New iPad online wait time dips to less than a week

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

The wait time to receive the new iPad has fallen even futher.

Apple's online store now shows a wait time of only three to five business days, down from five to seven days just a week and a half ago. The new estimate covers all six variations of the iPad, from the $499 16GB Wi-Fi-only model to the $829 64GB Wi-Fi + 4G edition.

As Apple's supply has climbed closer to demand, the wait time in the U.S. has gradually dipped from the two to three weeks when the tablet initially hit stores in mid-March. But European buyers still face a longer wait.

Apple's online stores in the U.K, France, Germany, Italy, and other European countries show a wait time of one to two weeks. Apple's Japanese and Korean online stores are faring a bit better with a wait time of five to seven business days.

CNET contacted Apple for comment on the different wait times. We'll update the story when we get more information.

The new iPad is now available to consumers across 56 different countries. Last Friday's rollout sent the tablet to Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa, and Thailand.
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Apple sold 11.8 million iPads last quarter, a 151 percent increase from a year ago.

However, analysts had been expecting sales in the 12 million to 13 million range, possibly a sign that the company is still struggling to keep up with demand.

"[We] can't make enough" iPads, Chief Financial Officer CFO Peter Oppenheimer said last week. "[We're] selling as fast as we can make them."