Apple pushes new iPad 3G orders back to May 7, camera kit ships
Apple's online store has been updated to reflect that new orders of the iPad with both 3G and Wi-Fi will not ship until May 7. But while those ordering new iPads with 3G connectivity will not get their device until a few weeks later, original preorders are still on track for a late April release. To confirm this, Apple began sending the following e-mails to customers who already ordered:
- To Our Valued Apple Customer:
Thank you for your recent order of the magical and revolutionary iPad 3G.
We would like to confirm that your order will be shipped in late April as communicated at the time you placed your order. You will receive a confirmation notice when your order has shipped.
You can get up-to-date information about your order, including shipping status and tracking number, at http://www.apple.com/orderstatus
Thank you for choosing Apple.
Sincerely,
The Apple Store Team
The 3G-enabled iPad models carry a $130 premium and offer wireless connectivity with the AT&T 3G network in the U.S. No-contract data plans are available for $15 per month for 250MB of data, and $30 a month for unlimited access.
Though U.S. orders remain on track to ship on time, last week Apple announced that international customers will have to wait, as a shortage of devices caused the launch to be delayed until the end of May. Apple shipped more than a half-million Wi-Fi only iPads in its first week of availability in the U.S. alone.
In the U.S., online orders of the Wi-Fi-only iPad ship in 5 to 7 business days. All orders remain limited to just two per customer.
Finally, some who preordered the camera connection kit for the iPad have been notified that their order has finally shipped. Apple first gave the connection kit a shipping date of late April on its Web site at the end of March.
24 Comments
Does anyone know why the 3G version of the iPad is so much more expensive? Does adding the antenna and chips add that much of a premium?
How do all you Apple fanboys feel now seeing the iPad be such a flop with such dreadful sales that they are having to delay shipments?
Oh, wait......that's not right.
Does anyone know why the 3G version of the iPad is so much more expensive? Does adding the antenna and chips add that much of a premium?
From what I understand, about $50 is licensing fees to 3GSM, and $35-50 is hardware cost.
They don't need to based on demand, but I would think that $499/530 for 16GB, $599/699 for 32GB, and $699/749 for 64GB would make it more attractive. I personally get a little sticker shock at $830 for the 3G/64GB, although that is the model I would really prefer to get.
Does anyone know why the 3G version of the iPad is so much more expensive? Does adding the antenna and chips add that much of a premium?
It's not just the 3G, it's the GPS. The iPad 3G is sort of like the iPhone to the iPod Touch. From a development standpoint, there are more costs for testing, meeting FCC regulations, it uses the micro-SIM chip vs a normal SIM chip. I'm sure there are many other reasons.
Received the reassuring note from Apple re. my 64GB+3G today! Whew.