking up pre-ordered devices or placing new orders.

European customers have placed almost 900,000 pre-orders for the device, forcing many to wait until mid-June to receive their packages, according to The Sun. Japanese customers were already lining up several weeks ago, just for a chance to be included in the first wave of pre-orders.

Customers will be able to buy the device this week in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Apple will wait until July to begin offering the tablet in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Singapore. [via Fortune]

by MacNN Staff