For all the buzz and hype surrounding Apple’s unveiling of its iPad tablet device, the launch looks like it will get off to a choppy start. Facing inventory shortages attributable at least in part to supply-chain troubles in China, Apple is moving to fill its pre-orders, but will only have very limited stock to send to retail giant Best Buy, according to a leaked memo.
Enterprise Mobile Today has the details about Apple’s iPad launch, and the updated shipping estimates for March through May.
If you pre-ordered your Apple iPad for delivery this Saturday, good news: Apple has begun shipping the units. It likely has an agreement with UPS not to deliver the units before the April 3 delivery date, something that has been done in the past with product launches. Apple arranged for iPhone 3GS deliveries on a certain date last year, and Amazon and FedEx had a similar agreement for the delivery of the later “Harry Potter” books.
If you haven’t pre-ordered the hottest new gadget from the Cupertino company, then you better be patient. For starters, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is delaying the delivery of pre-orders placed after March 27 until April 12. No official reason has been given for the delay, but Apple is believed to be bedeviled by production delays in China.
Only the W-Fi version of the iPad is scheduled to ship on April 3; models with 3G support come later this month. The retail price of the 16GB Wi-Fi model is $499, $599 for the 32GB, and $699 for the 64GB model. The 3G models will be $130 more than their non-Wi-Fi brethren at the same storage capacity.
