Apple has had a hard time catching up with demand for its new iPad mini. Since the tablet debuted last November, supply has been extremely constrained, and shipping estimates only recently dropped below a month.
But things are starting to even out now—either due to Apple ironing out supply chain issues or a recent drop in demand—because the mini is now showing shipping times (in some countries) of just 1-3 business days…
Right now, Apple’s web stores in both the U.S. and Canada are showing the 1-3 day lead times, a nice improvement over last week’s 3-5 days. And the UK Store’s estimates have also improved, from two weeks to 3-5 days.
Although Apple has not admitted to what has been causing the iPad mini constraints, it was speculated last fall that the supply shortage has been largely due to low yield rates of the tablet’s GF2 (DITTO) touch screen technology.
At any rate, the improved availability of the iPad mini is good news, especially with Valentine’s Day less than two weeks away. Apple is offering free engraving for the slate, as well as free gift wrapping and shipping.
Oh yeah, and it’s also probably worth noting that as of today, the mini is jailbreakable.