Telstra Sells First iPads in Australia, Global Anticipation Pushes Apple Stock to $600 Per Share
Telstra Corporation has some sort of a coup when the giant Telco offered on one of its stores the third iPad edition early Friday morning, with an Aussie construction manager earning the distinction as the first in the country to own the most-sought after product.
Reuters identified the first in line as David Tarasenko, who admitted that he was sold by Apple's claims that new gadget will practically bring with it almost magical features.
"When Tim Cook announced it, it sounded like such a magical tool. I just got hyped into it, I guess," Mr Tarasenko told Reuters on Friday.
Mr Cook, of course, is the new Apple top honcho, replacing the more flamboyant Steve Jobs last year as CEO, arguably without much of the stage flair that Mr Jobs had naturally carried but bringing with him the same financial results that made the American tech firm the biggest in the world.
Since mr Jobs's death in October 2011, after a long bout with pancreatic cancer, Apple sold record numbers of iPhones and iPads, the latter registering more than 20 millions units sold by the end of December as provided by IDC, cementing his reputation as the most able man to sustain Apple's incredible run so far.
Apart from the considerable retina upgrade that the new iPad carries, tech experts were in agreement that improvements were too few on the new device.
Even the tablet's LTE feature, which allows for faster internet access, may not deliver the full benefits yet, with the technology not fully rolled out all over the world.
Telstra has admitted that iPad's 4G connectivity will not work on its existing 4G network due to compatibility issues so Mr Tarasenko and all the other Aussie early buyers will have to wait for some time before they enjoy HD videos and music streaming smoothly on their new toy.
But the few letdowns have been overwhelmed by the rousing anticipation that the gadget has already generated, the solid testament of which was of Apple stock had momentarily reached $600 per share on Thursday before settling down at around $585 by market's closing on the same day.
Basing on those figures, market watchers noted that a single Apple share appears more pricey than the most basic iPad unit, underscoring the heights that the company has achieved with no signs of letting up in the immediate periods.
And as Apple rises, other firms supplying the components being used on the tech titan's products were also being pulled up in the process.
Leading teardown expert iFixit has reported that its dissecting exploration on the new iPad unveiled internal components that were supplied by the usual suspects and more.
Apart from Samsung and LG, which media reports said supply the LCD and other key components found deep inside the iPad, iFixit named Avago Technologies, Broadcom Corp, Texas Instrument, Triquint Semiconductor, Fairchild and Qualcomm as major component suppliers that contributed to the whole make up of the device.
With the positive feedbacks that the new iPad has so far attracted, these companies would most likely enjoy long-term and lucrative contracts with Apple, plus that likelihood that their market shares will experience significant boosts from investors looking to capitalise on Apple's continuing climb, Reuters said.
Back in Australia, more iPad fans are expected to take the cue from Mr Tarasenko and plunk down their cash, wittingly and unwittingly sharing to the flood of global cash flow for Apple that Mr Cook said earlier has reached levels that were more than enough to meet the company's needs.