Almost two months after Apple unveiled its latest tablet, the new iPad continues to see shipping delays when ordered online. Availability of the device in the U.S. continues to improve, however, with the shipping quotes now whittled down to under a week for the first time since the slate launched in March. Orders through Apple’s online store are now expected to ship in 3 to 5 business days, although international customers will still be forced to wait between 1 and 2 weeks. If the wait is still too long, Best Buy and other retail outlets are said to have plenty of stock. The Cupertino-based company previously said demand for the new tablet was “off the charts.” In the first quarter of 2012, Apple sold 11.8 million tablets.

[Via SlashGear]

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Reports of a staged protest outside an Apple Store emerged last week after a bus full of paid activists dressed in all black stood outside an Apple Store in Australia chanting “wake up.” Early reports suggested Samsung and marketing agency Tongue were behind the staged event, but after Samsung denied any involvement, a potential new culprit has arisen. Macworld’s Australian sister site did some digging and found code on Tongue’s Wake Up website that points not to Samsung, but instead to Research In Motion. The code in question, an account identifier within a DoubleClick URL, has been revealed as RIM’s ID for its Australian website. Macworld also notes that “Blunty,” the bystander who just so happened to capture the protest on camera, has worked with RIM in the past when he posted a three-part video review of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet ahead of its launch in Australia.

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iPad launch day is quite a fiasco. Apple Stores around the country see eager customers line up hours or even days ahead of the tablet’s release, and people often wait hours before they finally make it into the store to purchase an iPad — if there are any left. While there was still plenty of hype surrounding this year’s launch, it didn’t quite seem the same. Apple’s new iPad is a big upgrade compared to the previous model, featuring a faster dual-core A5X processor with quad-core graphics, an upgraded 5-megapixel camera, optional embedded 4G LTE, a slightly redesigned case and a gorgeous better-than-1080p HD Retina Display. But launch day still seemed much more subdued than it was for the release of the original iPad and the iPad 2. Read on for more.

BGR called a dozen Apple Stores in and around New York City between 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. EDT on Friday in order to find out whether or not they still had the new iPad in stock. In years past, checks like these were fielded by apologetic sales associates breaking the news that launch-day inventory had been completely depleted. This year, however, we didn’t find a single store in the New York area that reported a complete stock-out.

Of the 12 Apple Store we spoke with, each and every one still had iPad Wi-Fi inventory available, with just four stores saying that 64GB models were sold out in both black and white. Most stores reported having a significant number of units still in stock and several said they would likely still have inventory tomorrow. “We have plenty left,” one sales representative replied when asked if there would likely be any units remaining later this evening. “Take your time.”

Four stores reported being completely out of iPad Wi-Fi + 4G models, and five more said they were out of the AT&T version of Apple’s new tablet but still had the Verizon Wireless model in stock.

When we asked if there were still people waiting on line for iPads, we were told by a representative at the Grand Central Apple Store that there was indeed still a 30-minute line for new iPads. The only other store to mention a line was in New Jersey, and the sales associate chuckled as she reported, “Yeah, there’s three people on line right now.”

A number of Apple’s retail partners received launch-day iPad inventory as well, and we called a handful of Best Buy locations to see if the story would change at all. We still didn’t speak to a single location that reported a stock-out, however. Workers at three Best Buy stores said that all or most models were still in stock and a fourth said that AT&T models were completely depleted but “plenty” of 16GB and 32GB Verizon models were still available. A salesperson at Best Buy Columbus Circle in Manhattan reported that the iPad has been “flying off the shelves,” but he said that all Wi-Fi models and both Wi-Fi + 4G models were still in stock when we called shortly after 6:15 p.m.

At the time of this writing, the real-time iPad tracker set up by Chitika indicated that Apple’s new iPad accounted for just over 2.1% of iPad traffic across its network.

Apple stated earlier this week that pre-orders were sold out and demand for the new iPad was “off the charts.” Did the majority of day-one iPad buyers pre-order their tablets online this year? Did Apple finally manage to build more than enough tablets to meet demand? Or is the new iPad just not resolutionary enough to warrant the turn-out we have seen in years past? We won’t know for sure until Monday when, or if, Apple shares launch-weekend sales figures. In the meantime, if you want a new iPad and you haven’t yet picked one up, odds seem pretty good that you can still find one fairly easily if New York area availability is any indication.

For readers in the United States who were too eager to pre-order a new iPad and wait for it to be shipped, too tired to head out at midnight and purchase an iPad from Walmart, and too sane to fly east and buy Apple’s new slate before the sun rises over North America, 8:00 a.m. is go-time. Apple’s new iPad is finally available for purchase from brick and mortar retailers on the East Coast, and lines have been forming throughout the night as Apple fans look to get their hands on the company’s latest wares. The new iPad features a faster dual-core Apple A5X processor, an improved 5-megapixel camera, optional 4G LTE connectivity and, of course, Apple’s new Retina Display with better-than-1080p HD resolution. We’ll publish our iPad review some time next week and in the meantime, we’ll have a hands-on preview up later this morning and BGR Editor-in-chief Jonathan Geller will be appearing live on CNBC’s Fast Money around 12:00 p.m. EDT to discuss the new iPad.

UPDATE: Our quick hands-on preview is now live.

Apple Stores are often busy and with the release of new iPhones and iPads, Apple’s retail locations become bombarded with waves of excited customers. According to Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf, the launch of the iPhone 4S sent Apple Store sales to record heights during the holiday quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2011, revenue per store reached $17.08 million, a 42.6% increase over the same quarter in 2010. The average number of visitors per store was up 15.3% annually and sales per square foot reached $2,033 for the quarter — by comparison, the company’s nearest retail rival Tiffany & Co. saw sales of $2,974 per square foot last quarter, Fortune noted. Apple currently has 361 retail locations with 40 more planned for 2012, 30 of which will open overseas. The company currently has five locations in China and is looking to increase that number to 25 within the next three years.

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Last week rumors began to circulate that Apple was planning to open itsy bitsy retail stores in as many as 25 Target locations. During a presentation on Thursday, Target confirmed that it will have 25 stores featuring “special displays” of Apple products. Neither company has provided details on the partnership, however it will likely be similar to Apple’s deal with Best Buy, which sells the company’s products from dedicated mini stores within more than 600 Best Buy locations.

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Apple may be planning to open retail stores inside as many as 25 Target locations, according to recent rumors. The partnership would likely be similar to Apple’s deal with Best Buy, which sells the Cupertino-based company’s products from dedicated mini-stores within more than 600 Best Buy locations. AppleInsider said Friday that Apple is likely interested in Target so that it can offer its products in markets that are too small for a full blown Apple Store. Apple’s senior vice president of retail operations, Ron Johnson, once served as an executive at Target, so there is a new link between the two companies that could add some weight to this rumor.

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We just elbowed our way through crowds, crawled on the ground under legs and ducked beneath cameras to bring you a look at the insanity that is Apple’s Grand Central Terminal Apple Store (grand) opening. The line to get in was wrapped deep inside and around the corridors of Grand Central Station, and there were hundreds of people gathered around the steps of the East Balcony entrance as well. Those who are smart enough to steer clear of the bedlam should be sure to check out our photo gallery below, and stay tuned for more pictures once if we can manage to fight our way inside.

Apple officially announced Wednesday that it will open its brand new Apple Store in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, December 9th. It is the fifth Apple Store location in Manhattan. Apple has 315 employees working at the store, there will be two Genius Bars, and the company will use Grand Central’s balcony coves for personal training and personal setup rooms. The Apple Store Grand Central is open from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00  p.m., and Sunday 11:00  a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Apple’s full press release follows after the break.

Apple Store Grand Central Opens Friday, December 9
Amazing Location to Serve Customers in One of New York’s Busiest Transportation Hubs

NEW YORK—December 7, 2011—The Apple Store® Grand Central, Apple’s fifth store in Manhattan, will open Friday, December 9, at 10 a.m., just in time for the holidays. This one-of-a-kind Apple retail store overlooks the historic Main Concourse from the East and North East balconies of the world-famous Grand Central Terminal, and has two Genius Bars for free tech support and advice.

Convenient services at the Apple Store Grand Central include Personal Pickup, a feature of the free Apple Store App which lets iPhone® users shop and buy from anywhere they are, then pick up their purchase when they reach the terminal. Customers using the Apple Store App can even scan and pay for accessories with their iPhone using the new EasyPay function. And new 15-minute Express Workshops offer tips and tricks in a streamlined format to serve customers on a tight schedule.

The store’s expert team has 315 passionate employees who deliver these and other amazing services, which have become the hallmark of Apple retail stores worldwide.

Beyond the balcony overlooking the expansive Main Concourse, the Apple Store Grand Central offers rooms dedicated to some of our most popular services, including the largest area in the world dedicated to Personal Setup. In the Personal Setup room, customers who buy an iPad®, iPhone, iPod® or Mac® can get up and running before they leave the store. There’s also a room designed especially for Personal Training, where new Mac owners learn the basics or take their skills to the next level as part of Apple’s popular $99 One to One program.

Holiday shoppers in Manhattan now have five unique Apple stores to choose from, each perfectly suited to the neighborhoods they serve: Fifth Avenue, Upper West Side, SoHo, West 14th Street and Grand Central. Around the world, nearly 300 million people have visited Apple retail stores in the past 12 months. There are 361 Apple stores in eleven countries including the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, China, Australia and Canada.

The Apple Store Grand Central is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Apple confirmed on its website Monday that its brand new 23,000-square-foot  retail store in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal will open on Friday, December 9th at 10:00 a.m. The Apple Store will be located on the East Balcony of the train station’s main terminal. Unlike Apple’s 5th Avenue location, the Grand Central store will not be open 24 hours a day. It will close at 9:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday, 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 6:00 p.m. on Sundays. Despite initial reports that Apple’s deal with New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) had soured, Apple officially won approval to occupy the Grand Central Terminal space in July. Apple reportedly agreed to a 10-year contract with the MTA, during which it will pay $800,000 per year to occupy the space. Original rumors suggested that Apple’s Grand Central store would be the world’s largest, those claims have not been confirmed.

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Apple on Friday began offering a factory-unlocked version of its popular iPhone 4S smartphone that will work on any GSM network in the world. The company now sells the unlocked phone in both black and white starting at $649 for the 16GB model. The 32GB iPhone 4S costs $749 unlocked, and the high-end 64GB model costs $849. No carrier contract is required with the purchase of an unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple’s online store, and the vendor is currently quoting shipping estimates of between 1 and 2 weeks. Apple also notes that while the device will work on a variety of GSM networks around the world, it will not work with CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

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Apple on Tuesday released a highly anticipated update to its Apple Store app for iOS, adding functionality that may represent the future of the company’s retail operations. The new app was released five days later than initially planned and while the cause of the delay is unclear, Apple’s new Store app includes all of the great functionality BGR exclusively detailed last week. Apple’s change log for version 2.0 includes “Personal Pickup,” giving users the ability to make purchases in the app and then pick them up at a local Apple Store of their choosing, and “EasyPasy,” a self-checkout feature that allows iPhone 4 and 4S users to scan and pay for accessories without any required interaction with Apple retail staff. Apple’s updated Apple Store app is available immediately in the App Store.

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We’re live outside the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City where Apple has just unveiled the redesign of its iconic glass cube. This is easily one of the most recognizable Apple retail outlets in the world, and the new design makes it infinitely more elegant. There are now fewer glass panels than before and the redesign looks terrific in the morning light. A few store employees are standing outside making sure that nobody will “get fingerprints on the glass” before the grand opening. We’ll be taking more photos once the store opens but in the meantime, check out our images of Apple’s new 5th Avenue store in the gallery below.

UPDATE: The doors are now open and we’ve added almost 30 new images to the gallery, including several of the redesigned interior of the store.

While information about Apple’s new iOS app and retail plans have leaked out in various forms over the past few weeks, we now have the whole story thanks to a trusted source. On Thursday, Apple’s new retail store app for iOS will launch, and it will bring two major features with it. First, it will enable online ordering with retail store pick up. This has already started happening in a few stores in California and New York City Apple stores as well, and more stores will go live on Thursday. Hit the jump for details on what happens when you place an order through the app to pick up in a retail store nearby.

• If a customer orders an in-stock product, pick up will be available approximately 12 minutes after completing the order. Why 12 minutes? Well, the order goes through the system to the designated Apple Store in about 3 minutes. Apple’s back-of-house employees have 2 minutes to set all of the products aside on a shelf from the minute it was ordered. There is then a 7-minute grace period for employees to get everything else in order. Around 12 minutes after purchasing, customers will be able to walk into the Apple Store, skip lines, skip registers, get their products, sign for them and leave. We’re told Apple is really excited about this, and it’s something customers have been seeking for a while.
• If a customer orders something that a retail store does not have in-stock, like a custom-configured machine, an accessory the store does not carry, or something like an engraved or gift-wrapped device, the customer will be a given a pick-up date right after the purchase is completed. Everything will have free shipping when sent to an Apple retail store. Once the order arrives at the Apple Store and is available for pickup, a push notification will be sent to the customer through the Apple Store app, letting him or her know the order is ready. We’re told the same 12-minute timeframe applies here as well: 12 minutes from the time the push notification is received, the customer’s order should be waiting to be signed for.
• We have been told customers who opt to purchase online or through the app will be given priority when they walk into the store over a customer waiting for a retail specialist, and that Apple expects the majority of customers over the next few years to use the in-store pick up option as their default method of buying products. This will help with foot traffic in retail stores while also reducing the cost of shipping for Apple, and possibly even reducing the number of stores Apple needs to open to accommodate sales.
• Apple will offer customers the ability to return items purchased online to retail stores.
• Lastly, we’re told that Apple will be attributing revenue from items purchased in this manner to the retail store where the items are delivered and retrieved. This should help create new job opportunities since hiring at Apple Stores is based on sales. Apple is reportedly expecting a 30% increase in sales at retail stores from this program, and it will only be available in the U.S. for now.

The other major feature coming in Apple’s new app? Customer self check-out at retail stores. This is a huge deal and Apple is the first to be able to put it together. Here is how this will work: after you find the item you want to buy, like an accessory, you launch the Apple Store app on your iOS device and there will be an option to buy a product in the store. You scan the product with the camera on your device in the app, click purchase, and it will charge whatever credit card is associated to your Apple ID. You then just walk out of the store. Yes, we have been told that Apple will not be checking purchases which seems hard to believe, but this self check-out option will launch Thursday worldwide at all Apple retail stores.

As Apple holds a memorial on Wednesday at its Cupertino, California campus to honor the life of co-Founder Steve Jobs, the company will close its U.S. retail stores for at least an hour. Employees of several Apple Stores were informed of the closures at a private company event or by phone, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The exact duration of the closures is unknown, however one employee told the paper they could last up to three hours. Apple Store employees noted that closings of this kind typically only happen ahead of product launches. Steve Jobs’s funeral was held on October 7th, and a larger memorial event for friends, family, Apple employees and industry executives took place this past Sunday. Tomorrow’s event in Cupertino is for Apple employees only.