Apple Store iPad 2 Sales Go Live, Quickly Jump From 3-5 Day Shipping Times To 2-3 Week Shipping Times

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As the online sales for the iPad 2 have kicked off this morning, we have watched as the expected shipping times have rapidly climbed. This little tidbit combined with analyst reports that Apple could sell as more than 500,000 iPad 2s this weekend make it seem like Apple has another success on their hands.

With that, the iPad 2 online sales began at 1AM PST (4AM EST) this morning with an expected shipping time of 3-5 business days and rather quickly that rose to a 5-7 days. And now, coming at less than 6 hours in and we are looking at expected shipping times of 2-3 weeks. At this point we wonder how much further it will get pushed back.

For those wondering, that 2-3 week shipping time is showing for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi in both black and white as well as all storage sizes and all colors of both the AT&T and Verizon models. I guess now may be a good time to start making plans for an in-store pickup if you were hoping to have an iPad 2 anytime soon.

And just in case you previously ignored the in-store sales time figuring you would do your shopping from home, things will kick off at 5PM local time. Of course, given what we are seeing with online sale, we should suggest getting there a bit earlier than 5.

Lastly, as for the analyst expectations, those are coming by way of Brian Marshall from Gleacher & Co. who is noted as being someone “who has covered the industry for more than 20 years and works as a technology consultant.” That said, according to Marshall, he is predicting more than a half-million in unit sales during for the launch. And for those keeping track, that will outpace the original iPad which sold 300,000 in the first 24 hours.

Of course, given some time, it would not be that unrealistic to see a press release come from Apple touting their success.