If you’re still planning to pre-order the new iPad, now would be a good time. Shipping times are beginning to slip in countries across the world, and many models are now even reporting shortages in the U.S. (typically among the last countries to see shipping delays).
Shipping times for many models from the U.S. Apple Online Store are now listed as “shipping on March 19th” instead of the previous guaranteed delivery date by March 16th. Long story short, if you don’t fancy waiting in extremely long lines next Friday, you should scurry to get your pre-order in as soon as possible.
In Australia, the iPad pre-orders are set to deliver deliver between March 16 and March 22. In the U.K., orders are listed as shipping within 2-3 weeks, and all iPad models at the Japan online store are listed as currently unavailable.
There’s no doubt about it – the new iPad is proving itself to be extremely popular – and this is only the beginning. Shipping delays became one of the hallmarks of last year’s iPad 2 release, which was in short supply for over two months following its release.
Update – MacRumors reports that Apple has now completely sold out of new iPads for delivery on launch day. All new orders are currently listed as shipping on March 19th, and could take up to a week to arrive.