SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 02: Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaks about the new case protector during an Apple Special event to unveil the new iPad 2 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 2, 2011 in San Francisco, California. Apple unveiled the iPad 2 as the successor to its popular tablet, the iPad.
Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesInterested in buying Apple’s new iPad 2? You might be out of luck.
The new version of the tablet computer, which became available to consumers late Friday afternoon, is “all but sold out” at Apple stories and other retailers around the country, USA Today reported Sunday.
In fact, Apple stories in major U.S. cities had sold out of the device within hours of its becoming available, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Apple has not released sales figures, but analysts estimated that 400,000 to 600,000 units were sold in the device’s first three days on shelves. That’s about the same amount that the original iPad sold in its first week.
Meanwhile, online orders are backed up by three to four weeks, according to Apple.
“Demand for the next generation iPad 2 has been amazing,” Apple said in a statement. “We are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.”
The iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. It also features more functionality in the form of dual cameras, a built-in gyroscope and HDMI connectivity for playback on HD TVs.
The first iPad has sold more than 15 million units overall.
