If you planned to skip the lines on Friday and wake up to order your iPad 2 from Apple’s online store, you might have a bit of a shock. The good news is, you can order it right now; the bad news is, shipping times are current five to seven days.
Apple’s online store began taking orders for the iPad 2 at 1am PST (4am EST) in all 18 available configurations, but sleepy would-be customers who stayed up late to be the first in virtual line soon discovered that any hopes of getting the tablet sequel shipped immediately were dashed.
According to various internet and Twitter reports, even those who hit Apple.com right at 1am PST were told their iPad would ship within three to five days, with almost every model currently holding fast at five to seven days (only one lone model, the 16GB Verizon 3G in black, still shows shipping in three to five days at this writing).
It would appear that Apple is pushing all available stock to brick and mortar retail outlets for today’s launch -- no doubt a sobering reality to those who prefer to order in the wee hours of the morning while still in their undies, but also a good sign that stock may be plentiful come 5pm local time when the iPad 2 goes on sale at Apple retail stores as well as AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy, Walmart and Target stores across the country.
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