As expected, the third wave of Retina-grade new iPads are hitting international markets today, including South Korea, Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. The last batch was on March 23, which covered most of Europe, while the initial rollout included select major markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. The final wave will be next week, April 27, when the new iPad hits Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.

Apple has been beating Samsung on their Korean home turf with the iPad 2 alone, so it's a safe assumption that the new iPad will further cement iOS dominance there. I have the sneaking suspicion that  the new iPad will do equally well elsewhere in the world. I feel a little bad for those who have had to wait so long to get their mitts on one, but no doubt the wait is creating a fair bit of excitement for launch day. Any international readers out there really itching to get a new iPad? Have any of you resorted to ordering one from abroad?

If you get your new iPad today, jump into our iPad 3 Forum and give us your review!

This Friday, April 20, Apple will be releasing the new iPad in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, South Korea, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Next Friday, April 27, Apple will be adding Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand to the list as well. That's a total of 22 new countries.

The new iPad first launched on March 16 in the U.S., Australia, Canada, the U.K. and 8 other regions, and on March 25 in Italy, Spain, Ireland, Mexico, and 21 other regions

While the original iPad and iPad 2 were US-only for a month and had slow international rollouts, often attributed to constraints in screen supplies, the new iPad's release schedule has been incredibly aggressive, especially considering it requires Retina display panels.

If you're in one of the regions getting the new iPad over the next two weeks let us know -- are you buying one, did you buy one already in another region, or are you still waiting for now?

Full press release below.

New iPad Arrives in South Korea & 11 Additional Countries This Week

CUPERTINO, California―April 16, 2012―Apple® today announced the new iPad®, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive in South Korea and 11 additional countries on Friday, April 20. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina™ display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight® camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. The new iPad still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life* while remaining amazingly thin and light.

In addition to South Korea, the new iPad also will be available beginning on Friday, April 20 in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Beginning on Friday, April 27, the new iPad will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.

The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.** The new iPad will be sold through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Additionally, iPad 2 is available at a more affordable price starting at just $399.

Apple said they would release the iPhone 3G in over 70 countries this year. They started off with 22 way back on July 11, added another 22 in August 22, and now it looks like they're planning on adding 29 more to the party starting September 26. According to Apple Insider, these include:

Botswana, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Niger, Panama, Russia, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey, and Venezuela.

Still no China, of course, along with Korea, or... Antarctica. Anyone else missing?