Radio Shack starting up iPad pre-orders

According to a CNET report, Radio Shack has become the first third-party retailer to accept pre-orders for Apple's new iPad. To pre-order through Radio Shack, you have to purchase a US$50 gift card and go into a physical store to place your order.

Radio Shack is an authorized Apple reseller, and the chain currently sells the both the WiFi and WiFi+3G iPad 2 through its stores. As CNET points out, the Shack is also one of the few iPad resellers that accepts trade-ins of older iPads when purchasing a new model. We've reached out to Radio Shack to verify this report, but have not yet heard back.

Update: A few Radio Shack employees reached out to us to confirm this report. They also point out that Radio Shack has a trade-in program for older iPad models and other electronics.