iPad starting to show supply constraints

Best Buy late Wednesday confirmed that it had sold out of iPads four days after launch. While some stores had sold out on launch day, all 673 of the participating retail shops now say they won't have replacement stock until Sunday the 11th. It wouldn't say how many had sold or how much would be in stock with the second wave.

Apple itself is believed to have a much healthier supply but has also been encountering periodic sellouts in the past few days. As of Wednesday, CNET was told that 5th Avenue flagship in New York City was out of all but the 64GB iPad, while the Carlsbad, California store was receiving stock daily but would often sell out before the evening.

The data doesn't supply a complete picture of early iPad sales but indirectly backs suggestions of continued strong sales that would have crested past 500,000 Wednesday and are already estimated to have passed 600,000 today. Such sales are rare for e-readers or tablets, which have usually either sold out only due to low supply or have usually been targeted at niche markets.

By Electronista Staff