Your iPad may have already arrived

There have been a lot of reports on the internet about Apple working special deals with UPS to guarantee delivery of the iPad on April 3. It seems that the latest rumors are that Apple not only worked a deal but also hired security guards to watch over the shipments at your local UPS station 24/7. If you have tracked your iPad shipment lately, you've no doubt seen a scan showing an EXPORT SCAN from China. Well, according to the reports, they're bogus and the iPads may already be sitting moments away from you. I tracked my own shipment, as you can see below, and it seems that its just leaving China today. While it might be possible to get from China to my house by Saturday, I tend to doubt that Apple would cut it that close.

The fact that the iPad may already be within reach doesn't surprise me. There have been plenty of times when I ordered a product and tracked it obsessively only to see it sitting one town away from me for a couple of days, but not being delivered to me since it wasn't scheduled to arrive until later that week. I don't know enough about the delivery business to understand why if something arrived early, it can't also be delivered early, but that's a discussion for another day. One more thing: if you are expecting your iPad to arrive on Saturday, make sure that your area accepts Saturday delivery. I have mine coming to the local UPS Store so I'm ok, but it seems that Judie Lipsett over at GearDiary won't be able to get hers until Monday. In fact, Apple sent her the below e-mail recently:

To Our Valued Apple Customer: Thank you for your recent purchase of the magical and revolutionary Apple iPad. We would like to advise you Saturday delivery is not available in your area. Your order will be delivered on Monday April 5th. For up-to-date information on your order, please visit our Order Status website at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus

Have you tracked your iPad shipment lately? If so, where does it say it is now?