iPad Pre-Orders Start 5:30 AM PST on 12 March 2010
If you’re getting twitchy waiting for Apple to start accepting pre-orders for the iPad, it’s time to set your alarm. According to an email from Apple, “customers can pre-order online at www.apple.com at 5:30 AM Pacific time on Friday, March 12.”
Pre-orders are being taken for United States purchases of both the Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi and 3G iPad models; Apple said the Wi-Fi only version will ship 3 April 2010. The U.S. 3G and international Wi-Fi and 3G models follow in “late April” in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Apple hasn’t yet disclosed non-U.S. pricing.
For more TidBITS coverage on the iPad from the unveiling, read “The iPad Arrives,” 27 January 2010, and “Hands-on Impressions of the iPad,” 29 January 2010.
We anticipate that at least the initial demand for iPads will be high – I and my West Coast colleagues will be getting up early to ensure we’re nearly first in the virtual line.
In the first version of this article, I incorrectly stated that pre-orders would be accepted only for the Wi-Fi-only model. I've fixed it to note that pre-orders apply to the Wi-Fi and the 3G models, even though just the Wi-Fi models are being released on April 3. I also made it clear that pre-orders apply only within the U.S.