Cupertino takes its virtual venue offline ahead of product launch

Mar 15, 2012 07:40 GMT  ·  By

The third-generation iPad and Apple TVs are set to become physically available tomorrow, March 16, through Apple’s online and retail stores, as well as retailers across the United States and several other countries around the world.

Yet the company has already taken its online store down for maintenance.

There is little chance Apple will be introducing anything new other than the refreshed iPad and Apple TV models. It wouldn’t be a good time to do it.

In a press release issued yesterday, Apple confirmed to the masses that its “revolutionary” iPad “will arrive at Apple’s retail stores and the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) on Friday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. local time in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK; along with Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.”

Last week, Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said “The new iPad redefines the category Apple created less than two years ago, delivering the most amazing experience people have ever had with technology.

“The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos,” added Schiller.

US customers will pay $499 for the WiFi 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. The iPad Wi-Fi + 4G version with the same storage capacities will sell for $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model and $829.

Yesterday’s press release said nothing of the updated Apple TV, but we know for a fact that Apple’s new black box is also going on sale tomorrow.

“Apple TV will be available on Friday, March 16 for a suggested retail price of $99 (US) through the Apple online store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers,” Apple said on March 7th.

The new Apple TV features 1080p programming including iTunes movies and TV shows, Netflix, Vimeo, photos, and everything else it can run - all in HD.

The new Apple TV features a simpler, refined user interface and AirPlay support for streaming / mirroring content from the iPad or iPhone 4S.

Update: the Apple store is back online. Customers can now "buy" the new iPad, according to the new graphics on the venue, but shipping is still stuck at 2-3 weeks delivery.