Stocks of Apple's next generation iPad 2 tablet are running low in Australia, with reports the tablet has already sold out in other countries after its international launch last Friday.
Apple's flagship store in Sydney told customers it had no iPads left in stock yesterday with other independent and third-party retailers uncertain of their chances of resupply, The Australian reports.
PHOTOS: Fans queue up for gadget
Some customers had waited in line for more than 50 hours at the Sydney's George Street store last Friday to buy the new tablet that went on sale at 5pm AEDT.
In Adelaide, hundreds lined at one of six retail outlets which opened their doors to sell the tablet. But dozens went home empty-handed after the second-generation iPad was sold out within an hour in some stores, the Adelaide Now reports.
In Brisbane, Big W — which offered the cheapest new iPads — were out of stock by Saturday the Courier Mail reports.
Apple's Chermside and Robina stores sold out yesterday, and Harvey Norman stores were sold out of the 20 new iPads they had in stock soon after they opened sales at 5pm.
Terry Smart, chief executive of JB Hi-F, told The Australian Financial Review that even with triple the quantity of stock, he still could not keep up with the demand for the new device.
A lot of retailers had extended trading hours to cope with demand, with the gadget also available for purchase at the online Apple store.
Apple set up a "reserve and pick up" system where customers can reserve an iPad 2 online by 9pm so they could buy it the next morning at their local store.
However, it is not clear whether there is stock left for those who had reserved it online.
Apple gagged retailers from revealing stock levels and one store told the Herald Sun that stock was allocated, not ordered.
The overwhelming demand may also mean shipping delays of up to four weeks.
The Choice consumer organisation said Apple needs to explain to customers why stores had rapidly run out of supplies soon after the launch.
"The only explanation for the shortage is either someone is careless in estimating demand or Apple are very cunning in their marketing strategy," Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn was quoted in The Australian as saying.
"You don't have to be a genius to know the iPad 2 would take off."
Similar stock shortages and supply problems have been experienced around the world, with the iPad 2 selling out across the US days after it went on sale on March 11.
In France, according to Forbes, one shopper said more than 3000 items were sold in just five hours at the Opera Store in Paris, with the store eventually selling out by late Saturday.
In London, supplies were all sold out on Saturday at the Apple stores in Regent Street and Covent Garden, just 24 hrs after it went on sale, the website Pocket-Lint reported.
Outside of London, stores in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester also ran out of the iPad 2, with one representative saying there were no more items in the whole of south-west England.
The iPad 2 is a slimmer and faster version of its predecessor and comes equipped with two cameras for video chat.
The worldwide launch started off in New Zealand, then Australia, followed by France, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Canada and Mexico.
In Asia, the iPad 2 will be officially available in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and other countries in April, with sales delayed in Japan.
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