This week Apple opened the door for consumers in Canada and eight other countries to begin pre-ordering the iPad, which will be available to them on May 28. Apple has yet to negotiate contracts for content with many Canadian publishers, and Diana Barry, director of digital services for the Association of Canadian Publishers, which is representing many independent Canadian publishing houses, said so far ACP has had only “very preliminary conversation” with Apple. However, she added, “We are quite keen to and are exploring a few different options for getting content into the iBookstore.” Random House, including Random House of Canada, also has not struck a deal with Apple yet.
However, titles from publishers in this situation are still available to iPad owners who will be able to use iPhone applications for Kindle and Kobo on their iPads.
The iPad launch drew lots of press in Canada, but there was some grumbling about having to wait longer for it than U.S. consumers. “We had to wait a year for the original iPhone, so maybe we should be happy the iPad only took a month,” blogger Steve Tilley wrote in the Toronto Sun newspaper.
Tilley also complained about Canadian prices being $50 higher for each model than American prices at time when the Canadian dollar hovers close to parity with the U.S. dollar. Canadian prices range from C$549 for 16GB model, C$649 for 32GB, and C$749 for 64GB. The 3G model will be available for C$679 for 16GB, C$779 for 32GB and C$879 for 64GB.
A spokesperson for Apple said she could not comment on the volume of initial orders in Canada or on the company’s negotiations with publishers in Canada.
The iPad will be also be available in the U.K., Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland on May 28.
