Apple iPad Availability Improves To 24 HoursApple iPad Availability Improves To 24 Hours

The wait time for new iPad's has been slowly decreasing all summer long. Several weeks ago, the iPad was shipping within three to five days, and in late July, the iPad was shipping within seven to ten days.

This week, the wait time for new orders to ship has at last dropped to just 24 hours, which is typical of most products purchased from the Apple Online Store.

In early July, LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo said that the company was having a hard time making enough of the screens for Apple. The iPad's 9.7-inch display is an LED-backlit, glossy widescreen, multitouch panel with IPS (in-plane switching) and 1024-by-768-pixel resolution.

"Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can't meet it all," said Kwon. "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products, but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year."

The iPad has been on sale now nearly five months. It went on sale in the U.S. April 3, and has launched in a handful of other markets around the world since. Apple was forced to delay the iPad's launch in some markets due to the shortages.

It's not clear if the supply-demand equalization is a result of increased supply, dropped demand, or a little bit of both (most likely).

As for the iPhone, the wait time for new orders is still three weeks. The wait was three weeks at last check in mid-August. Apple has not said if or when ship times for the iPhone 4 will improve