It seems Apple is catching up with the backlog of new iPad '3' orders. The estimated shipping time on their website currently stands at 5-7 weeks, which is a dramatic improvement from the initial 3-4 week wait period.

The swifter shipping date applies to all iPad models in the U.S, including the most popular versions like the 16 GB Wi-Fi only.

Apple seems much more prepared for the iPad demand this year. At the early stages of the iPad 2 release in 2011, consumers were still facing serious delays for online shipping.

The new iPad sold a record 3 million unites over its launch weekend, Apple Insider reported. Apple's stock has been squeezed since the tablet's launch due to a shortage of Retina displays, according to Apple Insider.

The new third generation iPad has topped the tablet rating chart of Consumer Reports, beating the likes of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and Toshiba Excite 10LE.

ConsumerReports.org heralds the new iPad for its revolutionary 2048 x 1536, 3.1 million-pixel display, describing it as a new benchmark in excellence, providing the best rendering of detail and color accuracy we've ever seen on a tablet display.

The tablet's battery, which has been criticized by consumers for overheating and taking hours to charge, has been deemed as having longer lasting battery life than any other tablet, according to Consumer Reports.

The new iPad Features include:

Processor: A5X quad-core processor touted as twice as fast and four times better performance than Tegra 3 chip.
Camera: 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor on the back, 5-element lens, IR filter, and ISP built into the A5X chip.
Video: 1080p video recording.
Voice Dictation: Supports U.S. English, British, Australian, French, German and Japanese.
4G LTE: New iPad now has 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, with LTE taking the cake at 73Mbps. Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T will be the LTE partners.
Battery Life: 10 hours of battery life still! 9 hours on 4G
Size: 9.4mm thin, weighing 1.4lbs.
Price: $499 for 16GB! 32GB is $599 and 64GB for $699.
Release Date: In stores March 16.