iPad Launch
March 6th, 2010
Good News: Apple will start selling the iPad from April 3.
Better News: You can pre-order from March 12, about a week from now.
Great News (for me): Apple’s stock shot up to an all-time high on the news of the iPad release date. It now stands at more than $219, 240% up from when I bought in. Seems like it’s finally popped past the $215 barrier.
Crappy News: Apple Japan’s web site is listing the iPad as going on sale in “Late April.” Argh. Well, on the other hand, I’ll be able to read about everyone’s experiences with the device before sinking my money into it. It’s be nice, for once, to get a new Apple product the same time everyone else does, however.
You can order from amazon.com if you want.
The delay in Japan is to get the 3G I think.
I momentarily thought about ordering from the U.S., but the shipping & customs charges just for getting it 3 weeks earlier doesn’t make enough sense. Amazon may have it at that time, but they don’t list the iPad currently (though they do list a bunch of accessories for it).
As for the Japan delay, the web site is clear: nothing comes out until “shigatsu getsumatsu,” which means by the end of the month. Literally, it could be anytime between the 20th and the 30th, but I would bet on the later end of that span. I think your misunderstanding is based on the announcement:
I was a bit confused by that as well–the “all models” qualification gives you the feeling that they mean the WiFi model comes out earlier than that. But unfortunately, no. They mean that WiFi and 3G models will launch simultaneously. I imagine that is so they can have all stock available for the U.S. launch, which will be more closely watched and would look a lot worse if they run out of stock to soon.
Now, here’s something strange: I spoke to the Apple Store rep just now, and he claimed that the WiFi model is going to be on sale from April 2–I find it slightly more convincing that he gave the 2nd as the date, as that matches the U.S. date allowing for time differences. The puzzling thing is, the press release and the Apple Japan web site are both clear enough in saying late April for both. So I have to wonder where the mistake lies. I hope the store rep (and you, Troy) has it right–but I tend to give more credence to the printed announcements made by the company publicly.