iPad Starts Shipping, Customers Report

Early iPad adopters are signaling that Apple has started shipping their units. An email confirmation is now being sent to people who pre-ordered an iPad before delayed shipping dates were announced this weekend, confirming that Apple is able to deliver on April 3rd to those who were quick enough to secure their unit.

Posting a screenshot of Apple’s email sent to one iPad buyer, 9to5Mac claims to have “received a number of reader reports that iPads have begun shipping.” Noting that it appears to concern the Wi-Fi-only models, the site suggests that no device is expected to arrive before April 3rd. According to the imagery, Apple’s message goes:

Dear [customer name],

We are pleased to inform you that one or more of your items has shipped. Please see the details of the shipment below. If you ordered more than one item, they may ship separately.

- The Apple Store

Over the past weekend, it was revealed that Apple was unable to fulfill pre-orders being placed from March 25th on. According to reports, one of Apple’s part suppliers did not meet Apple’s demands, prompting the Mac maker to shift orders to another company that could deliver the goods. Although shipments are now delayed for the second time since Apple first unveiled the iPad, the company Apple has tapped to produce the display for its tablet computer seems to be capable of getting things back on track.

In related news, Apple has acquired the “iPad” trademark. It was previously owned by Fujitsu, which originally filed for the trademark in March of 2003, but then stopped responding to USPTO requests, according to Mashable. The Japanese electronics maker abandoned the trademark until June of 2009. It was then officially transferred to Apple Inc. on March 17th, the report reveals.