Apple shortens online wait time for iPad 2

By Trevor Mogg April 20, 2011

There’s good news for those of you who are itching to get your mitts on an iPad 2 – the wait time has been cut at Apple’s online stores in many countries around the world.

Once initial stocks were bought up upon its release in March, the wait time at the US online store was showing as between a lengthy four and five weeks. That’s been gradually dropping, and is now showing, for almost all versions, as just one to two weeks – surely suitable for even the most impatient of Apple fans. And the other good news? It don’t matter if it’s black or white.

Only one version of the iPad 2 is showing a slightly longer wait time, of between two and three weeks, and that’s the at&t 32 GB white one (OK so it does matter a bit).

Other countries, including Canada, Australia and Mexico, are also showing the same reduced shipping time of between one and two weeks. Among Apple’s European online stores, the UK’s, for example, is showing a reduced shipping time for all versions except the 32GB Wi-Fi-only white version (two to three weeks).

The news comes despite March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which is thought to be putting a squeeze on the supply of parts and components, and the fact that more retail outlets in the US are now stocking the device, such as RadioShack and Toys’R’Us.

Supplies will be further stretched when the iPad 2 is released this month in several Asian countries. With all these demands being placed on supply, let’s keep an eye on the wait times. They may yet fluctuate – in the wrong direction.

If 14 days is 336 hours longer than you can stand, then how about the recently released BlackBerry PlayBook? And there’s always the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab as well.

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Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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