The latest version of Apple’s iPad, the genre-defining tablet computer that has outperformed virtually everyone’s expectations since first released in 2010, went on sale Friday starting at 8 a.m. local time.

Apple diehards in Asia were among the first to sample the new product. In Tokyo, about 400 people lined up at an Apple store, where the first wave of buyers were raving about the “beautiful” high definition screen.

The new 9.7-inch display screen features a “retina display” of 2047 by 1536 pixels, compared with the current model’s 1024 by 768 pixels. It will have a a 5-megapixel camera, representing a significant leap from the current iPad’s lens.

The new version is available in the U.S. on AT&T and Verizon and will be the first iPad to connect to 4G networks. In addition to Apple retail stores, it will be for sale at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart.

It also went on sale Friday in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It will cost the same as the iPad 2 — from $499 to $829 based on storage capacity and Wi-Fi capacity. Apple also will be slashing the prices of the iPad 2 by $100, making a 16GB Wi-Fi only model $399 and putting it closer to the price point of some less expensive tablets, like Amazon’s Kindle Fire, that have hit the market in the past year.

READ MORE: CNN