03-14-2012, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny yu

Will I be able to buy the ipad 3 on march 16th at 11:20 eastern time. Can u tell me the chances of me buying an ipad 3 that day and that time?(in stores)

No one here would be able to give you that answer.

03-14-2012, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by Johnny yu

What are the chances of me being able to go to the store to buy an ipad 3 on march 16th 11:20 eastern time? What are the chances of me buying one that day at 11:20 knowing that people will be on line waitng for it also?

You're making my brain hurt.

03-14-2012, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

You're making my brain hurt.

Just breath deep, in through your nose out through your mouth.

03-14-2012, 10:20 PM

I bet that there will still be models in physical apple stores and resellers, but on the website orders are already posponed for 3 weeks since people are going crazy pre-ordering them.



One more thing, oddly enough, it is not called iPad 3, it's called simply "the new ipad". Seriously, I'm not kidding.

03-15-2012, 03:55 AM

Originally Posted by ipadsandmac

One more thing, oddly enough, it is not called iPad 3, it's called simply "the new ipad". Seriously, I'm not kidding.

That's not actually correct, and it's not all that odd really. It's just Apple going BACK to their original idea, which was not to give Apple stuff complex names.

The new iPad is, in fact, just called "iPad." The "the new" part is just marketing, like "iPod Touch (fourth generation)." The "Fourth Generation" part was never actually part of the name, and in fact the iPod Touch has always been called just "iPod Touch."

I'm writing this on a 2007 Black MacBook. On the machine itself, it's just called "MacBook" like all the other MacBooks (iMacs, Mac Pros, MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros etc) are called.

So how do we distinguish one model from the other? The same way we do with cars and virtually everything else: by year (if they come out yearly) or by generation (as we already do with iPods and most other Apple products).

So the original iPad could be dubbed the first-gen iPad or the 2010 iPad, but it doesn't change the fact that it's actually just called "iPad."

It's only confusing because Apple deviated AWAY from its own naming convention. Now they are going back to it.

03-15-2012, 04:03 AM

As for the question "Can I get one on March 16th?" I think the answer is "unlikely" at this point (unless you're already in line somewhere).

This answer varies WILDLY based on: a) how many units each store is getting, b) where you'e planning to get one, c) how many other people are ahead of you when you get there. Since we don't know the answer to these questions, nobody can actually say with certainty.

You can INCREASE YOUR ODDS of getting one on March 16th if you a) plan ahead and b) get in line now (maybe you'll be the first!).

One way to help yourself is to know exactly what model you're going to get. If you need an LTE model, I personally would suggest you stake out an authorized AT&T or Verizon store (not a franchiser) rather than the Apple Store where everybody else will be going. The phone stores aren't going to have Wi-Fi only models (for obvious reasons) so they might not see the kind of traffic the Best Buy is going to get. That's my thinking, anyway.

Second, consider which store you might want to go to. Maybe there's a reseller in your town, an Apple specialist that sells iPads. They're going to get at least a couple, maybe you'll have better luck there (if you get there at the crack of dawn and wait) than you'll have standing in line at the 5th Avenue Apple Glass Cube. Where I live, even one of the drugstore chains carry iPads. Since they normally open at 9am, I might try first to go one of the Apple resellers, but if it looks like they're going to sell out I might head over to the drugstore and see if I can get one there.

Anyway, good luck!

03-15-2012, 09:29 AM

No idea if the same will apply for the new one, but when the iPad1 came out I went to my nearest Apple Store (Solihull) at about lunchtime on the day it was released and they had plenty of stock. It was busy but no queues and I was able to buy the one I wanted.

I still love my iPad1.


Good luck on the 16th

03-15-2012, 02:12 PM

Do you guys think they will have these news ipads in stores next week?

03-16-2012, 12:50 AM

I preordered mine when it first came out should be arriving tomorrow.

03-16-2012, 10:15 AM

If you are in the UK you can reserve online with Currys/PC World or Argos etc and go pick up. None of this queuing business.

03-16-2012, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by chas_m

I would say your chance of getting a new iPad from a store on March 16th is roughly approximately equal to your chance of winning the lottery while being struck by lightning while out on a date with Kate Moss.

Well I have to eat my own words, as I myself was able to get one today (though not without a LITTLE difficulty). I did have to stand in line for under an hour, but long story short the store I waited at didn't have the 32GB and had very limited stock of the other options, but I didn't want the other options so I went to a second store (Staples) and had better luck.

I have come away from this experience (and after checking with a few other indie Mac dealers) convinced now that Apple is in fact starving them to death, which disappoints me. The big-box stores (at least where I live) such as Office Depot and other corporates that sell iPads got much more stock and much more variety of stock than the little Mac dealers around here (we don't have a regular Apple Retail Store where I live). I would have much rather supported the smaller Mac dealers.

Anyway, so my original post was wrong, at least if you happen to live an in a smaller community. I still think it would be tough to get an iPad today if you live in a big city, however.

03-16-2012, 03:10 PM

Best Buys near me are showing stock - available. Plus if you are looking for Carrier iPads - then you should try a carrier store. I think they planned better vs the iPad 2, at least for the US. Other countries - I don't know.

03-16-2012, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by IvanLasston

Best Buys near me are showing stock - available. Plus if you are looking for Carrier iPads - then you should try a carrier store. I think they planned better vs the iPad 2, at least for the US. Other countries - I don't know.

Lots of Best Buys in my area are showing stock too.

I picked mine up at lunch, they had the iPad locked in cages by the register by the Geek Squad, there were only 2 people before me

The cage was still half full, but of course it may depend on the areas

03-16-2012, 10:27 PM

I walked into my local Best Buy and 3pm and they had a cage full. I guess since I'm in a smaller area, people don't go as crazy over new tech. They were completely sold out however when the iPad 2 was released.

03-16-2012, 10:54 PM

All my stores had stock on all models except for the white 16GB wifi