iPad Launch

It was just yesterday that Apple defined a shipping date for new iPad 3G orders via its website (May 7), but if you plan on buying one in store, then mark your calendars for April 30 — Apple announced today that the souped-up iPad WiFi + 3G tablets will be hitting shelves at Apple stores in the US on that date and will be delivered to customers who had earmarked the gadget during the first wave of preorders as well.

However, there's more bad news for international customers — Apple has pushed back the date for your iPad consumption again until May 10.

Still waiting for your iPad 3G? You aren't alone. Although the international community will have to wait until the end of May to order its iPads, good news hit the Apple store early this morning — US 3G-enabled iPads will be shipping to anxious fans by May 7.

And if you haven't already snatched up some accessories for your new tablet, Sprint is offering quite a bundle for your new toy — buy its 4G-enabled Overdrive WiFi hotspot at participating Best Buy stores, and get a free accompanying iPad case! They had me at 4G.

If you're one of the lucky consumers abroad who are able to throw down for the Apple iPad, you'll unfortunately have to wait a little longer to get your hands on the tablet goodness. Apple has announced a month-long delay in international availability due to the overwhelming response to the iPad here in the US. First-day sales for the iPad were huge, and while the 3G-enabled version is expected to sell incredibly well when it hits stores at the end of this month, Apple has decided to use its reserves to fill and satisfy US orders first before expanding into other countries.

It's not unfamiliar territory for Apple to have this kind of delay for the iPad — the initial launch date was a week behind the original target, preorders sold out shortly after they were made available, and the Apple-branded accessories fell behind on the shipping dates as well. If you're living outside the US, you'll be able to get pricing and availability details, and start making your preorder arrangements for your iPad on May 10.

If you weren't waiting in line for an iPad (or even if you were), you were probably also tweeting about the new tablet — reasons you were buying, how long your wait was, and why you weren't throwing down a minimum of $500 for the new Apple tablet. While you were tweeting, a company called Attensity analyzed all iPad-related tweets during launch day and came up with some interesting results. Although 87 percent of Twitterers had intentions to buy the iPad, 26 percent of tweets expressed disappointment that the iPad can't replace their iPhone.

The biggest gripe about the iPad that I've heard so far is the lack of Flash support (which came in second place for Twitter complaints at 19 percent), but I don't think I've ever heard anyone lament the fact that it can't replace an iPhone. First off, it would be a little difficult to maneuver, and too heavy to carry around on a daily basis. Although it's news to me, I'm wondering if you agree — are you upset that the iPad can't replace your iPhone?

Not only was Saturday a big day for the iPad, it was a big day for at least one retailer, too. San Francisco-based Sightglass Coffee has been accepting credit cards via Square, the mobile payment app started by Twitter alum Jack Dorsey. Now, they're using Square on the iPad to accept credit cards for purchases, and even managed to build one of the most amazing iPad stands I've ever seen. It swivels to allow the customer to swipe their own card and sign the touch screen, then back again for the employee to finish the transaction.

I can't wait to see how many other companies will start to implement this payment strategy. While Square users do still have to pay around 3% to verify a user's card (similar to any retailer accepting credit cards), there are relatively few startup costs relative to costs incurred by retailers using traditional systems. Besides, how beautiful does this setup look? If you're in San Francisco, be sure to drop by and take a look — the coffee is delicious!

Although we have to wait a few more days to get our own iPads, PC Mag got their review unit early, and were kind enough to take us all on a walk-through of what the iPad comes stocked with. Shocker — no earbuds! We saw most of its features in action during the announcement event in January, but it's cool to see the tablet in action again. Check it out below!

The highly anticipated iPad launch is just days away! If you haven't preordered an iPad, you'll have a few options when it comes to purchasing the gadget in person. According to an Apple press release, most Best Buy locations will carry the iPad when it goes on sale this Saturday. But apparently, iPads available at Best Buy will be in limited supply; according to a recently leaked Best Buy internal memo, each location will only receive 15 iPads — five of each of the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models — for this Saturday's release. Additionally, not all of these will be for sale; four iPads at each store will be marked as demonstration units only.

There's no report on how many iPads will be available at Apple retail stores, but hitting a store may be your bet bet if you're hoping to snatch up the device this weekend, since online supplies for preorder are already exhausted. It remains to be seen if the iPad will draw the same crowds as the iPhone's initial launch . . . I can tell you that there aren't any crowds waiting outside yet!

If you hadn't already preordered your iPad when it became available earlier this month (and trust me — there were a lot of you), then you'll have to wait an extra week to get your hands on it , while your keyboard accessories will take even longer to arrive. I'm not surprised at the iPad fever — since it seems everything that Apple releases turns to gadget gold — but I guess I am surprised that Apple didn't anticipate the lust for the tablet and make more to begin with. Reminds me of the great Wii shortage of 2007.

And just because you didn't get a walk-through of the iPad by Steve Jobs at the launch event in January doesn't mean you shouldn't get your own personalized tour of the iPad now. Apple just released a series of walk-throughs on its site to bring you up to speed on all that the iPad is capable of. Consider it an amuse-bouche to the full iPad meal coming up later this week.