“Stock of the fourth-generation iPad has evaporated at Apple’s online store,” Electronista reports.
“All colors, capacities, and wireless combinations are no longer available for delivery on Friday, the tablet’s official launch date,” Electronista reports. “They are, however, still set to ship within a week, indicating that Apple should have a reasonable supply at hand.”
Read more in the full article here.
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Apple may let you swap your new iPad 3 for an even newer 4th generation model – October 24, 2012
Apple debuts 7.9-inch iPad mini; unveils new 4th gen. iPad with 9.7-inch Retina display – October 23, 2012
Shocking! Take that Amazon!
Is the Surface sold out?
Has Microsoft even sold any?
Online sales for Surface did sell out rather rapidly but who knows how many Microsft was able to make? No worries, with all the returns there’ll be plenty if refurbs available.
Yes, the Surface did sold out with in 3 days.. all 5 tablets in their inventory sold.
They are expecting 4 more refurbs in a few days and the other sold unit is staying with a paid developer.
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Your answer, albeit true, killed me!
You forgot that Rob Enderle got one as well.
He was the second one to return it so that he could buy it again at the refurb price.
Yes , sold out of the total 10000 surface .
Next wave of iPad tsunami building
” Apple should have a reasonable supply at hand.”
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Yes, they should. They are after all the largest company in the world and should b able to meet demand for at least one of their new products.
Most other companies would sell their mother, grandmother, firstborn, and cut off Ballmer’s right one to have such terrible problems as selling out and not being able to make them fast enough.
Um yeah, it is a problem..
iPhone, iPad mini, 4th gen iPad, retina display MBP’s, new iMacs. They need to be able to ship enough of their products to meet demand. If not, the stock tanks even more than it has. and *some* customers will looks elsewhere.
Actually, I have worked in the industry for many years and have to say that you are wrong.
Marketing and sales work together. It’s important to have “enough” inventory but how much is enough is tricky. And the true goal is to meet 95% of demand. The remaining 5 percent will still get sold and everyone knows how popular your product is.
No they wouldn’t.
The goal *always* is, and *always* has been, to make as many as you can sell and to sell as many as you can make.
If you can’t make enough, some fraction of those customers go elsewhere. If you can’t sell enough you end up with inventory you have to firesale. Neither is optimal.
Right.. And knowing supply/demand is a big part of running a business. Of course, surprises happen and sellouts occur, but when every single one of your products is having supply/demand issues, there is a problem.
If it were a situation like Apple’s, most companies *would* be glad to sell out and not being able to make units fast enough. Optimal be darned. Tell me what company would be against selling 5M high-margin units in a few days.
Of course Apple would prefer to be able to satisfy demand from day one. But ramping up for new product releases is a balancing act – how long do you delay before announcing and shipping? I think that Apple would lose more sales overall by waiting longer to build up a larger inventory than to release earlier, sell out, and have people waiting for their turn while the positive news rolls in.
It’s getting to be a tired story… Yes, we know other companies would like to sell as much as Apple… That’s the point…
The point is Apple has a string of new products and the supply chain is behind and or backordered on every single one of them… That’s not good business sense, anyway you look at it..
should say “that’s NOT the point”…
I bought my 3rd gen iPad 26 days before the 4th gen was announced. I loved it. I went to my local Apple Store where I bought it and they gladly took It back without hesitation, even beyond the 30 day return limit. I then ordered vis the online Appke Store a new 4th gen iPad Taft will arrive on Friday.
I’m getting a new iPad that will be twice as fast at no extra charge because Apple cares about its customers. THAT is why Apple is so successful. Not just great products, but people who care. Try returning something to Amazon. On second thought, don’t.
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How about not buying anything from Amazon in the first place.
iPhone 5 production has become a joke. I had to wait a month for mine, and my wife is going on 3 weeks right now. We understand the value and were willing to wait for a quality product. Millions of others are not so patient and when they are eligible for a new phone they will leave with whatever the store has got . . . just like being tied to AT&T for too long allowed Android a foothold in the US market at Verizon, so too is this production issue.
I understand it just means they are selling really fast, but it’s still a missed opportunity. In a NOW society, you’ve got to find a way to have product waits reasonable.
You can’t go the other route, and stockpile 500 million before releasing them, so whattcha gonna do? Just cause people are spoiled babies who have to have it now or else isn’t a reason to change your business model.
I doubt that Apple could produce enough unless they utilized every production line, in every available production facility in every country in the world.
FoxCon has said this is the most difficult, demanding product they have ever produced. Not many production lines are capable of thinking about assembling something of such high quality and tight tolerances, much less producing it. All most are good for is spewing ill formed plastic junk.
My 5 is due to srrive tomorrow, after waiting almost a month. Small waiting period, small price to pay.
Oh, and PerfectMacTrollGuy, don’t even bother coming back with “oh God in heaven why can’t I wait longer and pay even more” If you don’t understand and appreciate quality, and want the company that gives it to you to remain in business, please stick with your wannabe plastic garbage knockoff.
I get why it’s taking so long. But it is no less a missed opportunity.
It’s paradoxical: If it were made shittier, fewer people would want it.
For some reason, I don’t think Surface information is true, knowing M$, this must be PR stunt, they are trying to show that Apple is not the only company which can have sold out product
The one thing i like about surface and the samsung glaxy 10 is you can have a video playing on one side and check your email still or write a letter on one side and still have something else going or rather then look back and forth between something if i need to i can have 2 things going at once.
many many times i am trying to look at something and do something else and even cut and paste becomes a pain i have to close one app launch the other copy then close it launch the first and do it all over again.
still love my ipad though but that 1 feature would be nice
That feature is great, I agree. Things like email are great for existing in a dock, while the main app gets the 4:3 space in the middle.
It would be good if someone would make an app that would do this since apple wont
did machine gun kelly perform at the microsoft tablet intro ? 🙂
The logistics genius that got Apple to this position is now running the company. Has he forgotten how to do it or are the phenomenal numbers going beyond what Apple can even manage.
$36 billion in 90 days and the big quarter is already 30 days in with delivery delays everywhere. Could Apple have shipped $100 billion in this quarter if the supply side could make it? Just Magical and Revolutionary!