iPad WiFi + 3G to ship to May 7
U.S. customers have been getting the best end of the iPad shipping schedule, and that is due to continue, as Apple announces that the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models will ship May 7, before anywhere else even gets the Wi-Fi-only models.
European customers had been expecting to receive their iPads well before that date, but the demand from the United States has been such that it has slowed down shipments to other parts of the world. The Wi-Fi-only model sold over 500,000 units in the U.S. during its first week of availability, significantly more than Apple had expected, a boon that emptied the supply line much faster than Apple had thought it would. They were even unable to ship all of the U.S. pre-orders on the date originally announced because there were not enough on hand. Now, it is clear that the rest of the world will have to wait while Apple continues to satisfy domestic demand, according to a Telegraph story.
European prospects for the iPad are getting frustrated. One even wrote to Steve Jobs himself, suggesting strongly that Apple had been playing fast and loose with its credibility in Europe. Jobs deigned to answer this complaint, saying that Apple was not “deliberately pulling the wool over the rest of the worlds eyes. Are you nuts? We are doing the best we can. We need enough units to have a responsible and great launch.†It would appear that he is correct, with the Apple supply chain in top speed mode trying to supply all the available demand.
At the same time, there are widespread rumors that work by Apple on a next-generation iPad is well under way. According to these initial rumors, the next iPad will include a camera, really not a surprising move. These rumors are based on Apple employment ads for QA personnel to work on iPad image quality and the existence of what looks like a camera slot in the device’s superstructure. At the rate things are going, Europeans might be waiting for that second generation before they get their iPads.
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