New Wi-Fi iPad Cleared for Sale in China

Apple’s new iPad has been cleared for sale in mainland China, and could debut there as soon as next month.

The China Quality Certification Center recently approved the Wi-Fi version of the device for sale in the country, granting it the Compulsory Certification necessary for Apple to sell it in China.

The company hasn’t yet announced a hard launch date for the new iPad in China, but if it follows a timeline similar to that of previous devices, we could see sales begin in mid-April.

Obviously, this is great news for Apple, which — despite an ongoing trademark spat over the iPad name — dominates China’s tablet market. In 2011, IDC estimated that the iPad captured 70 percent of it.

Hard to see that changing much this year, particularly with tablet shipments to China ballooning as they have been, and Apple’s growth in the country ballooning along with it. Commenting on the launch of the iPhone 4S in China during Apple’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Tim Cook described demand as “staggering” and “off the charts.”

“We could not be happier,” Cook said. “We felt we were betting bold, as I think many of you would have thought if you would have known what we were doing. But as it turns out, we didn’t bet high enough.”