If you haven't already pre-ordered an iPad Mini, odds are that you'll have to jump through some hoops in order to snag one on Nov. 2. It seems that new pre-orders are taking an extra two weeks to ship.
Initial pre-orders of the Wi-Fi-only versions of the iPad Mini are still expected to ship on Nov. 2 — as the device hits store shelves — but any new orders are going to be delayed a bit. (LTE-enabled iPad Mini models weren't expected to ship before mid-November in the first place, of course.) The Apple website currently puts estimated delivery dates as being about two extra weeks out.
So, what if you really want an iPad Mini on launch day? Lace up your boots and pound the pavement early in the morning of Nov. 2. An actual Apple Store is your best bet, because they will all have some inventory at launch.
Apple's other retail partners will have some iPads at launch, but you should aim for the stores with the highest traffic or biggest footprint. "Select Best Buy locations" will have the new iPads in store on Friday at 8 a.m., and Target is showing availability as well. Walmart is another likely suspect, but we were unable to confirm it at this time. As usual, these stores will probably receive fewer units, and are likely to sell out faster.
As a reminder: The iPad Mini starts at $329 for a 16GB Wi-Fi-only model. 32GB and 64 GB Wi-Fi-only models are available for $429 and $529, respectively, while their LTE-capable cellular counterparts — launching later — are priced at $459, $559, and $659, for the 16GB, 32GB, and 63GB versions, respectively.
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