Apple may be a despot of its own walled garden, but that doesn't mean it's not benevolent. The iPad's
international launch on
May 28 has prompted the company to open Stores an hour early, at 8AM local time, in order to give its devotees a reprieve from hours of queuing outside. Then again, that little asterisk up there points us to an ominous "while supplies last" note at the bottom, which together with current pre-orders being fulfilled at some unidentified point in June, might force the most impatient to just get to the Store even earlier. UK buyers will get an alternative option thanks to Dixons Group stocking Apple's slate in Currys and PC World outlets, an arrangement that we keep hearing might be exclusive for the first sixty days after launch. Either way, you've been warned, don't be tardy if you wanna be trendy.
P.S. The iBooks app has also made its debut outside of the US today, though at present it's limited to just freebie titles, and the iBookstore is still described as "US only."
Update: The latest we're hearing is that at least some Apple Premium Resellers will also be getting stock of the iPad in the UK -- worth checking out if other options sell out.
posted May 25th 2010 6:47AM
Does that mean I can take the day off?
@commenter7 You can only take the day off for 'breaking' news items (i.e anything Topolsky posts about Apple) that would require a day off.
My guess is nobody in the UK cares much about the hype-pad - it simply hasn't raised the bar highly enough and for us, the next iPhone is a couple of weeks away from the iPad launch unlike the US so sales will be lackluster as a phone is just way more useful.
@TinWard keep dreaming.... Be prepared to eat your words. This thing is sold out throughout the US and will do the same in the UK after a couple of days.
@TinWard Do you even pay attention to the news? The UK was outraged when the iPad launch was pushed back. They complained like crazy when the price included the tax (so it looked a lot more expensive). They have also been importing via eBay and other outlets for a very steep premium. But maybe the news outlets are wrong, the reviews are wrong, the sales numbers in the US are wrong and your "hunch" is correct.
@TinWard There are still enough fanbois that there will be queues in front of every apple store in Britain. As for the average consumer who is interested in the ipad, they will have to wait for it to be restocked later in the month.
Mind you, as the 3g version seems more popular (and is coming out at the same time) the wifi only version might not sell out.
@TinWard
Well considering they sold out of pre-orders for the 28th launch in the UK, you clearly guessed wrong.
@trainwrecka
Don't make me laugh.
We were "outraged when the price included the tax"?!
That's the norm here. Who cares whether it "looks expensive" or not, we like to know exactly what we're paying not,
"Oh geez that's cheap!" *Goes to counter* "Hmm few hundred more expensive han I thought, but whatever, at least it lookd cheap at first! Woohoo!"
You clearly know nothing about the UK VAT system or our mindset, I suggest you also inform your "news" channel that they are a bit confused.
@TinWard LOL...what an epic fail at trolling. Which part of the UK r u living in?!? the Shetlands??!? idiot
New retail store opening in Australia too http://www.apple.com/au/retail/bondi/
@Benaus
As far as I can see there are no Apple stores in France and Spain at all. So what about them?
@SeeKo What's this, then:-
http://www.apple.com/fr/retail/carrouseldulouvre/
@hill60
Weird, then Apple should update their international websites. I was looking at the german one. It does not know any french or spanish stores.
DSGi is the only alternative retailer for the first 60 days? Wow, they're even seeing fit to screw over their own premium resellers...
@r3loaded Well at least Dixons, Currys and PC World aren't third rate stres run by incompetents. Oh.
And the herd begin to flock... Shepherd Jobs leading the way...
@DaveF Yeah, no doubt you're going to sit back smugly waiting for your Courier .....oh wait!
@Cats Have you been stalking me by reading my posts!? Bit weird but flattering none-the-less. Thank you for the personalized reply ;-)
@DaveF
I don't really think he really needed to be stalking you or even have read a single one of your posts, for that reaction. Engadget comments are so predictable that it's not even funny anymore, particularly when it's about tablets and/or smartphones.
The Queen has just declared it a national holiday!
What about the iWork-app? They're still not available.
I've already sent my WFH (working from home) notice to my team at work.
And so it begins...The hunter becomes the hunted.
@vanglorious You were being hunted by an iPad?
erm...no. i was just saying silly surreal things as i sometimes do when i get excited :-) ... it's like a "personal" meme of mine to say that line in a deep movie trailer-style voice.
Looking forward to the brief period of fascination and showing off before the inevitable ubiquity and/or indifference.
Also,
this means the Archos 7 Home Tablet should be released in the UK soon. Huzzah.
So I'm cheap and untrendy...
The iPad has already been on sale here in Hong Kong for a few weeks now.
@mukatuna
BINGOLA
You mean the US models with those insane prices right?
Another foxconn employee is dead today - keep supporting apple and thier outsourcing of death & sweatshop conditions. Just so Jobs can keep his hands clean & plenty of cash on the back of those young Chinese for his next body organ.
@Xing
What you ment to say was- so EVERY ELECTRONICS COMPANY CEO can keep his hands clean & plenty of cash on the back of those young Chinese for his next body organ.
Im afraid the problem is not with foreign companies, but with the fact there are few human rights in China...
@Xing
How about instead of protesting against people buying chinese electronics, you protest against the Chinese government for not implementing modern international standards. What could go wrong, oh wait...
@Prospero
Another foxconn employee is dead today - keep supporting all the companies that don't give a $hit about the human rights and thier outsourcing of death & sweatshop conditions. Just so the CEOs can keep his hands clean & plenty of cash on the back of those young Chinese.
Particulary companies like Apple who pretend to be this big humanitarian supporter and have a client-base of liberal hypocrites that will toss human rights to the gutter if they can get their iPhone quicker.
Don't give me the crap about products costing 20x more if they were made in the US. If you buy that crap, you need to study your economics a little more.
@Xing Wow 800,000 workers across multiple factories and you think they only make Apple products?
I think you need to do just a little bit of research into who else Foxconn makes products for.
SALSA makers for ALLLLLLLL!!!!!!1
I tried making salsa with my iPad and believe it or not, its not really very effective. However, it is *fantastic* for reading the Wall Street Journal, as well as the Financial Times. It is really great for marking up pdf documents (with iAnnotate) so that you can take notes, highlight in various colors, and create a table of contents to navigate around long documents at the touch of a finger), and its a lot of fun to hold the internet in my hands. I'm even getting the hang of touch typing on the virtual keyboard, though I'll never get up to keyboard speed, I already type faster (and neater) than I write with a pen, so I can use it as a note taking device in a pinch.
It is also quite handy for tracking my stock portfolio and quickly reading any news related to companies I own. And it is highly portable, and the battery lasts all day long for normal us (I doubt it would last all day if I never turned it off and kept the streaming quotes and news running for 10 hours....)
So, do I mind that it is a lousy salsa maker? Not overly much.
"ASTERISK" not "ASTERIX". Moron.
Myer will be selling Ipads @ launch day too in Melbourne
Friday is boogey night...sorry ipad... :)