Mere hours before the iPad 2 announcement, Apple Store goes into maintenance mode

We’re just hours away from the iPad 2 event and unexpectedly the Apple Store goes down. Any Apple junkie knows that when the Apple Store goes down it is almost certain that a new product is going to make an appearance when it goes back up.

There were rumours indicating that the iPad 2 will be available in stores virtually immediately after Apple announce its existence. Could the rumours be true? Well it’s not long now until we all find out what Apple has planned for the iPad 2.

It makes a lot of sense for Apple to push the iPad 2 immediately after it announced the device. The tablet market place is now crowded with capable contenders in the form of the Motorola Xoom, the BlackBerry PlayBook HP’s TouchPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab II. Although these devices have been announced none of them are in the market.

If Apple can make the iPad 2 available in store ahead of its competitors, that is half of the battle won.

The main question in the minds of many Malaysians will be whether Malaysia make it onto the list of the first markets to receive shipments of the iPad 2. Here’s hoping.