The iPad 2 went on sale at 4:00 AM Eastern Time on Apple’s website, and within a matter of hours it appears the initial inventory has been sold out.
To be sure, the online store is now informing customers that their iPad 2 orders will not ship for 2 – 3 weeks.
The delays rose incrementally as the morning progressed, initially increasing to a wait time of a few days and then jumping to a matter of weeks.
This is in spite of restrictions Apple put in place, preventing any single customer from ordering more than two of the new iPad.
The huge sell-out, of course, takes into consideration both the loyal Apple customers who absolutely had to be the first to get the new gadget as well as the herds of Ebay account holders knowing that people will pay more for a device if it’s hard to find – which, for now, the iPad 2 is.
However, that may be a different story later today, as Apple’s retail network has expanded greater than any product launch in the company’s history.
Sleepyheads who weren’t able to get their orders in early aren’t completely out of luck, however. Retail Apple Store locations won’t begin selling the device until 5:00 PM at the store’s local time.
Additionally, the device is already stocked at AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target stores around the country. They have all been given the same 5 PM time requirement as well.
