Twitter is aflame with reports that the iPad has started to ship. Emails to customers from Apple include tracking numbers for the shipments, which are coming via UPS. We don’t imagine that anyone is likely to get their iPad early, but you never know: with the hundreds of thousands of pre-orders, mistakes could happen. Those who have pre-ordered should be pleased that all is going according to plan, and that they can wake up this weekend to a shiny new toy.

This isn’t the first time Apple has teamed up with UPS to get a new device to waiting fans. When the iPhone 3GS shipped last year, Apple commanded UPS to hold on to the packages until launch day, even if they were sitting there, ready and waiting in your local branch like gifts under a Christmas tree.

And remember, anyone nerdy enough to have pre-ordered a $500 device they have never even seen, let alone touched, is nerdy enough to post pictures and stories online as soon as they can. Fingers crossed, then, for early news. If not, Saturday is only five days away.

Have we at Gadget Lab received our pre-order email advisory? Hell no! We’re sending intrepid reporters to the Apple Stores in New York and San Francisco to pick up the machines in person and check out the launch day vibe. We have reserved a couple though – we’re not that stupid.