iPad pre-orders kick off the frenzy
It is now possible to pre-order your iPad from the Apple Web site, allowing you to be among the first of what Apple hopes are many millions of happy Apple tablet computer owners this year and next.
The Apple site was down for a short while this morning and when it came back up, it was possible to place a pre-order for an iPad, either for delivery to your door or for pickup at an Apple retail store. The Apple-centric world is all atwitter (pardon the pun) about this development in the iPad saga, though it was certainly predictable. All that Apple had to do to get things rolling was to issue a one-sentence press release saying that you would be able to pre-order your iPad staring at 8:30 a.m. ( EST), and hundreds of headlines, including this one, were almost instantly born. One can only assume that iPad orders are brisk on their site this morning.
At this point, the only models that can be ordered are those without the ability to make a 3G wireless connection, and which instead rely solely on local Wi-Fi for network connectivity, according to a CNN Money story. There are, of course, situations in which that level of connectivity would be sufficient, but it seems likely that most buyers will wait until the more fully connected model is available, allowing them to stay connected in many more locations than they can with simple local Wi-Fi alone. The 3G-enabled version of the iPad is expected to be available about 30 days after the Wi-Fi only model. Although the Wi-Fi-only models are less expensive, and will not need a wireless service fee, it stands to reason that more consumers will opt for the versatility of dual-connection models.
Apple is not alone in its desire to see the iPad make a big splash and rack up big sales. Consumers seem to be ready to line up for a chance at the device and market analysts are predicting that there is a huge marketplace awaiting tablet computers, especially those with an Apple logo. The entire publishing industry is anticipating that the iPad will play a major role in saving the lives of newspapers, magazines, and books, quite a burden to place on a device that has not yet been released.
The developers of applications for Apple mobile devices are likewise seeing dollar signs surrounding the iPad, with that faster processor and much more display real estate to work with. Time will tell, of course, but all of the factors seem to be in place for the tablet computer to finally get off the ground, and in a big way. It will be almost as much fun to watch how it all comes out as it has been to watch the rumor mill and the hype. I’m setting a calendar reminder to come up on this date next year to prompt me to take a fresh look at what has happened to the iPad in particular and tablet computers in general.
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