Those who weren’t quick enough to pre-order their new iPad online have one last resort.
That would be going to an Apple Store on the actual release date this Friday. And now, the company has confirmed exactly what time the device will go on sale at every location chainwide.
The metaphorical vault will open at 8:00 AM local time. That means people in Eastern Australia technically get the first crack at it, as the time zones cascade and the units begin selling in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe, and the US.
The new iPad, which is officially just being referred to as the “iPad” even though many still call it the iPad 3, boasts an amazing new display along with 4G LTE connectivity.
Beyond that, though, there isn’t a whole lot of change from the iPad 2. Many are disappointed that this is merely an incremental upgrade, in much the same way that the iPhone 3GS was just a minor update to the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4S didn’t really differ much from the iPhone 4.
It is for that reason that Apple likely doesn’t even want to call the new device the iPad 3. The company is under pressure to release product updates every year, when in reality it takes multiple years to actually advance the technology significantly.
So, the new iPad will sell like gangbusters just because it’s from Apple and it can be described as being “new.” But expect the next iteration of the tablet to be the one that is actually new and interesting.
