Anyone who managed to complete Apple's farcical online iPad 2 ordering process early this morning (launch day, 25 March) will have faced at least one further surprise. The confirmation emails for those who worked dilligently just to get Apple to take their money reveal that the delivery dates for their shiny new device are over a month away.

Advertised on the Apple Store as dispatching in 2-3 weeks (with Pocket-lint's and other's orders being shipped at the furthest end of that estimate - even though we were clearly amongst the first to have our orders finally approved), the manufacturer claims that the iPad 2s won't arrive for a further 11 days, making the final delivery date exactly one month and one day from launch.

Certainly, it's starting to look as if those queuing outside stores up and down the country will be the only ones to get devices on the actual, intended launch date.

It seems a far cry from experiences with the original iPad, where online orders were shipped early.

Further complaints have also been coming in that many Apple fans who looked to take advantage of the "1am online opening time" are having to mop up further problems today. Due to the site's reticence in processing orders, it seems that Apple was pinging credit cards with the ordered amounts, but not fulfilling that order.

This lead to many credit card companies putting a hold on the activities for customer's cards, and declining further payments. And as the credit card customer service departments were closed at that time in the morning, there were many that didn't get their order approved at all, while others who managed to succeed with a different mode of payment have had to call their banks and card companies this morning to have their cards reactivated, and sort out the payment mess.

Roll on the iPhone 5 launch.

- Apple iPad 2: specs and details