The iPad was officially launched in Malaysia earlier today but as official resellers such as Machines and Harvey Norman drew up lines for the anticipated queues, there were no queues at all, just slightly busier stores. This was despite the fact that these official iPads are being sold at unexpectedly cheap prices, with the lowest model (16 GB WiFi only) at RM 1,549 and the high end 64GB with 3G retailing at RM 2,599. In contrast, a parallel imported iPad (64GB, 3G) could previously cost up to RM 3,200.

I popped by Machines (Midvalley) earlier today (in the evening) and sure enough there were plenty of people in the store, with some of them walking out as happy new iPad owners. One key part of the official launch of the iPad in Malaysia involves the availability of official iPad accessories in official resellers’ stores. I’m pretty sure that a majority of the customers in Machines already own an iPad, and are looking out for official accessories.

For those who want to purchase the iPad, you may want to consider the fact that Harvey Norman provides an easy payment scheme with an interest rate of 3%, whereas Machines does not provide the same (you have to purchase outright with either cash or credit card). So with the iPad officially available in Malaysia, would you get one?