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The new iPad pre-order shipments are showing delays of as much as three weeks. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sold out of its initial allocation for the bleeding-edge, early-adopter crowd. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers figure they'll have to line up at an Apple Store, instead.
By Richi Jennings: Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Conclusive proof that Macs don't always 'just work'...
Gregg Keizer reports:
In the U.S. and Canada, all iPad pre-orders placed through Apple's online store will now ship...three days after the on-sale date. ... Australian orders will ship on March 22, while those ordered in other first-wave markets...currently show a shipping delay of two to three weeks.
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[A]analysts [had] predicted that Apple would face [this] problem, in large part because suppliers of the...higher-resolution screen have had difficulty [with] yields.
Ian Sherr adds:
"Customer response to the new iPad has been off the charts," an Apple spokeswoman said. ... The delay would seem to indicate strong demand for the new iPad.
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Analysts, such as...Gene Munster, expect Apple to sell roughly 9 million iPads [this] quarter.
Matthew Panzarino clarifies:
This indicates that Apples first complete online batch of new iPads has sold out.
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Since Apple normally dedicates a (large) allotment...for sale in its physical stores as well as a lesser amount for retail partners...this doesnt mean it has sold every iPad...but it does show that the units allotted to its online store went quickly.
But Josh Lowensohn has more bad news:
U.S. carriers...are not currently letting people prepurchase...and have provided no indications of letting buyers pre-order [it].
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Despite the appearance of...supply constraints, Apple is set to launch...in an additional 26 countries by March 23.
48 percent of existing iPad owners plan to buy the new iPad. ... 16,000 older model iPads were listed on eBay in the last two weeks.
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While Android has made some short-term gains in the...smartphone market, these gains will be lost unless Google...emulate[s] Apple's perfect storm of implementations...to deliver a surrounding ecosystem...to make its partner's devices essential and relevant to...consumer need.
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Apple will dominate the tablet market in 2012. Windows 8 may form a threat...but Apple is preparing for this by holding [back] some features.
Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. He's the creator and main author of Computerworld's IT Blogwatch, for which he has won ASBPE and Neal awards. He also writes The Long View for IDG Enterprise. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can read Richi's full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
