Free upgrades to iPad 4 allowed in some UK Apple Stores

Some Apple Stores will allow UK customers trade in their existing iPad 3 for the new iPad 4 if they have purchased it in the last 30 days from an Apple retail store.

Apple left some of its customers disgruntled on Tuesday when it launched the new iPad 4 unexpectedly, resulting in some venting their frustration on Twitter. 

What's up with Apple releasing iPad 4 just 6 months after I bought the 'new iPad'? I think they'll lose a lot of goodwill for this upgrade.

— Luigi (@lewistullett) October 24, 2012

However, some Apple Stores are offering customers the opportunity to trade in their third generation iPad for a new iPad 4.

Apple staff in its Birmingham, Aberdeen and Kingston stores confirmed to ZDNet that they were aware of the new policy, while Manchester and Cardiff store workers said they were not aware of the deal.

The Birmingham shop assistant said customers could also trade in their iPad 2 for an iPad 4. However, Apple has not responded to a request for confirmation.

The new iPad 4 (Wi-Fi only model) can be pre-ordered from Friday and will be available in all 35 UK stores from 2 November with prices starting at £399 for a 16GB model. However, the 4G version will not go on sale until a later date.

The fourth-generation iPad comes only seven months after the iPad 3 was released in March.

It has he same 9.7-inch retina display as the iPad 3 but includes an A6X processor, which Apple said doubles the processing and graphics perfomance. It also comes with a next generation ISP (image stabilisation processor), 10-hour battery life and a HD 720p camera for FaceTime. The new iPad is the first to be charged by Apple's Lightning connector.

Alongside the new iPad, Apple also launched the iPad Mini, Mac Mini, iMac, and the MacBook Pro 13 with retina display.