Apple iPad Air Release Date Arrives: Online Orders Begin In The US, Canada, Europe As Display Yields For Retina iPad Mini Continues

At a time when Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) began taking online orders for the company’s fifth-generation iPad Air on Friday at midnight Pacific Time in the U.S., Canada and Europe, a new report from Japan suggested that supply constraints for the Retina iPad mini forced Apple to turn to Samsung (KRX:005935) to supply LCDs for the device.

According to MacRumors, there is no supply shortage for the new iPad Air, with a number of stores worldwide still showing shipping times of 24 hours. The device is currently available in space gray, black and white, or silver on the Apple Online Store. For the first time, users can even reserve an iPad Air online to come and pickup at a local retail store.

While Apple’s U.S. online store lists a delivery date of 11/4, initial orders from the company’s online stores in Canada and Europe will be shipped within 24 hours for all colors, carriers and capacities, MacRumors reported.

Here are the retailers in the U.S. that are currently selling the iPad Air.

Apple Online Store

Walmart

Target

Best Buy

RadioShack (In-Store purchase)

U.S. Carriers offering the iPad Air:

AT&T

Verizon

Sprint

T-Mobile

Meanwhile, Samsung was brought into the scene to supply Retina displays for the second generation iPad mini as Sharp (TYO:6753) and LG Display (NYSE:LPL) could not produce enough supply of the high definition displays for the tablet, CNET reported, citing Japan’s Nikkei.

According to the report, the supply constraints of the Retina iPad mini has created concern for Japan's largest wireless provider NTT DoCoMo, which was very keen to begin selling the device.

During Apple’s fourth-quarter earnings call earlier this week, CEO Tim Cook cautioned analysts and investors that Apple might not be able to meet demand for the new Retina iPad mini this holiday season. Cook stated earlier this week that he was “unclear whether we will have enough for the quarter or not,” and that Sharp’s low yield of displays was reportedly tied to the shortage.