Sounds impressive, but it actually only has to beat one previous year. 2008 marked the first time the conference ever sold out, a feat accomplished no doubt on the strength of the introduction of iPhone development to the roster. Last year it took two months for all the WWDC tickets available to get snatched up. This year, it only took half that time. If you’re looking for reasons, you need only look as far as a certain recent milestone achieved by the App Store that ends in nine zeroes (hint: 1,000,000,000).

It doesn’t hurt that Apple was also offering a discount of $300 for those who signed up early (by April 24). That brought the total price to $1,295, down from $1,595. I’m not sure I’d call that a “deal,” but it was probably an enticing incentive to those who make (or hope to make) their fortune thanks to Apple’s various development platforms. The rest of us who aren’t lucky enough to have nabbed a spot aren’t completely out of luck, though, since Apple promises to make session videos available following the conference itself.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Mobile Q4: All Eyes Were on Android, 4G and the Rising Tablet Tide
• Report: A Mobile Video Market Overview
• In Q3, the Tablet and 4G Were the Big Stories

Reports are coming in that Apple’s new MacBooks and MacBook Pros are selling out in retail stores around the world.

Apple’s flagship San Francisco store reportedly had no stock as of this morning, and our own David Appleyard apparently scored the last new MBP at the Manchester Arndale store.  The London Regent Street flagship store is also announcing that they are out of stock, and calls to the Toronto Eaton Centre Apple Store confirm that they also have no stock and aren’t sure when they’ll be receiving any.

With flagship stores in three different countries already experiencing stock shortages, it’s clear that Apple’s new notebooks are being fairly well received by consumers, even if analysts are disappointed in the high price points of the new notebooks.  It’s not clear from these reports whether sales have been exceptionally high, supplies are short, or some combination of the two.  Another possibility is that Apple is taking a page from Nintendo’s playbook and short-stocking in order to drive up demand.  Whether real or orchestrated, the same tactic worked well for them when the iPhone 3G initially launched.

If you’ve run into any stock shortages or outages at your own local store, or if you were lucky enough to get your hands on one, let us know.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Why iPad 2 Will Lead Consumers Into the Post-PC Era
• The Near-Term Evolution of Social Commerce
• Content Farms: The Players, The Benefits, The Risks