Parallels Black Friday offerings in US

As promised, Apple has launched special Lunar New Year online sales in a handful of countries. These are notably similar to the company's Black Friday deals in the US, which were modest in scope. At the Hong Kong Apple Store, for instance, Apple is offering about 8 percent off Wi-Fi iPads, or 6 to 7 percent off 3G models.

Other major products on sale include iMacs, iPods, and MacBooks. For all of the discounted Macs Apple has slashed $770 HK off the price, or about $99 US. In the case of the top-end MacBook Pro this translates to savings of just 4 percent.

Contrary to earlier reports, the Philippines appear to be excluded from the sale, which Apple is calling Red Friday. Beyond Hong Kong, regions running the promotion include mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

by MacNN Staff