You may recall my hunt for the Apple iPad 2 back in early March and how I came to thoroughly enjoy the 3G functionality in my new tablet. iPad 2 tablets were tough to find and the online shipping estimates grew to 4-5 weeks just after the pre-orders shipped out in mid-March. Mac Rumors reports that for the first time since the device was released in March, that’s over four months, you can now find every iPad in the Apple online store shipping within 24 hours in the US and Canada. I am sure Samsung, Motorola, HP, RIM, and others would love to have a supply shortage.
The demand for the iPad 2 has been unprecedented in the tablet world where no other tablet device has come anywhere close to the sales figures we have seen with the iPad. In the latest Apple Q3 financial report we heard that 9.25 million iPads have been sold in the last quarter alone. It is now funny to read my post from January 2010 when I tried to convince myself there was no need for an iPad when I had a laptop and a smartphone. I am still not fully sold that there is a need for a huge tablet market, but the apps and services available for my iPad have turned it into an essential device for me and many others.
I know one could always control the supply and create a demand for a product, but given the amazing sales figures of the iPad it looks like Apple truly was trying to stay up with demand as much as possible. There are rumors of a possible new iPad later this year, but when is there ever not a rumor of a new Apple product? Given that Apple is just now catching up with demand I don’t know why they wouldn’t just continue to sell the iPad 2 for the next several months at least and the only thing I would like to see in my iPad is a higher resolution display.
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