Chinese regulators clear 'new iPad' for in-country sale

The "new iPad" has been cleared for sale in China. Now "all" that Apple needs to do is settle the trademark case with Proview, something that continues to hang over the company's head like the Sword of Damocles.

Even without that clearance, Apple is expected to move forward with a new iPad release. The China Quality Certification Center granted it the Compulsory Certification necessary for Apple to sell the wi-fi version of the new iPad in China.

There has been no announcement of a launch date for the new iteration of the iPad, but extrapolating from past device launches, it's believed that sales of the new iPad could begin in China in mid-April.

News of the approval of the new iPad comes the same week as Apple CEO Tim Cook was seen in China. Cook did something Steve Jobs never did: visited the country as Apple's CEO (Cook had been in China before, when he was COO).