SubscribeApple is now taking pre-orders for its much-anticipated iPad tablet device. Apple started selling the various versions of the devices in the Apple Store at 8:30 a.m. Friday, Eastern time.
The devices will begin shipping in April, with Wi-Fi versions promised for April 3, or April 5 for customers who don’t have Saturday delivery. The Wi-Fi plus 3G model will not ship until late April. Apple is offering free shipping to customers who pre-order the iPad.
“I think we are going to see a lot of pre-orders for the iPad. It’s sort of an interesting exercise for other companies,” said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at Altimeter Group. “You introduce a tablet. You put out the word on the day and the hour that you can pre-order it and see if it makes news — and it made news.”
See No iPad, Feel No iPad
Not only did it make news, there are reports that Apple’s web site was down for several hours Friday morning as the company made accommodations for the expected traffic spikes from consumers wanting to order the device that starts at $499.
“The interest in pre-ordering the product is noteworthy considering that most people have never seen the product. They haven’t touched it. There are no reviews of the product. And they are willing to purchase it on faith,” Gartenberg said.
“The ability to generate that type of buzz and interest and excitement and get people to pre-order a product that doesn’t exist is pretty impressive and it probably bodes well for the product at retail,” he added.
Apple vs Google
For all the hype around Google’s Nexus One smartphone before launch, it doesn’t match Apple’s iPad in terms of pre-orders. By the time the Nexus One went on sale, there are already analysts who had tested the device. There were also published reviews detailing…
Via NewsFactor
Yacine.org: Buyers Begin Ordering Apple’s iPads Sight Unseen http://yacine.org/2010/03/12/buyers-begin-ordering-apples-ipads-sight-unseen/
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