Apple has announced today that due to higher than expected demand for the iPad they have made the tough decision to delay the release of the iPad on the international market for an additional month. This will allow Apple to direct there supplies to US markets (Apple Retail stores, select Best Buys) in order to keep up with the high demand.
As of today every single Best Buy store as well as Apple retail stores are official out of the iPad. Interestingly enough, even the high end 64 GB iPad model (retails for $699) is also sold out.
What has happened here? On the first day the iPad was released there were long lines at each Apple retail store but by mid-afternoon the stores were still stocked with plenty of iPads as well as accessories (iPad keyboard, iPad Apple case, iPad dock). This shows that Apple had ample initial supplies but lacked the ability to resupply quickly enough. Another theory is that word of mouth is spreading causing a sustained high rate of sale on the iPad. Many nerds are in fact waiting for late April release of the iPad 3G enabled version which Apple claims they have hundreds of thousands of preorders. This would most likely place total sales of the iPad just short of 1 million units sold by the end of April. Analysts predict sales of 1.25 million units by the end of the quarter.
The device certainly grows on people as they use it. Apple has always had a knack for designing devices which feel great and look even better. This time I think they really nailed the price, however, as $499 for the entry model makes the iPad a real option for people considering a netbook or cheap laptop. The iPad is, in this sense, a new product category which will have competitors scrambling to release their own tablet devices in the near future.
Apple, with all of their technical skills, seem to understand better than any company that consumers do not care how many megs of RAM an iPad has or how fast the processor is. A few minutes using the iPad and it gives the impression of tremendous speed and power.
Apple is unfortunately creating a huge international demand by pushing the product release back an additional month, which will help fuel even more buzz for the device when it finally arrives overseas. In the meantime iPad are being sold internationally on Ebay and Craigslist for 30-40% higher than original retail price. So next time you are at Best Buy and see an iPad, a quick profit could be made by selling the iPad on an auction site, as the international market just became white hot for the ipad!
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