FORTUNE -- The fastest roll-out yet of an iOS device picked up pace this week as Apple (AAPL) prepared to launch the new iPad in 23 countries Friday and seven more on Saturday.
The longest lines are likely to be in Brazil, where Apple and Foxconn have set up local assembly plants to avoid that country's steep import taxes. Saturday will take the new iPad into the oil-rich Middle East.
The full list of countries getting the new iPad this week, via MacRumors:
Conspicuously absent: Mainland China, where the device has been approved for sale but control of the iPad trademark is still being litigated.
The first video comes from Taiwan, where balloons seem to have outnumbered customers:
Vietnam (single sale):
Chile:
Press unveiling in Argentina:
More as they come in.
The world's most populous country is the 20th to get Apple's tablet computer
Apple (AAPL) announced Monday that it will begin selling the Wi-Fi-only version of its "magical" iPad in China on Sept. 17.
[UPDATE: In a separate, Spanish-language press release, Apple also announced that the iPad will go on sale in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru the same day.]
The 3G iPad will be arriving in China at a later, unspecified MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Sep 16, 2010 10:50 AM ET