http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/gadgets/low-key-launch-for-ipad-in-iran-1.1014810Tehran – Although there were no lines of eager customers forming outside computer stores in Tehran on the day that Apple's iPad was introduced to the world last year, the tablet computer - the newest global must-have gadget - has quietly appeared in Iranian shops, despite tightened sanctions.
On a recent winter's evening, the swank Paitakht Computer Centre in northern Tehran was packed with young, technology-savvy Iranians looking for the latest digital products for work or fun.
And products made by Apple - the technology giant from a country that Iran labels as the ''Great Satan'' and that has led the drive to isolate Iran economically - were attracting more shoppers than anything else in the multistory electronics emporium.
“It's so amazing that you can find the latest American-made high-tech products with a cheap price in a country under heavy US sanctions,” said Mahnoush Tavakkoli, one of the shoppers. Tavakkoli, 36, had just purchased an iPad.