Is there an iPad delay or is March 26 the iPad D-day?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 19:32

Your IT - Home IT

When Steve Jobs announced the iPad, the word was that it would arrive in late March for the Wi-Fi version, and 30 days after that for one with inbuilt 3G, but while one analyst says the iPad will be delayed, a news report suggests that March 26 will be the day the iPad arrives in stores after all.

Whenever it comes to anything Apple, there's really only one thing that's absolutely 100% certain: rumour, speculation and leaks of some kind, whether misinformation or not, are guaranteed whenever anything new from Apple is on the way - and that there'll be plenty of it!

With Apple usually refusing to confirm anything, or add many, if any, additional details once a product has been announced but hasn't yet launched, the rumour mill has again been working overtime on the iPad front, with even talk of a new gesture-based interface for the iPhone 4.0 due later this year.

First up it was the news from AppleInsider that analyst Peter Misek from Canaccord Adams expected the iPad could be delayed 'by a month due to alleged production issues'.

This meant only 300,000 units would be available on launch, rather than the reported 1 million units for March, and an estimated 800,000 units for April, and because of the lower than expected numbers of available units, the entire iPad launch might be delayed for a month so there's much more stock on hand when customers come surging into Apple stores.

The delay is attributed to an 'unspecified production problem' at Hon Hai Precision, the company that is supposed to be manufacturing the iPad, but a new report from The Examiner says that the iPad will launch in late March after all, just as Apple had announced.

The Examiner's 'inside sources' and an unnamed Southern Californian Apple Store Manager claim that Apple Store employees will get to see the iPad from March 10, presumably so they can be super excited and knowledgeable about the device for the launch day itself, with that day said to be March 26.

While the date hasn't been 'set', March 26 is 'very likely'.

What about the 3G/GPS version - and word of a "special gift" for iPad campers? Please read on to page 2.