Apple is counting down to an official launch in China by April after regulators gave the new iPad Wi-Fi model the green light, although the 4G model is still years away.

According to the state-run China Quality Certification Centre, the pixel-packed fondleslab was granted the China Compulsory Certificate (3C), a five-year safety standard which all domestic and imported products sold in China need.

Given the typical time to market post-3C certification, the new iPad could be on sale officially in the People’s Republic within a month.

The regulatory approval will be good news for Cupertino, but not for the scalpers who have been smuggling iPads into mainland China from Hong Kong – where it went on sale over a week ago – and as far away as the US in order to meet demand.

One thing that may throw a spanner in the works for the fruity tech titan is the still-unresolved trademark dispute with failed monitor biz Proview, which has been rumbling on for months now.

Judges in Guangdong High Court are considering whether to uphold a previous decision by a Shenzhen court that ruled in Proview’s favour or to effectively award Apple the right to sell iPads in China.

Proview claims that although Apple bought the IPAD trademark from its Taiwanese entity for use in several countries, only Proview Shenzhen had the rights to sell the trademark for use in the People's Republic.

There was no mention of a 3C certificate for the iPad Wi-Fi + 4G device either, but this is likely because China is still at least two years away from awarding 4G TD-LTE licenses to its operators. ®