Apple began taking orders for its redesigned thin-and-light iPad Air in the United States,Canada, and Europe at midnight Pacific Time, after the tablet launched earlier today in several Asia Pacific countries. Supply of the iPad Air has been plentiful, with multiple worldwide stores still listing shipping times of 24 hours.
The iPad Air, available in space gray/black and white/silver can be purchased directly from Apple via the Apple Online Store and through the Apple Store iOS App. [Direct Link] The Apple Store app is often the most reliable way to place an order, as it circumvents web traffic. For the first time ever, Apple is accepting Personal Pickup requests in the U.S., allowing customers to reserve an iPad Air online for pickup at a local retail location.
Initial orders from the Apple Online Store will ship within 24 hours for all colors, carriers, and capacities in Canada and Europe. U.S. online orders list a delivery date of 11/4 rather than a shipping estimate.
In the United States, Apple is selling the 16 GB Wi-Fi only iPad for $499, with incremental storage updates available for an extra $100 and Wi-Fi + Cellular models available for an additional $130. T-Mobile is offering the 16 GB iPad Air for $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $26.25 (additional storage requires a downpayment of $99 for 32 GB or $199 for 64 GB).
Walmart is selling the iPad Air at $479, a discount of $20, and Best Buy will be price matching Walmart's $479 price tag. Target may also be offering the entry-level 16 GB version for $479.
European countries seeing the launch of the iPad Air today include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Apple's retail stores located in some of those countries will open at 8:00 AM local time to begin selling the device.
In the United States, the iPad Air can be purchased from the following retailers:
Apple:
Apple Online Store
Apple Store iOS App [Direct Link]
Carriers:
AT&T
Verizon
Sprint
T-Mobile
Third-Party Retailers:
Walmart
Target
Best Buy
RadioShack (In-Store Only)
iPad Air with LTE tip: You can switch carrier SIMs at will
Choosing an iPad Air with LTE? Apple’s site says your iPad will only work with the carrier you choose. That’s sorta correct: Out of the box, yes, it works with your carrier choice. After that, you can swap service by switching SIM cards.
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Look at Apple’s website for the iPad Air LTE models and you might think that the devices are locked to specific carriers in the U.S. Why? Because the iPad Air purchase page says exactly that: “Your iPad will only work with the carrier you choose.”
Except, that phrase isn’t quite true.
As my colleague Kevin Fitchard wrote last week, there’s only one iPad Air model with LTE for all carriers. Apple was able to accomplish an incredible engineering feat by adding support for 14 LTE bands in one single device. And the devices aren’t subsidized or bought on contract, so they’re not locked to carriers because they’re not subsidized by carriers.
So what’s the deal? Will your iPad only work on the carrier you choose or not? Out of the box, the statement is correct. There aren’t different iPad Air LTE models for different carriers, but if you choose an LTE carrier at time of purchase, your iPad Air comes with a SIM from that carrier. But after that, you can play the field.
I verified this with Apple directly last week and again at my local Apple Store on Friday morning. And then I tested it out in a limited fashion.
This morning, I bought a 32 GB iPad Air with LTE for T-Mobile. A T-Mobile nano SIM was already inside the iPad. When I got home, I activated the iPad Air on T-Mobile’s network to start my free 200 MB per month service. I’ll add more if needed. The process went without a hitch.
The iPad Air, available in space gray/black and white/silver can be purchased directly from Apple via the Apple Online Store and through the Apple Store iOS App. [Direct Link] The Apple Store app is often the most reliable way to place an order, as it circumvents web traffic. For the first time ever, Apple is accepting Personal Pickup requests in the U.S., allowing customers to reserve an iPad Air online for pickup at a local retail location.
Initial orders from the Apple Online Store will ship within 24 hours for all colors, carriers, and capacities in Canada and Europe. U.S. online orders list a delivery date of 11/4 rather than a shipping estimate.
In the United States, Apple is selling the 16 GB Wi-Fi only iPad for $499, with incremental storage updates available for an extra $100 and Wi-Fi + Cellular models available for an additional $130. T-Mobile is offering the 16 GB iPad Air for $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $26.25 (additional storage requires a downpayment of $99 for 32 GB or $199 for 64 GB).
Walmart is selling the iPad Air at $479, a discount of $20, and Best Buy will be price matching Walmart's $479 price tag. Target may also be offering the entry-level 16 GB version for $479.
European countries seeing the launch of the iPad Air today include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Apple's retail stores located in some of those countries will open at 8:00 AM local time to begin selling the device.
In the United States, the iPad Air can be purchased from the following retailers:
Apple:
Apple Online Store
Apple Store iOS App [Direct Link]
Carriers:
AT&T
Verizon
Sprint
T-Mobile
Third-Party Retailers:
Walmart
Target
Best Buy
RadioShack (In-Store Only)
iPad Air with LTE tip: You can switch carrier SIMs at will
Choosing an iPad Air with LTE? Apple’s site says your iPad will only work with the carrier you choose. That’s sorta correct: Out of the box, yes, it works with your carrier choice. After that, you can swap service by switching SIM cards.
tweet this
Look at Apple’s website for the iPad Air LTE models and you might think that the devices are locked to specific carriers in the U.S. Why? Because the iPad Air purchase page says exactly that: “Your iPad will only work with the carrier you choose.”
Except, that phrase isn’t quite true.
As my colleague Kevin Fitchard wrote last week, there’s only one iPad Air model with LTE for all carriers. Apple was able to accomplish an incredible engineering feat by adding support for 14 LTE bands in one single device. And the devices aren’t subsidized or bought on contract, so they’re not locked to carriers because they’re not subsidized by carriers.
So what’s the deal? Will your iPad only work on the carrier you choose or not? Out of the box, the statement is correct. There aren’t different iPad Air LTE models for different carriers, but if you choose an LTE carrier at time of purchase, your iPad Air comes with a SIM from that carrier. But after that, you can play the field.
I verified this with Apple directly last week and again at my local Apple Store on Friday morning. And then I tested it out in a limited fashion.
This morning, I bought a 32 GB iPad Air with LTE for T-Mobile. A T-Mobile nano SIM was already inside the iPad. When I got home, I activated the iPad Air on T-Mobile’s network to start my free 200 MB per month service. I’ll add more if needed. The process went without a hitch.
