back to article Apple resellers left to pick bones of dwindling iPad stocks

Apple has run out of iPads stocks worldwide, before the third-generation slab of fondling loveliness has even hit store shelves. The devices were available for pre-order last week on Apple's website with shipping date in the US set for 16 March but that has slipped by three days. Expectant owners in other early release …

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  1. The BigYin
    Thumb Down

    One born every minute

    "Apple has run out of iPads stocks worldwide, before the third-generation slab of fondling loveliness has even hit store shelves."

    Should read

    "Apple has under produced initial iPads to create an artificial shortage and thus get lots of free advertising in from various press outlets. It also makes people think that everyone want one so they must be good, which leads the clueless drones into demanding something that they don't need, don't understand and that ties them into buying Apple products and services for ever more."

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Steve Evans

      Re: One born every minute

      Or.

      "Apple continue to be completely incompetent when it comes to introducing a new model."

      Or (more accurately)

      "Gutter press continue to be completely incompetent as Apple once again plays them like a virtuoso."

      1. Tom 38

        Re: One born every minute

        Do you not think Apple would like to sell as many as they can as soon as possible? Seems like that is the best way forward for a business.

        If Apple waited until they had enough stock to fill the initial demand, they would either be stockpiling 'new ipads' for months before launch (pushing back launch), or they would have to pay much more to Foxconn to manufacture more in a shorter space of time.

        Either way it is a balance between having an inefficient or an insufficient capacity to produce.

        Normally it takes desirable Apple devices a good couple of months after a product starts shipping to become 'fully available' in the app store. If you assume that they have been running production of the 'new ipad' for 2 months prior to launch, then in order to meet demand at launch they would have needed either to delay the launch for 2 months, or to have had double the production capacity prior to launch.

        So there are good technical reasons why a highly desired device will always be difficult to lay your hands on at launch. It's not necessarily an Apple thing - look at the RasberryPI - although I'm sure they do love the hype.

    3. E Haines

      Re: One born every minute

      How about, "Apple had as many made as was physically possible given the timeframe, but that just wasn't enough to cover the initial demand". I know, that's very boring and far too lacking in conspiracy theories and irrational hatred to be a good explanation, but it's all I could come up with.

  2. g e
    FAIL

    Maybe Proview got that ban in the end

    Or maybe someone @ apple thinks the Wii demand model is still sensible.

    Or maybe they think they can drag sales out to overlap Samsung releases to dilute Samsung's sales

    Or maybe they screwed up again. Fail.

    1. hexx
      Happy

      Re: Maybe Proview got that ban in the end

      or maybe you're just completely wrong

      1. g e

        Re: Maybe Proview got that ban in the end

        Hence use of the word 'maybe' as in 'it's a possibility though as yet unverified'

        DUH.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Supply Chain

    Considering that Tim Cooks experience was in supply chain it's surprising that it appears to be as bad as it is.

    How many did apple have in stock before the announcement?

    Given the fact that they couldn't get them out of the factory quick enough, I wonder where exactly the blame lies

    http://www.itproportal.com/2012/03/07/ipad-3-shipments-from-china-overwhelm-airfreight-companies-/

    I can see why cynical observers would speculate that apple has deliberately created an artificial shortage. I'm not sure why they'd do that when they seem able to sell as many as they can make when stocks are plentiful. There's more to this than meets the eye.

  4. MGman

    Shipped!

    The shipping date hasn't slipped, that is for new orders.

    I've already had my despatch notice (UK) and so I'm hoping it might arrive before Friday...

    1. JetSetJim
      Stop

      Re: Shipped!

      You may not have noticed that it will still be "estimating" a delivery of 16th March - suspect folks are under strict orders not to deliver before then - I too got a dispatch notice over the weekend.

      It would be nice if they accidentally slipped it onto my doormat early, but I won't count on it.

      1. Chimpofdoom!

        Re: Shipped!

        No estimating on mine... says "Delivers on March 16 "

        Hopefully it arrives before Friday, but again i'm not counting on it!

        1. Nick Pettefar

          Re: Shipped!

          Same here.

          I wonder how long it will take my mum to repack it and send it to me in Dublin...

          Fingers crossed!

  5. NoneSuch Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    The New iPad

    But the same old story...

  6. Fat Jez

    You have to balance a couple of things here. On the one hand, you need to make enough to satisfy initial demand, while factoring in the cost of updating them all to the latest stable iOS release and storing them until needed. But you don't want to tool up too much capacity to meet that initial demand, as that leads to excess capacity later when demand tails off.

    I guess Apple are accepting they will disappoint a few people by not having enough stock to meet that initial demand while not having wasted excess capacity later.

  7. Andrew James

    There's only so many units of something you can produce and store in secret before it starts become a major hassle in terms of leaked information before announcing & logistics involved etc. If you can meet even 75% of demand on launch day, and make sure all those not shipped on launch day have their product within a couple of weeks, you're doing well really.

    Does anyone really think that Samsung et al would expect launch day demand to be 1 million units, so ensure they have 1.2 million units sitting there to cover launch and a period slightly after? Of course they wouldn't.

    You manufacture what you know you will move quickly, comfortably. And have a second batch lined up to ship shortly afterwards. And then a third... and then demand will have tailed off to a "normal" level ... until November.

  8. jai

    it could be skullduggery...

    ...or it could just be that Apple under estimated how many people would want a 3rd gen iPad.

    afterall, if you read the comments on El Reg, you'd believe that no one in their right mind would be buying one...

    1. Doogie1
      Joke

      Re: it could be skullduggery...

      ....or it could be they're trying to avoid making lots of tablets and not selling them. That's an Android patent. Motorola and Samsung would sue them for copying.

  9. despicable me
    Devil

    Alternative supply

    I suppose Apple could just buy in some Samsung tablets and rebadge them.

    They are supposed to be very similar.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    poor foxconn workers...

    Crack those whips even harder FoxConn, we can't leave the bragging brigade without their latest status symbol any longer...

    The 'New iPad' - better resolution, faster graphics processor and most importantly, improved one-upmanship ability!

  11. Lallabalalla
    Trollface

    Such a shame

    that Apple keep producing these terribly crippled bits of hardware kit with so many limitations and restrictions that almost nobody wants them.

  12. mark1978

    So you have to wait a few more weeks, it's not the end of the world!

  13. El_Fev
    Thumb Up

    come on....

    Isnt it just a fad??? so why do you and samsung etc care?? let apple have thismarket and get back to producing real computers?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Keeping interest and demand

    If you don't have devices enough to sell, and want to stop people deciding that they want a tablet, but because there's no iPad (1, 2, 3 the number it's irrelevant) available so let me look elsewhere (Oh, what's the company that Apple is suing?), what you do? "Folks, the demand it's to high (not) but be patient and you will get one!". Err, what else you have do to blind people from thinking that 600+ it's an outrageous amount of money to spend on a toy?

  15. Big_Ted
    Devil

    I feel sorry for those poor people who are selling the "New" ipad on ebay for around £700 with guaranteed dispatch on the 16th or a full refund.

    The poor soles could lose money via Paypal and Ebay fees.......

    Serves the bastards right for trying to profit from the shortage......

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Apple is ridiculously good at marketing

    All of these stories about Apple's supply chain incompetence (as though they are the first company to intentionally limit supply to stoke demand) only read through as "their products are so damn good that they can't make them fast enough." They just turned a technical upgrade into the second coming.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  17. Scott 19
    Coat

    iPad

    So this iPad thingy is it an iPhone with a bigger screen or an iPod with a bigger screen, iGet confused.

  18. Tony Paulazzo
    Happy

    It's all good

    After seeing what the iPad3 contains, I'm still happy with my first gen iPad, the battery life is still amazing, there are one or two apps that demand an ipad2, but I have no desire to create music or edit video's on a tablet, I'm guessing the HD res is for 20 year old eyes, and for serious game playing I have my desktop and 42 inch TV.

    This allows the dust to settle and see what's forthcoming, the third Asus Transformer will be out in a month or two, Samsung may release a third tablet with a working SD slot (I def prefer 4:3 format over widescreen, yet most Android tabs are widescreen (Prime) or SD slotless (Xoom2)).

    As for the shortage thing, I believe it's called marketing. A rare thing is a desirable thing.

  19. Jay 2
    Megaphone

    "An Apple PR person sent a statement to El Reg"

    What Apple are talking to El Reg now?

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