Good afternoon! There’s T-Minus a couple of hours until the iPad 2 goes on sale in the UK at 5pm, and as you can see from the lengthy queue outside Apple’s flagship Covent Garden London store today, you may not have much luck snagging one there and then. Apple’s online store is already a no go too: orders went live at 1am, and dispatch time is now a lengthy 3-4 weeks.
So how can you get one today still? DON’T PANIC. Instead, read our guide, and we’ll get one in your paws pronto.
You could try your luck at an Apple store, but these are few and far between in Great Britain and queues will already be in full er, stationary swing: your odds of snagging an iPad 2 will be greatly increased if you try one of the other stores selling the iPad 2 today.
SIM free and Wi-Fi only
The chances are, you’re probably after the Wi-Fi only version of the iPad 2, which unfortunately means you won’t have any luck at the high street stores of the big mobile networks. Your best best will be to head down to a Currys or PC World and hope it’s out of the way enough that noone else will have figured to do the same.
While we don’t know how much stock each shop is getting, the good news is there’s a full list of stockists for both chains right here.
You could also try Carphone Warehouse, though far fewer branches will be stocking the iPad 2 from 5pm today – the list is here.
With 3G
If you want an iPad 2 with 3G and GPS built in off contract, you’ll need to try Apple, Currys or PC World again: we’ve confirmed all three will be selling these models too. However, if you want one on contract for a subsidised price, you may well be able to jump the queues by trying your local Orange, T-Mobile or Vodafone shop. All three are selling the slate at a subsidised cost of from £229 for the 16GB model (£199 if you’re already a customer on said network), but on a two year contract. Your choice!
Online
We’ve found one site that is shipping the iPad 2 within one or two business days, not a full lunar rotation. Simply Electronics has every model of the iPad 2 in black or white. Be warned though: it’s charging an £80 mark up on all models compared to Apple store prices.
Got any more tips? Share them in the comments, and good luck iPad 2 hunting!
