14 DAY TRIAL // In what may become a serious matter for Apple, the iPad 2 is seeing shipping delays of over a month for those who place an order today.
Checks with the Apple online store have revealed that folks interested in securing themselves an iPad 2 will have to wait over a month to see it arrive at their door.
Shipping now takes from four to five weeks for all existing models. This is the fourth push since March 11 when Apple originally estimated a shipping time frame of 3-5 days.
It is only logical to assume that analysts predictions are right, in that iPad 2 sales went through the roof this past weekend, the tablet’s first days in the wild.
A prominent researcher with Piper Jaffray went on record to state that Apple should have sold roughly half a million second-generation tablets this past weekend. The iPad 2 was released to the public on March 11 (Friday).
Other analysts chimed in to say the figures could be greater, though Apple would have ceremoniously marked such a milestone with an official announcement via its press room.
Softpedia has contacted Apple to ask for clarification as to whether the planned International launch of the iPad 2 will be affected. We'll let you know what we find out as soon as we get an answer.
The company said iPad 2 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25.
Needless to point out, there is a chance some of these territories will see their shipments delayed.
iPad 2 starts at $499 for the WiFi 16GB model and ends with the WiFi+3G 64GB version which retails for $829.
Unlike the iPad 1 launch, the iPad 2 was available through multiple distribution channels on day one.