shipping

Apple's self-described "mother of all backlogs" with regard to iPad 2 supplies appears to have improved, with customers now being able to order one from the company and have it shipped out in less than a week.

Apple has 18 different variations of the tablet, accounting for color, capacity, and wireless networking options. All those variations are now listed on the company's online store as shipping in three to five business days. By comparison, the device is listed as "not available" on Best Buy's and Wal-Mart's online stores, while AT&T'… Read more

BRISTOL, England--Imagine being a wealthy traveler in the early 1840s and thinking about whether to buy a ticket aboard the brand-new SS Great Britain, an iron-hull giant of an ocean liner. It promised a speedy crossing from the U.K. to New York, but to your skeptical eyes, it probably also promised a speedy split in half and an agonizing drowning on the high seas.

That was the dynamic that awaited Isambard Kingdom Brunel's great new ship when it was launched in 1843 by England's Prince Albert. Brunel, a famous engineer responsible for, among other things, the Great … Read more

Medici is the iOS adaptation of Reiner Knizia's classic bidding game, a board-game simulation of a dockside auction over the course of three days, in which three to six merchants bid to fill the cargo holds of their ships.

As with adaptations of similarly complex, European-style board games, existing fans of this popular game will have a much easier time with this app--but thankfully, comprehensive rules (perhaps overly so) along with nine different AI choices (each with varying skill levels and tendencies) help to make the learning curve a little less steep. Gameplay is actually very simple once you'… Read more

Usually, when someone says "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen," you know that no matter what they're looking at, they're resorting to a little hyperbole.

But today, when I saw two videos taken from the window seat of a Virgin America flight that show Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo flying alongside in tandem (give the video about 35 seconds before the spaceship appears), my reaction was, well, "this is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

And that was before hearing the audio of the person shooting the video saying … Read more

Are the tight supplies of Apple's new iPad 2 starting to ease up?

U.S. consumers eager to buy the new iPad at the online Apple Store now face a delay of only 3 to 4 weeks before the tablet will ship. The new ship time, which hit the store yesterday, compares with a ship time of 4 to 5 weeks previously.

The new ship times are also now the same that Apple offered shortly after the iPad 2 first went on sale in the U.S. two weeks ago.

Online buyers in 25 other countries--including the U.K., … Read more

While some iPad 2 buyers have been surprised to see their online orders ship early, new buyers are seeing wait times for new orders extended yet again.

Apple today quietly pushed the ship times for iPad 2 online orders back once again, now estimating new purchases at 3 weeks to a month.

The new shipping times, along with sellouts, and limited model availability at retail stores (including its own), are a clear sign that Apple is having a tough time meeting demand. A similar situation took place during the first launch, leading to Apple pushing back its international launch, which … Read more

In what may have been nothing more than a minor footnote to Friday's launch of Apple's iPad 2, shipping times on Apple's Web site quickly jumped from 3 to 5 business days to 2 to 3 weeks.

Interestingly, according to a report from AppleInsider, AT&T is already shipping iPad 2s to customers, with some expecting to see theirs as early as Monday.

As of the writing of this article, shipping times on Apple's Web site are 3 to 4 weeks for all models of the iPad 2. The photo below, from AppleInsider, shows the … Read more

If you were expecting to be able to pick up an iPad 2 from Apple between now and April, your best bet may be to get in line at a local retailer.

Just hours into the iPad 2 going up for sale on Apple's online store, the company pushed back ship times across the entire line of devices from two to three days, then five to seven business days, and now two to three weeks. That lead time could stretch even more with shoppers putting in orders throughout the rest of today and into the weekend.

Similar availability problems … Read more

A few days ago we reported on a rumor that the Nook Color wouldn't be available for two weeks, possibly crimping Valentine's Day sales. Well, while supply at Barnes & Noble's stores remains spotty, with some stores having plenty and others having none, Barnes & Noble has now removed the "ships in two weeks" label from the buy button on its Web site. It's still listed as backordered at BestBuy.com, but it appears that you can now get the Nook Color without delay through BN.com.

Some suggested the delay was due to … Read more