Apple Already Preparing Some Early iPad Mini Pre-Orders for Shipment

Just 12 hours after iPad mini pre-orders went live, Apple has already begun preparing some of those first orders for shipment. The status reflects the final step before the packages are handed off to delivery companies. So far, we have seen a pair of reports in our forums with at least one of them coming from the UK, and another report from a Twitter user in Germany.

The first pre-orders of Wi-Fi models are scheduled for delivery on Friday, November 2, with Apple typically arranging with delivery companies to have shipments held until the launch date. It is not unusual, however, for a handful of orders to slip through early.

Apple sold out of its launch-day stocks of the white iPad mini models in the United States within minutes, and with the company still offering launch-day delivery on the black models it appears that supplies of the white models may be especially tight in the early going. Orders for Wi-Fi models in many other countries went to shipping estimates of two weeks essentially immediately upon opening, while cellular-capable models are projected for mid-to-late November availability.

(Thanks, Rob!)