I dont know how im going to get it on the 30th if it hasnt left china yet! >:-(
I've seen a lot of discussion about whether the arrival of the iPad 3g is still accurate given the lack of shipment notice so far.
There is still hope though. I figure Apple is smart enough to pull together a supply chain approach where the iPad 3Gs are mass shipped to a regional warehouse/holding facility. It would be cheaper to ship that way, could be done over time to reduce risk, and can be very precise to coordinate arrival of all units on same day (I have an MBA in Global Operations Management, and this is how I would coordinate it). They could also do this over time in large batches to reduce risk of a single point of failure.
If done properly, this could create a day of travel for the device (Thursday) to a delivery facility, and a day to actually deliver (Friday). This approach can be tough to execute though, so if they are doing this and pull it off their supply chain EVP deserves a huge amount of recognition in my opinion.
Yes, I'm stoked to get the device. No, I'm not freaking out about it. Yes, I think they can get the units to everyone this Friday as long as shipment notices go out no later than by 8am Thu.
My two cents at least...