New iPad Launch Still On For Friday Despite Pre-Order Sell-Out

Apple confirmed Wednesday that the new iPad will be available at its online and retail stores, starting at 8 a.m. local times, Friday. The highly sought-after device will be sold in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It will be available at other global locations starting March 23, the tech giant said.

Confirmation of the availability date is good news for any eager tablet-buyers who were unable to snag the new device through pre-order last week. Initial pre-order stock sold out only two days after it was unveiled, Apple told All Things Digital last week.

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"Customer response to the new iPad has been off the charts and the quantity available for preorder has been purchased," Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller told the publication. Many pre-orders placed online have slipped from a March 16 delivery date – the day of the official launch – to March 19, Muller said.

The new device has been the talk of the tech world this week, touting a new 31 million-pixel "Retina" display and an A5X chip, said to deliver double the graphics performance of the prior-generation A5.

Apple also announced last week its new Configurator app, allowing users to configure and deploy up to 30 iPads and iPhones in a single instance. The Configurator is thought to be especially useful for leveraging Apple devices in enterprise settings, which is becoming more commonplace with the rise of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend. The tool facilitates the assignment of devices to individual users, along with the installation of apps.

Rick Jordan, director of Sales and Strategic Alliances at Tenet Computer Group, a Toronto-based solution provider and Apple reseller, told CRN that the new iPad still appears to be a primarily consumer-driven device. But its growing footprint in the enterprise, due to the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend, is at least boosting demand for additional networking and security services, such as those provided by the channel.

“The iPad is a wildly popular consumer device, and the new Configurator app has taken the sting out of managing Apple devices in small organizations. However, Apple has yet to offer an enterprise-class solution for mobile device management in larger organizations,” Jordan said. “Nevertheless, Apple has most certainly helped create an enormous demand for BYOD and wireless practices, policies, and resources, which then need to be managed by enterprise IT departments. This added demand seems to be Apple’s biggest contribution to mobile business communications.”

Apple said that every new iPad-buyer Friday will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them to set up e-mail and load new apps. In addition to Apple retail and online stores, new iPad will be available at U.S. Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart locations.

The new iPad comes in three models: a 16GB for $499, a 32GB for $599 and a 64GB for $699. Apple has knocked $100 of its second-generation iPad 2, which is now available for $399.