iPad 2 has landed - but ship times slip by end of day

UPDATE FRIDAY 4pm: Queues have started to form outside some retail outlets ahead of the 5pm retail launch, including the YooBee store in Auckland's Newmarket (see photo right).

Elsewhere, the situation is a lot more low key. 

In Wellington, game developer David "Chopper Dave" Frampton told NBR there was "Not so much a queue as a handful of people - five" outside Noel Leeming in Tory Street.

Small queues should be sought out; Dick Smith Albany told NBR it had just 30 iPad 2s allocated.

UPDATED FRIDAY 2.30pm:: Apple's NZ store is now listing three to four week ship times on all iPad 2 models, up from two to three weeks earlier today.

UPDATED FRIDAY 1pm: There's building hype and being mysterious, and then there's just stuffing people around.

UPDATE FRIDAY 2.30pm: Apple's NZ store is now listing three to four week ship times on all iPad 2 models, up from two to three weeks earlier today.

UPDATE FRIDAY 1pm: There's building hype and being mysterious, and then there's just stuffing people around.

According to a TV3 report, people who queued outside the Yoobee (formerly Magnum Mac) store in Newmarket from 6am today were eventally told that there would be no stock until 5pm. Poor show. Yoobee (owned by Apple co-disbributor Renaissance) is the closest thing we have to an Apple Store. At least they could have told people yesterday that getting up early would be a complete waste of their time.

Apple has yet to respond to NBR's queries about which other retailers would have stock after 5pm. It's release says "select resellers".

Once 5pm rolls around - and presuming you've queued in the right place - you might still be out of luck.

Dick Smith Albany told NBR it had only been allocated 30 units.

So if you're too far back in the line, you're out of luck.

UPDATED FRIDAY 7am: Defying hysterical media reports, and the customer experience in the US, Apple's iPad 2 has gone onsale in New Zealand - as of 3am this morning - with a two to three week delivery time.

Reports from Australian media, who got out of bed a little earlier than your correspondent, said the tablet had a 24 hour-ship time when it went live at 1am EDT.

Apple's site was reportedly next to impossible to access, possibly due to heavy traffic. When it came back online at 2.05am, a two to three week delivery time was listed.

In the US, the lead time blew out to five weeks atter the Japan quake (various iPad 2 componentw are sourced from the country, according to iSuppli), but is today listed at 3 to 4 weeks.

Apple is taking orders through its NZ website but last night refused to say which, if any, retailers would carry the tablet (quips Gizmodo Australia's Nick Broughall: “Getting information out of Apple can be more painful than the thought of pushing a nail through your eyeball.”)

A retail location finder on the company's NZ website simply lists every reseller in the country. In the US, iPad 2 has been plagued by retail shortages, with many stores selling out and not getting restocked.

NBR ordered an iPad 2 this morning, so we'll let you know how that goes. If you want to share your experience then by all means leave a comment below, or email me.

One tip: Apple's NZ iPad 2 home page is still in preview mode, with a "notify me" rather than a "buy" button top right. But if you click "notify me" then the line that says "Or, buy iPad first generation, from NZ$629 inc GST" you will be taken to the order page for the new iPad 2 (which doesn't - as NBR checks it out at 6am - actually contain any more info on the now-discounted iPad 1; UPDATE: the "Buy" button has now appeared).

Scroll to end of article for NZ pricing on the new models.

WEDNESDAY: Apple has confirmed that its iPad 2 will be released in an additional 25 countries this Friday, including New Zealand.

However, there was no word on delivery time once orders were placed on the company's NZ iPad website (which, as of this morning, had yet to open pre-orders).

The company told NBR that NZ delivery times would not be revealed until local orders opened at 3am Friday (presumably though Apple's site; no retailers have been confirmed yet).

With intense shortages looming (see below), such an early start has to be a serious possibility for the serious iPad 2 buyer.

In a statement, chief executive Steve Jobs hinted that it could be a while, saying, "We're experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the US, and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it. We appreciate everyone’s patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”

Mr Jobs' comments indicate the iPad 2 "release" may be similar to that of the iPhone 4, for which Apple met its official release date, but only by a bare minimum definition. A small amount of retail stock sold out within hours, and was only open to those willing to sign a two-month data plan, while online orders had a one-month wait.

NBR is going to order an iPad 2, so we'll let you know how that goes.

Sell out in the States
In the US - be it stage-managed hysteria or a genuine underestimation of demand - iPad 2 sold out of major retail stores weekend of its release. 

Apple's website, which initially listed a delivery time of four weeks, now says five.

The shortages were subsequently exacerbated by the Japan quake.

According to iSuppli, a number of iPad 2 components, including the tablets battery, Flash memory and new, thinner "Dragon Tail" glass screen are sourced from the quake-stricken country. 

By MacWorld's account, it will take Apple up to two months to deal to the backlog.

7am queues
The shortages have been sufficiently chronic for The New York Times to publish a guide with insider tips for buyers trying to procure an iPad 2.

The tablet is only appearing in Apple's own stores (it has none in NZ), with lines forming from 7am.

The Times cautions people to only queue at Apple stores where an employee has placed an "iPad 2 available here" sign out front.

If not, you're waiting in vain.

NZ pricing:

Wi-Fi 16GB: $799
Wi-Fi 32GB: $949
Wi-Fi 64GB: $1099

Wi-Fi/3G 16GB: $998
Wi-Fi3G 32GB: $1149
Wi-Fi/3G 64GB: $1289

iMovie and GarageBand for iPad apps are available for $6.49 each from the App Store.

The magnetic Smart Cover will cost $69 in polyurethane or $119 for a leather version.