14 DAY TRIAL // A few minutes into the re-launching of Apple’s web store, Softpedia was yet unsure whether iPad-pre orders were the only new addition to the online venue, although it certainly looked that way. Now that Apple has fixed the graphical glitches plaguing the site for roughly a quarter of an hour, we can confirm that pre-orders are now being taken for any of the six iPad models, including accessories.
At approximately 12:00 GMT today, Apple took its online store down for maintenance, in what was a typical move for the company expected to offer pre-orders for its latest product. Many (including ourselves) were also hoping to see the Mac maker introduce some hardware upgrades for its existing range of products, particularly the Mac Pro desktops, and the MacBook Pro line of notebooks. That didn’t happen.
However, the availability of iPad pre-orders was not the only thing we were able to spot once Apple took its store back online. The navigation bar sitting at the top of Apple’s website (including the store) has been extended to include yet another key Apple product. Yes, the iPad.
Although pre-orders are now available for all iPad models (WiFi and WiFi+3G including all three storage options for both versions), only the WiFi-capable SKU will arrive on April 3rd in the US. Only towards the end of April will the WiFi+3G version become available, not only in the US, but also in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
To learn everything there is to know about Apple’s tablet-shaped device, check out the new iPad section of Apple’s website right here. To save yourself the time of going through every line of text, watch the iPad video featuring Apple’s SVP of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive.