Your tablet is at the store (maybe)

Computerworld - The wait for a new iPad ordered online from Apple stretches one to two weeks, nevertheless customers can walk into a company store today and buy a tablet, according to a stock sampling.

Calls made by Computerworld to a random sample of 5% of the 248 U.S. Apple retail stores found that none were completely out of stock.

The 16GB Wi-Fi iPad in black

Every store had the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad in black, for instance, during the then and there-most-available model, with 92% of the stores reporting one or more on hand, was the 32GB 4G iPad in black for AT&T's network.

Each store was asked whether it had any of the 12 models in the 16GB and 32GB configurations: In the U.S., Apple sells black and white versions of a Wi-Fi iPad, and black and white colors of the Wi-Fi/4G tablets that compatible with AT&T's or Verizon's data networks.

Days earlier its debut however after Apple began taking pre-orders, the iPad's shipping delay jumped to two to three weeks. Since at the time, the delay has dropped to one to two weeks.

Apple has not released sales figures for the new iPad other than to boast it sold three million units in pre-orders and retail sales while the tablet's first weekend.

The new iPad

The new iPad, with prices that start at $499 for the Wi-Fi model and $629 for the 4G-capable device, features a higher-resolution screen, a faster graphics processor, and support for faster LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) mobile data networks.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general innovation breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

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