Apple now shipping iPad within 24 hours

Customers have had to deal with extended shipping wait times for the iPad pretty much since  the Wi-Fi iPad began shipping on April 3, but Apple’s production appears to have recently caught up to demand. The company is now saying that it will ship the tablet within 24 hours of ordering from its online store.

For the last few months, Apple’s online store has listed a 7-10 business day lead time on shipping the iPad, regardless of capacity and whether you opted for the Wi-Fi-only or Wi-Fi + 3G model. Apple even had trouble meeting demand before either model began shipping, as some pre-orders for both the Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G were pushed back before the first batch had even shipped. Now, both models carry a ship time of 24 hours that brings instant gratification one step closer.

Interestingly, while Apple is making its typical offer of free standard shipping on the iPad, this is apparently the only shipping option available, at least to customers in the U.S. At present, there appears to be no option to pay extra for either overnight or 2-3 day shipping.