The store that never closes in the city that never sleeps…is closing. But don’t worry, it’ll only be closed for an hour.
Today from 4 PM to 5 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Apple Stores will be closing to prepare for the availability of the WiFi + 3G model iPad, presumably to ensure that displays and signage are properly placed and to prepare for the potential onslaught of customers.
Do I really think there’s going to be a rush on Apple Stores for the iPad 3G? Quite possibly.
Who needs formal product announcements when you can just keep hitting the refresh button on the iPad order page? According to said page, Apple will begin shipping the WiFi + 3G iPad in the U.S. on May 7th. International peeps will get both models toward the end of May.
In contrast to Apple’s typically secretive nature, Steve Jobs has been quite accessible via email these days. (Relatively speaking, of course.)
European customers asked of him in an email, “Will there also be 3G models of the iPad released worldwide at the end of May or only WiFi models?”
For gadget lovers outside the United States waiting patiently for your iPad, this news isn’t going to make you any happier.
Blaming “surprisingly strong demand” Apple has made the tough decision to postpone the release of the WiFi iPad outside the U.S. until it can meet demand here. No specific date has been announced.
[UPDATE] TUAW reports that pre-orders for the UK, Canada, France, Australia and Germany will start on May 10th.
If you tried to pre-order an iPad this morning then the screenshot above should look familiar to you. The delivery date for new orders has been pushed back to April 12th and you can forget about in-store pickup – it’s no longer an option at the moment. Of course, this could just be more fuel for the iPad hype machine. Stay tuned.
Image / Daniel Tello (aka "Deagol")
The sales estimates continue to grow.
AAPL investor Daniel Tello – known as Deagol on the Investor Village AAPL boards – has been busy with his research on iPad unit sales. After two weeks, he predicts over 240,000 pre-orders to date using his voluntary reporting method.
In an article about Apple’s race to close deals with content providers before the release of the iPad, a little tidbit of information revealed itself.
Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple has pre-sold “hundreds of thousands” of iPad units. These same sources believe that Apple could sell more iPads during the first three months of its release than the company sold of the original iPhones back in June, 2007.
While pre-ordering my iPad yesterday I got my first look at the AppleCare plan and pricing.
For Apple newbies, AppleCare is the company’s extended warranty program. I’ve owned Macs and other Apple products for years and I can tell you that it’s worth every penny. Even better, you don’t need to decide right now – you have up until your original one-year manufacturer’s warranty ends to order it.
Image / John Federico
Using a completely un-scientific method (though fun, nonetheless), a group of AAPL investors over on Investor Village are compiling iPad sales data. Beginning yesterday, the group began gathering sales figures based on reported, bona fide order numbers from the Apple Store. The results are intriguing.
