Apple already sells out first week’s shipment of iPads

Apple’s web site says it has already sold out its first shipment of iPads, the tablet computers that will be available April 3. That’s the day that the iPad officials goes on sale in stores, but Apple had been taking pre-orders which customers could go pick up in stores on the day of the launch.

Now that has changed. The company says that anyone who orders an iPad now can expect them to ship via mail starting April 12. (You won’t be picking those up in stores). And that’s only for the versions with Wi-Fi, with prices ranging from $499 (16-gigabyte model) to $599 (32-gigabytes) to $699 (64-gigabytes). If you want to buy a more expensive version with 3G data networking service, you have to wait until shipments in late April. Those 3G versions cost $629 (16-gigabyte model), $729 (32 gigabytes) and $829 (64 gigabytes).

It isn’t clear how many iPads will be available on the first day of sales, or how quickly Apple can replenish the models. It’s likely Apple could be constrained for some time, since it’s using a number of unique parts such as the A4 1 gigahertz Apple-designed microprocessor and a new 9.7-inch LCD screen. Various market trackers have been trying to figure out exactly how many orders Apple has taken already, given the order numbers that the company is passing out to users after they place their pre-orders. Apple is still limiting orders to two per customer.

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.