Apple says international iPad 2 launch dates “still hold true”

Apple’s iPad 2 got off to a superb start, selling out almost instantly in the U.S on March 11, resulting in delivery dates for future orders being extended as far as four weeks from purchase.

This immediately left analysts and prospective iPad buyers outside the U.S – who have had to wait until March 25 to buy their devices – wondering if international launch dates would still be adhered to, and until now Apple has remained silent on the matter.

Techradar managed to eke out the smallest statement from Apple, but enough to confirm the launch date in the UK was still exactly as listed on the Apple website:

From this statement, we believe that if a launch was to be delayed in another country, Apple will have clarified this before the launch. Apple was set to launch the iPad 2 in 25 countries on March 25 but Apple pushed back its launch in Japan, after the earthquake and tsunami affected the country so severely.

With this confirmation, it might be worth clearing your diary on the 25th. Online orders are expected to begin early on Friday with stores opening at 5pm to beginning selling the limited number of iPad 2 inventories they have.

Will you be getting one? A number of us here at The Next Web are undecided.

Netflix launches in Norway today and Finland tomorrow following Sweden and Denmark

Netflix is moving forward with its rollout to Nordic countries. The company today updated its Android app with support for Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. You can grab the new version now from the official Google Play Store .

The update fulfills a promise from earlier this year : Netflix announced its service would be coming to the four Nordic countries. Earlier this week, support for Sweden arrived, and today users in two more of the Nordic countries can also enjoy the movie and TV show streaming service.

As previously noted, users in Sweden are eligible for a free trial, after which the service costs 79 SEK (about $12) per month. The Denmark announcement from yesterday lists the same price, but that’s like a typo as the real price is 75 DKR (about $13) per month.

The Norway announcement today doesn’t list a price but we found it will cost you 79 NOK (about $14). From the announcement:

We expect a blog post for Finland to come tomorrow and we’ll update this post with the corresponding price.

Here’s the full Netflix for Android version 2.0.2 changelog:

It’s worth noting that Netflix’s iOS app, over on the official Apple App Store , lists Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and Swedish as supported languages. Once Netflix launches officially in Finland tomorrow, as we expect, both the Android and iOS apps will be good to go.

Image credit: Christa Richert

Android device with 3 flexible touchscreens? Oh yeah!

A new concept design by Kristian Ulrich Larson displays a flexible three-sided phone with AMOLED touchscreens. Its soft steel mesh exterior looks similar to a wallet and sports a soft tactile keyboard with a built-in front facing camera.

The images of Kristan’s Android concept-design reveals that the device can be altered in numerous ways and it seems to prop-up like a tent when the device is sitting on a flat surface with all sides attached. One of the sides of this triangular Android is equipped with the standard controls; back, menu, home and search. The base of the device omits green LED lights adding a bit of flair.

When holding the device to view the multiple sides at once, it’s somewhat reminiscent of a Nintendo DS which gives users the use of two screens simultaneously. The design is rather interesting and with multiple screens it may be handy for watching media while keeping an eye on something such as your Twitter stream. It looks kinda sexy and it would be intriguing to try it at the very least. What do you think? Would you buy one?