We’ve been tracking the availably of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad since its launch. The pre-order figures which were being reported clearly suggested that the new “giant iPod touch” will certainly be a success. The initial number of sales reported were highly impressive and certainly beyond even Apple’s expectations.

When the new device with larger touch screen running iOS was finally launched it was greeted with strong demand which resulted in one millionth iPad being sold in just 28 days. This soon caused major delays in shipping the iPad and the US stores were reported to be sold out as Apple was still struggling to meet the demand.

Today 9To5Mac are reporting that Apple has updated the estimated shipping time for iPad WiFi and WiFi + 3G which is now within 24 Hours. Apple had been working on its production capacity and it is possible that they have managed to address the issue. However, it cannot be ruled out that the demand might have reduced over the last one week.

It is interesting to note that Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets in May noted that iPad was selling at about 200,000 units per week in the US and Apple sold  around 110,000 Macs in the same period. He further added that if Apple could ramp up the production then it would probably sell more than 8.1 million iPads in 2010.

Apple’s CEO might talk about the updated sales statistics for the iPad during the September 1 “special” music event and we will have a live feed to keep you updated with the latest.

A little over 24 hours ago we reported on the frustrating news that Apple (AAPL) seemed to be stashing iPad for in-store sales at its UK launch on the 28th of May. The knock on effect of that being that UK customers who had ordered online in the last week or so would have to wait until the 7th of June to get their iPad. Over a week after they would be in Apple Stores on general sale!

It seems though, that Apple is having problems all over the place keeping up with the demand for iPads. So maybe they are a bit panicky about having stock for their stores. Especially high profile launches like the UK one.

Gene Munster has been Apple Store hopping, and making calls again, and has come to the conclusion that 74% of Apple stores are sold out of iPads in the US. The remaining 26% only have Wi-Fi models available. Reserving an iPad in an Apple store that has no stock will get you one in 4-7 days. Whilst ordering online will get you one about 7-10 days later.

From those figures, and accounts of when Apple says it will have more iPads available for those who order now, Munster has surmised that Apple may not hit its own target of 2.5 – 3 millions iPads sold in this quarter.

I am not so sure. It is entirely possible that Apple is keeping supplies back for the several countries that the iPad launches in next week. In which case it may well hit, or surpass those targets anyway.

Do you think Apple is hoarding iPads? Or do you think they have had massive manufacture problems? Let us know in the comments.

Apple is known to restrict the number of devices you can buy during the first few months of a new product launch in order to cope with the huge demand and limited supply. When Apple began selling iPads in US they were only accepting Credit or Debit card as mode of payment to limit iPad purchases to two per customer.

Today when a California woman named Diane Campbell went to the Apple Store to purchase an iPad with the money she had saved up she was turned away as she did not have a credit or debit card.

CNET today reported that she contacted a local news station (KGO) in California which ran the story and it caught Apple’s attention and the no cash policy was reversed.

Ron Johnson, a senior vice president at Apple, in an interview with the news reporter said that they wanted to be sure that “it’s as fair as possible for people to get iPads,” and the previous policy was just to ensure that everyone can get an iPad during the high demand.

As a result of this news story Apple also delivered a free iPad to Campbell!

Now if you want to buy an iPad for cash you can but, the only catch is that you must create an Apple account at the store.

If Apple imposes same restrictions during iPhone 4G launch, be sure to report it to the local news station and you might get a free iPhone (4G / HD)!

[CNET] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-accepting-cash-ipad-sales/feed/ 0 https://touchreviews.net/ipad-hit-uk-apple-stores-preorder-customers/ https://touchreviews.net/ipad-hit-uk-apple-stores-preorder-customers/#comments Wed, 19 May 2010 18:49:14 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6685 Read More]]> A worrying story is coming out of the UK today. One that might have a few loyal Apple customers upset! We reported around a week ago that any pre-orders for iPads made after the 13th of May would not ship to customers until the 7th of June. This is still the case as far as we know.

However, the iPad launch in stores in the UK is still going ahead on the 28th of May and customers will be able to walk into stores and pick one up then. Presumably after queuing for a while. The Regents Street Apple store says it expects customers to camp outside overnight to ensure getting their “Jesus Tablet”.

Whilst one can understand that Apple would like to have some in-store stock for such an important launch, this seems a little hard on customers who have already ordered their device online, shown their loyalty to Apple, and agreed to wait until the 7th of June to get their iPad that others now may well be able buy over a week earlier.

I know if I was one of the customers with an outstanding order I’d seriously consider cancelling my order before, or perhaps after, I had a go at getting one from an Apple store on the 28th. I am assuming that Apple have not charged anyone in the UK prior to dispatch, which is normally the case.

I am sure Apple won’t mind people doing that. But it would have been nice if they had been upfront about it.

What do you think? Is Apple being a little dismissive of online customers in the UK? Let us know in the comments…

This is also a similar strategy to the one that Apple employed when sued by Nokia for allegedly infringing the Finnish company’s mobile handset patents.

Apple was originally hit with a suit by Kodak for various imaging patents it claims Apple infringed on. The ITC agreed to look into Kodak’s claim in February of this year.

The two patents that Apple cites in its counter suit are :

• Apple Granted Patent 6,031,964 : System and method for using a unified memory architecture to implement a digital camera device.
• Apple Granted Patent RE38,911 : Modular digital image processing via an image processing chain with modifiable parameter controls.

What is interesting about this pairing is that I have to wonder if it has any bearing on the lack of cameras we are seeing in iPods and iPads.

And how does the timing of this suit work with the upcoming more advanced camera in the new iPhone 4G, and imaging technology going into iPhone OS 4.0?

It seems that when the big boys get involved in Patent Suits the idea is to stack up all your various claims against one another and then play top-trumps to see what compromise can be reached.

Expect lawyers to get rich from this, and it to all probably be settled out of court.

Does Apple have a case? Or is this simply a tactic, similar to HTC’s, to try and back Kodak off? Let us know in the comments.

We reported last month that some Apple (AAPL) iPads were having problems with DHCP leases when in standby mode, and other WiFi connectivity issues. These issues caused some Universities in the US to temporarily ban iPads, and even iPhones and iPods, from their networks.

Some enterprising hackers, and University network admins, detailed the issues and why they thought they were happening. (Details at the bottom of this article). But Apple did not acknowledge the issue at the time.

On a support document dated the 6th of May Apple has given details of how some problems may be diagnosed, or overcome: [support.apple.com]

Apple also state in that document that there will be an upcoming fix to “address remaining Wi-Fi connectivity issues” for the “very small number of iPad users” who have experienced problems.

Until then the suggestions for weak signals, forgotten passwords and “other” networking issues from Apple are as follows :

• Updating Wi-Fi router firmware
• Using WPA or WPA2 wireless security
• Adjusting screen brightness
• Renewing IP address

If you are still having problems after that, and wish to get your hands dirty rather than wait for Apple’s fix, or simply for those that are interested, here is the very detailed report from Princeton University on iPad WiFi issues: [net.princeton.edu]

I personally have had no problems with my iPad, and my home router is particularly old. My friends with iPads, one who works in a college, have also had no issues either.

How has your experience with the iPad’s WiFi been so far? Let us know in the comments.

Apple have confirmed our estimate today with an official Press Release trumpeting the fact that they sold their “one Millionth iPad on Friday, just 28 days after its introduction on April 3″.

Apple also followed those figures up with some impressive iPad app, and ebook statistics. 12 million iPad apps have been downloaded from a catalog of 5000 already created for the device, and 1.5 million ebooks have been downloaded as well.

Even more poignantly Steve Jobs has this to say :

One million iPads in 28 days that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone. Demand continues to exceed supply and we’re working hard to get this magical product into the hands of even more customers.

When you look at Steve Jobs’ statement it is quite an impressive statistic. Many people thought the iPad would sell. But many people also thought it would be a niche product. Initially outselling what is arguably Apple’s most popular product in recent history, the iPhone, doesn’t make the iPad seem that niche anymore!

Are you impressed at the sales Apple have managed to date? Or frustrated to still be waiting for your iPad, if you live outside the US? Let us know your views in the comments.

In any case 9to5Mac are reporting that Steve has been at it again. In a couple of replies today to some Apple fanatics in Europe he has confirmed that the 3G iPad will arrive alongside other iPads at the end of May.

Here is the full text for those interested :

—– Original Message —– From: “Steve Jobs”

To: Jan

Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 1:00 AM

Subject: Re: iPad 3g international?

Both models will be released at the end of May. Sorry for the delay.

On Apr 14, 2010, at 3:59 PM, Jan wrote:

Hi Steve,
will there also be 3G models of the iPad released worldwide on the end of may or only the wifi models. Would be nice to know. Can’t wait.

Greets

Jan

via iPhone

Have you ever emailed Steve and got a reply? Let us know in the comments.

Is there anyone that doesn’t know what an iPad is or that it’s released today? Well actually there is as when I texted and tweeted my family this morning to let them know that I was at home waiting for the delivery at least 3 of them asked “What’s an iPad”. However, for the rest of the world and certainly those of you reading this you know that Apple’s latest “magical” device has hit the road via UPS and has been landing on people’s doorsteps all morning.

I woke early this morning, part anticipation of the impending arrival of my iPads, (yes plural, one for me and one for my wife), and part because Man Utd v Chelsea was kicking off at 6.45am.

With most Apple products that I’ve brought I’m always a little disappointed with the size of the box that it comes in as it’s never big enough, big equals exciting but with Apple’s wonderful packaging there is never any wasted space. That disappointment is short lived however as after gently rippling through the protective plastic covering and lifting the top off of the box the iPad is immediatley displayed in all it’s glory for you to see.

After having seen so many videos, pictures and write ups of the iPad already most people opening up their iPads this morning are not going to be too surprised with what they find as they take the device out of it’s packaging but even so holding it for the first time allows me to experience it all for myself and it’s a great experience. The device is not too heavy and can easily be held in a single hand allowing the other one free for using it. As you would expect the build quality of it is wonderful too. The sleek contours of the device sit comfortably against your hand and look beautiful too while divisions between the casing and the screen are smooth and fitted perfectly.

There are 4 physical buttons in total on the device, the volume and lock buttons are location on the side of the case in the top right hand side while on the top the is the sleep button. The final button is the regulation iDevice ‘Home’ button located as you would expect front and centre at the bottom of the screen.

My first activity was to plug the iPad into my Windows 7 laptop, I had already downloaded a few iPad applications. After agreeing to yet another set of Terms & Conditions and signing into my Apple account the device started syncing as you would expect with any other iDevice. Despite my ability to sync my iPad the driver installation failed and my iPad still states that it’s not charging despite being connected to my laptop. Whether this is because the iPad will only charge from the mains or was due to the failure of the driver to install it remains to be seen. The iPad came with a full charge so I’ll have to investigate that later.

My next task was to set up and connect to my wireless network so that I could synchronise my Gmail, Contacts and Calendar. The settings tab is going to be familiar with anyone that already as an iPhone or iPod Touch but the extra screen space allows for the menu of options to appear on the left while the details of each tab appears on the right. This is already a great feature and makes using the iPad much easier. Within seconds I had connected to my wireless network and a couple of minutes later my Gmail, Contacts and Calender was also synchronised.

During this time I was extremely impressed with the responsiveness of the touch screen. Scrolling between the pages was effortless and scrolling through my emails was also smooth. For testing purposes I sent off a couple of emails to show off the fact that I was emailing from my iPad and to test the on screen keyboard. Having used multiple devices, not just Apple, that use touch screen keyboards using the iPads larger keyboard is nice to use. Don’t get me wrong using a full size physical keyboard is always going to be my preferred choice but in it’s absence I feel that I would easily be able to write decent length articles on the iPad.

Web surfing is going to be one of the many activities that my iPad gets used for so I immediately attempted some of my favourite web sites. I was immediately disappointed with the first site I went to which was the BBC iPlayer site that I was hoping that I would be able to use to watch BBC shows on a larger screen that I currently can on the iPod Touch. However that was not to be the case as neither the full or mobile version of the iPlayer was compatible with the iPad. Hopefully that will change in the near future.

Testing some of the official iPad ready websites though was a different matter with the pages rendering fast, crisp and clear and watching the the video’s play in the page quickly and smoothly is a real pleasure. Hopefully more and more websites will be fully iPad compatible soon and take full advantage of HTML5 which clearly Apple and Steve Jobs are relying on.

I’ll be spending some more time with some applications later including reviews of some brand new iPad applications but initially I wanted to see how well some of the 150,000 existing applications work on the iPad. Unfortunately my initial thoughts are not great. They certainly work and at 1x they look good but a small app sitting in the centre of the screen doesn’t look great and using the 2x option results in a pretty graining display. This was only with a couple of apps though so some apps may work better than others.

The one new iPad app that I did try immediately was Tweetdeck which I was very pleased with. The extra real estate of the iPad allows for multiple columns in both landscape and portrait mode and as I have come to expect it’s responsive and great looking.

For now I am extremely pleased with my investment and I’ve only just begun delving into to what it has to offer. Next up for me is to test out some of the brand new iPad dedicated apps and of course bring my thoughts on them all to you.

For those of you that have picked up your iPads today what do you think so far? Does it live up to the hype or have you been disappointed? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

iPad Unboxing Pictures

Apple’s most expensive (and arguably biggest failure business-wise) computer was the Apple Lisa. Which had a high price tag even in 1983 at $9,995.00. Adjusting for inflation that would cost close to the price of my beach condo in Thailand at $21,744.85.

In 1993 Apple launched the first device which could truly be called an ancestor of the iPad. The Newton. I paid considerably more for my Newton as I had it shipped to me direct in the UK from a store in California on launch day. It’s sticker price was $699.0. Adjust for today and it would be $1,048.47. Remember that’s a device with a grey scale screen, no built in connectivity to speak of by todays standards, and it ran on flashlight batteries which were not included! All the same a great Apple device, that many of us still love. I even still have mine and the official Apple carry case and modem for it.

The first iPod launched in October 2001 and was sold for $399.00. It would cost $488.46 today. And that was just an MP3 player at the end of the day!

More recently the first iPhone in todays money would be around $520.

So an iPad at $499, which is a fully functional tablet computer seems to be, to me anyway, a snip at it’s entry price of $499.00

A fun info graphic details more of these price comparisons here : [vouchercodes.co.uk]

The best part is that the graph shows that for the same price as that Apple Lisa you could have Apple ship you 43 iPads. If only they had any in stock! But even only one of those iPads would certainly outperform the Lisa, and have resources to spare! As much as we all love her.

Do you think the iPad is good value? Or do you think it should be cheaper?

iPad Cost Deal Info-graphic

This news is likely to kick off a frenzied week of lead up to the first public usage of the iPad. I’m sure it’s no coincidence the first units shipped today; the beginning of a build up orchestrated by Apple. Already we’ve seen more and more previews of iPad-specific Apps come out through official and unofficial channels. That trend will likely continue the rest of the week as an almost carnival atmosphere builds around the launch. It will be interesting to see how much Apple does to encourage or discourage lines and fanboys camping outside of stores before the launch. I’m sure many Apple Stores will open at midnight on the 3rd to build on the fanfare around the device. You have to appreciate the masterful way Apple is subtlety directing the energy.

All of this shouldn’t really be a surprise. Anyone who has followed Apple knows one of their main competencies is marketing. They were using viral and guerilla marketing to great effect long before it became common practice among big companies. It’s their great brilliance in marketing that has generated the demand and interest in the iPad. While I’m sure the device itself is technically excellent, I hope it can live up to all of the anticipation used to sell it.

And to those of you hoping your FedEx guy might show up a little early with a white box with your name on it, I have bad news. Apple has given very explicit instructions that the iPad not be delivered before April 3rd, regardless of availability. I’m sure one or two may slip through the cracks but this is too big an item for any kind of mass mistake. So sit back and decide what you want to do on Saturday while you wait for the courier to show up.

What do you think of the frenzy and anticipation Apple has built around the iPad launch? Is Apple’s Ninja-like marketing skills really just selling a great product or selling you on a great product. Are you waiting with anticipation for an iPad to show up on Saturday? Let us know in the comments section.

[9to5Mac] [Macrumors] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-ipad-shipping/feed/ 2 https://touchreviews.net/order-apple-ipad-clone-stocks-last-fake/ https://touchreviews.net/order-apple-ipad-clone-stocks-last-fake/#comments Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:00:42 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=5749 Read More]]> As I predicted last week the iPad is now in short supply. With in-store pickup and delivery dates pushed back in the US for all but the lucky few who ordered early, people may start to get desperate and rush to buy products from sources other than Apple.

Chinese manufacturers have long been copying the iPhone and iPod, and undercutting Apple’s price with hugely inferior products, mostly available in Asia.

The Korean IT Times is reporting that electronics firms in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China are announcing the release of counterfeit iPads for 2000 yuan (US$290). That price is half of the actual Apple product.

The release date is the same as the release date for Apple’s iPad.

President Xiong Yiwei of Shenzhen Huayi said,

After developing modules, we basically made the designs to look like a jumbo iPhone. The profit margin of counterfeit cell phones reached up to 30 percent in the past, but only 10 yuan (US$1.50) profit margin is made per one product. We had a great expectation of netbooks last year, but only 100 yuan (US$15) profit margin was made. The success of iPhonish product is a matter of life or death for us.

Be very careful if you are buying grey import iPads from sources other than Apple. You may be disappointed with what you get!

Let us know if you see these in the wild. We’d love to see pictures and videos.

The ebooks from Project Gutenberg are DRM (digital rights management) –free so will therefore work on the iPad and any other device for that matter. At the moment Apple are using the ePub fomat for their iBooks which are Fairplay DRM protected so will not work on any other device. Project Gutenberg will still be in the ePub format.

If you don’t know anything about ProjectGutenberg here is what 9to5mac reported from wikipedia.

Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to “encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks.”Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books. The project tries to make these as free as possible, in long-lasting, open formats that can be used on almost any computer. As of December 2009, Project Gutenberg claimed over 30,000 items in its collection. Project Gutenberg is affiliated with many projects that are independent organizations which share the same ideals, and have been given permission to use the Project Gutenberg trademark

As 9to5 states this is certainly great news for students, schools and even businesses. If they have access to an iPad then long term this would be a great investment. They have the hundreds of books stored ready to use at any time for free, where as if they bought the actual books it would cost them a small fortune. Whether or not the schools will be purchasing iPads for student use is another thing but I think it just goes to show that this is something that is to be considered for the future in schools and businesses that this is really the way forward.

What do you think? Are you an author, how would you feel seeing your book in this format? Do you know of any other great eBooks on offer? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple are very keen on their batteries being non-user serviceable, and being packed tightly away inside their devices in order to make the design of their cool toys amazingly ergonomic.

Batteries are often packed tightly into the case structure in-between components, and simply not accessible unless you want to crack your device open and void your warranty, as we have seen with some of the tear downs and technology reviews on Apple’s Unibody laptops and iPhones.

This begs the question: What do you do if your iPad battery stops holding a charge? Simple, apparently. Send your iPad back to Apple and get a new one!

From the iPad’s FAQ:

What is iPad Battery Replacement Service?

If your iPad requires service due to the battery’s diminished ability to hold an electrical charge, Apple will replace your iPad for a service fee.

Note: Your iPad is not eligible for Battery Replacement Service if the product has been damaged, for example, as result of an accident, liquid contact, disassembly, unauthorized service or unauthorized modifications, or if the product is not operating correctly as a result of a component failure. Please review Apple’s Repair Terms and Conditions for further details.

How much does it cost?

The service costs $99, plus $6.95 shipping. The total cost is $105.95 per unit.
All fees are in U.S. dollars and are subject to local tax.

Being the proud owner of an original iPhone, and various other flavours of iPhone and iPod in-between, all of which still hold a decent charge, I don’t see myself taking advantage of this. But it’s nice to know that if my iPad has a battery which decides to check out early, I am covered.

This replacement service at around US $100 is comparable with the price I have seen third parties charging for battery replacement kits for iPhones and iPods. But without the hassle and risk of those DIY solutions.

I would be surprised if these are actually new iPads though. More likely Apple are intending to recondition existing iPads, also sent in via this service, and recycle them to users. That’s pure speculation on my part, and I am sure some people will really get new ones based on Apple’s stock of used devices. But as we all know, Apple is very good at offering recondition computers already.

Do bear in mind that your iPad is going to have to be in reasonable condition, and that if it’s battery doesn’t work because it was run over by a truck, you may be in for a disappointment! Also you will need to make sure you backup all your data before sending your ailing iPad back to Apple.

But overall this seems a pretty cool deal to me.

Out of interest, how many people here have had problems with integrated batteries in Apple iPhones and iPods?

iPad selling like hot cakes!

We reported in the last few days that iPad pre-order sales are going extremely well. Various bloggers and business sites, using a variety of dark arts, are trying and gauge exactly how fast the pre-orders are going. Some are citing 20 – 25,000 units being sold per hour, based on Apple Store order numbers. Others are using more scientific methods and talking to industry analysts. But the bottom line is numbers are being limited by Apple to 2 per business or individual. Everyone who has a tech web site or blog seems to have one or two on order, and it’s clear that sales were in the order of 90,000 plus for the first day. The iPad seems to be a success before anyone even has one in their hands!

iPad last minute specification changes

Video output from the iPad has had a quick update prior to actual launch. The iPad will also support Motion JPEG in an AVI wrapper, which is still a common video format for many digital point-and-shoot cameras. More importantly Apple has altered the externals slightly on the iPad to take away the mute switch and add a universal orientation lock. An update welcomed by many who plan to lie at all sorts of angles on their sofas and in bed to read and type!

AAPL rises above $225 per share

Apple’s hoard of cash is no secret. And it’s share price circa $200 per share is a fair reflection of the cash reserves and investments it has on hand. But that doesn’t really reflect it’s continuing growth, and potential sales of the iPad, iPod and iPhone, as well as it’s growing computer market share. The city seems to agree, and shares in AAPL continue to rise. They are at $226.60 as of the writing of this article. This also to some extent seems to be driven by the encouraging iPad pre-order figure estimates. Will they continue to rise as we approach the iPad launch? What will they do after?

Android sales figures on the rise

Various tech sites are reporting that the Android will outstrip the iPhone in sales by 2012. I am not convinced, but any competition is good in the marketplace. It just seems that the figures people are citing are not that impressive yet.

According to the latest mobile subscriber report by comScore, when it comes to platform market share, the iPhone could be nervous of Android as Android market share in the United States is growing, in fact Android garnered the largest market share gains out of all 5 top smartphone OS’s reports Fortune.

Google’s Android platform, over the last 3 months has managed to grab hold of a 154 percent increase, growing from just 2.8 percent up to a nice 7.1 percent.

Blackberry maker Research In Motion still commands the top slot in the smartphone arena in the US with a whopping 43 percent of the market and looks to be growing even faster than Apple. Apple market share grew, but only by 1.2 percent.

Palm and Microsoft want in on mobile gaming

We reported earlier this week that Palm finally released a generally available Beta of it’s updated SDK which now allows developers to target OpenGL ES. Android already has a way that developers can access OpenGL ES. What this means is many of the high performance 3D titles which are already available on the iPhone and iPod platform can be quickly and easily ported to Palm’s smart phones. OpenGL ES is by far the most commonly used high-speed 3D graphics API employed on mobile devices.

Microsoft have gone another way (unsurprisingly), and are sticking with a version of their proprietary Direct3D API (also used on PCs and XBox) for mobile games. Both Microsoft and Palm announced gaming titles at GDC (Game Developers Conference in San Francisco). Palm with 20 titles almost ready and Microsoft with a couple of upcoming gaming titles being shown as work in progress versions for their Windows Phone 7 Series. So far it seems that Palm, as late as they are with this update to their SDK, have the more hopeful outlook of the two platforms.

iPad iBooks will feature DRM

Unsurprisingly eBooks downloaded from iTunes from the “iBookStore” will feature Fairplay DRM and won’t be compatible with other e-readers. Some slightly better news is that the book app in the iPad will support the ePub format, so many eBooks already out there which are DRM free can be loaded onto your iPad via iTunes. Another tidbit is that the iPad will be able to use “VoiceOver” to read the contents of any book out loud. Cool!

Another exciting week in “Touch” land.

Let us know your thoughts below. Did we miss anything?

Apple WiFi iPad available for pre-order on March 12th. In store pickup on April 3rd. US Only initially.

Since the day Steve Jobs appeared on stage for the Apple Special Event 2010 to announce the iPad there has been a lot of buzz about it’s availability. Many rumor blogs suggested that there might be minor delays in production and that could possibly lead to shortage in the number of devices available at launch.

Today Apple has officially announced the pre-order, ship and Apple Store availability date, of the first iPad model to be released. This is the WiFi only version, and is initially only for the US market. The pre-order date is roughly two days after we reported that Apple Store staff are rumoured to be getting their hands on the devices for training. So that makes sense. The date you can pick up your ‘Jesus’ tablet in store, or have it delivered to your door has slipped slightly to the 3rd of April.

3G versions are supposed to be available in late April.

Apple originally stated that WiFi iPads would be available at the end of March, so they are not too far off their original ship date.

These dates are US only dates at the moment. So it should be noted that if you are outside the US the WiFi model will not be available to you until late April. But both WiFi and 3G versions should be available at the same time elsewhere though.

So which one are you getting? Anyone planning a pilgrimage to the US to get a ‘Jesus’ Tablet early? I did for a Newton, back in the day. So don’t be shy, let us know in the comments.

By: Stephen Northcott

This seems to tie up with the anticipated date of the iPad launch. The currently rumoured release date of March 26th seems likely as Apple tend to launch new products on Fridays and it’s the last Friday of the month. An advertising drive, perhaps focussing on the iPads eBook capabilities is said to be planned for the 15th of March. This gives plenty of time for Apple retail staff to get up to speed, and public awareness to be reinvigorated.

Earlier rumors citing production problems for the iPad, initially reported in early February by various industry watchers seem to have abated somewhat. Those rumours suggested reduced launch numbers from an estimated 800,000 units down to a more conservative 300,000. Was this a controlled leak to spur on those early sales?

Rumor also has it that people who buy an iPad on the first day, after going through the traditional ritual of camping outside Apple stores, will receive a “special gift”. Bearing in mind that it’s already been suggested that Apple will be ramping up advertising around this time and focussing on the eBook capabilities of the iPad, perhaps the mystery gift is a book token? This might tie up nicely as a joint promotion with any publishers Apple has managed to sign up since the iPad’s initial announcement. Whilst also serving to wet people’s appetite for this new form of content Apple will be pushing.

No news has been forthcoming on advance orders for Developers happening any time soon. That subject has been the cause of some consternation in the Developer community as people scramble to have dedicated iPad apps ready for distribution as close to launch as possible. Currently the only way to test applications for the iPad is with the Simulator provided in the iPhone SDK, available only to paid up iPhone Developers. Even the Simulator itself seems to be a bit of a shifting landscape currently as partially ready versions of Safari and Photo have popped up only recently in the SDK. This beggars the question, what dedicated software will be available at launch for the iPad? We know of course that it will have access to the 150,000 Apps already available in the App Store.

It also seems that accessory manufacturers may well be holding their collective breath right now, as anything they have potentially manufactured for simultaneous launch around the end of March must be assumed to have been built based on specifications released by Apple, rather than physical units.

Will you camping outside Apple Store to buy the iPad? Let us know in the comments section.

By: Stephen Northcott