Apple begins iPad preorders but overwhelming demand slows Apple Store Online

“The online Apple Store has begun taking preorders for the new iPad, with color options, 16, 32 and 64GB storage options, and WiFi or mobile 4G options all priced identical to last year’s iPad 2 (which is now discounted $100),” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider.

“The store remained offline for about two hours following the company’s unveiling of the new iPad, and even after going up, the site has failed to respond for some, generating ‘oops’ error messages, recalling the ordering issues Apple experienced under heavy loads for previous iPad and iPhone releases,” Dilger reports.

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: After much trying, we got our orders in for March 16th delivery. Did you?

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]

68 Comments

    1. Pulled the trigger on two 32gb blacks. My wife and I do not share well. Had the iPad 1 with 3g 64gb. Looked to see how much space I had used thus far and it was only 20gb. I figure I didn’t need the 64gb. Also I am mostly near WiFi and if not I will just use my phone for emails and the like. This is going to be a huge jump from what I am used to on the iPad1. Took about 20-25 tries for each iPad.

      1. oh yeah……ordered up my Black 64GB AT&T 4G version…..I live in Austin and I hear the AT&T LTE just screams there. My iPad 2 was Verizon and I wasn’t that impressed with it or their customer service although i do have a 4G LTE usb dongle from Verizon and it screams pretty good. Can’t wait!

    1. Look, we all miss Steve. But these kinds of launch-day problems happened during his time as CEO too. Don’t inaccurately paint Apple as going downhill when this is par for the course.

        1. Dude, I totally agree with Tony. Historically Apple has been overwhelmed at launches. Perhaps heads did roll during Steve’s regime. Perhaps they’ll roll again. All I know is that anyone who has ordered a new iPhone or iPad on day one has had an experience just like today’s. PS— snarky comments like your “comprehension app” remark scream out how incredibly defensive you are the minute someone disagrees with you. If you don’t like disagreement why the F’ do you post to begin with?

        2. Wow, dumb ass, why don’t you look up all the first day launches. There has always been a problem on day one.

          Oh that’s right, you go stop by Apple’s IT department and tell them what to do to fix this. I’m sure you know more than what Apple’s engineers do.

  1. After 100 times online with server crashes, and many many futile telephone attempts I finally got into the waiting for an operator so don’t hang up, getting excited, waiting, and waiting. After 33 minutes it disconnected me. still trying. Root for me.

  2. Worst. Launch. Evarrr.
    2hrs later, Apple Store App keeps crashing on checkout. Empties itself. Starts over order, then multiple quantities appear on checkout. Then it crashes. Rinse, repeat. Ugh.

      1. If multiple people ordering multiple iPads by mistake causes a sellout, then that’s gonna be a huge problem for Apple. If I mistakenly get 30 iPads instead of one, that’s gonna be a huge problem for me.

        1. sell em on e bay. Lol. I’m sure stores won’t be able to stay stocked for weeks after they launch. Just like any other igadget when it 1st comes out. There will be price gouging going on for a bit.
          Is what I don’t get is apple had to know shits gonna go crazy on preorder day. Is there nothing they can do to make sure this won’t happen. It get annoying trying to pre order and it crashes over and over and over. And if you don’t pre order it can takes weeks after launch date to finally find one.

        2. It’s hard to believe that they couldn’t have done better. I don’t buy it anymore. It’s been five years since the first time something like this happened with the original iPhone. If Amazon can handle the millions of transactions on Black Friday, Apple ought to handle a few hundred thousand, or a mil or two easy. There is no more excuse for this kind of crap, not from Apple, nor any company whose bread and butter depends on it.

        3. Comparing AAPL and AMAN on peak transactions is hardly a valid comparison. Look at the number of product divisions, products and variations of products within a set AMZN carries, Black Friday or 24/7.
          You jump from ‘a few hundred thousand’ to ‘a mil or two’ on a day which happens, most likely, once a year for a company with a very small product line with relatively small variation between products.
          If you think Apple didn’t think this through, plan to expedite sales and make the process smooth, then not much else to say here, so simply chiding them may be your best option.

    1. That’s what happened to me too! I had 10 in my cart on the iPhone app and I had to remove them all and start over cause you can’t just adjust the quantity for some reason……but I got it worked out eventually.

    2. I wandered around a grocery store picking up bananas and such with one hand and using my iPhone 4S in the other hand in an attempt to order iPads for my wife and me. Same experience as for many here: crashes, dumped carts, etc. But after
      30 minutes, bingo — 32gb black wifi. And after another 30, 16gb black wifi.
      Then I got the emailed invoices: TWO each of the iPads — on four invoice numbers, so it apparently was not a
      quantity issue.
      That means SIX iPads in a two-person household until four get sold. What the heck!

  3. Tried a half dozen times. Finally went through but it was slow going. I’ve waited for months so a few extra minutes wasn’t hard to take. White 4G 32GB. I would’ve ordered black but this is my wife’s iPad. Her old iPad2 is now the property of a 5-yr old girl (who pretty much already had total possession of it).

  4. Question remains which I have yet to locate: which is a better iPad to purchase (Verizon or AT&T)? I have my iPhone 4S with AT&T; no troubles there. However, if Verizon has greater LTE coverage, is The Verizon model best?

  5. Still Trying. Was about to check out for 64 GB white and got a message “Oops return to the Store” Now after selecting the iPad again, there is nowhere to go – nothing is happening!

  6. This is ridiculous. I’ve never had such a crappy experience buying online – uh, TRYING to buy online. Good grief – all those servers and still dysfunctional.

    Sucks!

    1. Damn you Apple… you just cost me a grand.
      64gb black AT&T iPad 3 + Apple TV.

      But I saw the Pick up at store option… So I’m shipping the Apple TV, and picking the iPad up in person 😛

      Now.. to start clearing the iPad 2 for resale.

  7. After trying for 3.5 hours, on Apple’s site with an iPad 2, and at the same time with the App on an iPad 1, finally got through on the site for a 16-gig, Black WIFI.

    Stoked

  8. 32GB Black WiFi.

    My trusty iPad 2 (32GB WiFi) will be up on eBay with a Ship date on the 19th.

    Does anyone know if the iPad 2 cases will fit the 3 or do we have to replace like from iP1 to 2?

  9. It took me 5 minutes to place my order! logged in at 4:02pm and was out by 4:07. I guess i was lucky? In any case, I am getting mine deliverd on the 16th!!

    16gb/black/at&t

  10. 2 iPads – the limit – my Partner will order 2 on his account …..

    we also made the decision to dump nextel and try some iPhones, so we got 3 of them – but we are a roofing company so it is tough to work with but we are going to try ….. our total bill was over $4k …..

    we are also working with Filemaker Database and have a 15 year old database we are upgrading and going to mobile Filemaker – Our 1996 database still servers us well and has a ton of info in it – built with Filemaker 4.0 and upgraded to 9 and then 10 over the years ….

    We are almost total Apple but still have to use Windows for Quickbooks and Exactamate software, which is a drag …

    Apple products offer so much value and are of exceptional quality ….

    1. Look into a case like the otter box if they are going to be “in the field”
      I don’t use them, but I have seen many that do.

      you could always run Quickbooks via parallels. Sucks that Quicken refuses to make the Mac and PC versions of quickbooks the same.

  11. Oh yes, was trying at 12.00 AM till 1.30 AM Muscat time, no chance, slept till 4.30 AM, woke up again and tried 3 times and was able to finally place the order..it was worth the lost sleep….4G 64GB, Black as my current 64GB is almost full and local operator here in Oman is launching LTE network soon…

  12. Finally got mine. Once I saw how long it was taking for the store to get back online I took it as a clue to mentally prepare myself for delays. After sitting out the first 2 generations I was determined to get a 3rd gen immediately once available so I was gonna wait as long as it took. Luckily that was less than 10 tries. Whew!

  13. Have to wait til the 16th to order from MacConnection which has been barred from taking pre-orders by Apple til then to save $83 of sales tax for my ATT Black 64GB model. So I’ll be behind y’all. 🙁

  14. There’s no point in whining about Apple’s servers being crushed- gexponentiallyFrom here on out, the number of people attempting to preorder Apple’s latest iDevice each time is going to increase- exponentially. Each. Time. Exponential increase.

    Do you think somehow your order is special? That there are not millions upon millions of people doing the same as you, at the exact same time as you? It’s not- they are. So, if you insist on your instant gratification, man up. Suck it up. This is how it is from here on out.

  15. Success! That was a painful few hours trying and trying, but persistence paid off! 32GB white wifi 4G and the new Apple TV! See? I’m setting the conditions for success next year. My wife prefers white! It worked this time 🙂

    1. it’s just timing.
      nothing to do with browser.

      Mine went through with only a little sluggishness. and at 7pm pacific..
      Apple sent me the email saying avail for pickup on march 16th at my local apple store. (I wanted the pickup cause nobody will be here to sign during the day) yet some people said they ordered before me and got a later date..

      so odds are with my luck, i’ll get an email from apple soon saying it will be ready in december now.

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