14 April 2010 | Author: J. Morton News Editor

Apple delays international iPad release till late May

Global techies salivating over their next bite of Apple will have to wait a little while longer for the California company's latest dish, as news surfaces that the iPad's global release date has been pushed back one month.

Introduced in the United States in early April, the tablet computer device - meant to bridge the market gap between smart phones and laptop computers - was set to brave international waters later this month. However, due to what the company explained as under-appraised domestic demand, markets in Europe and other regions will not see the device until late in May.

Apple Inc claims it sold over 500,000 units in the device's first week of availability, including 300,000 on its first day of release, which contributed to the lowered stocks that are now affecting international release. This demand looks to hold steady, the company said.

"Demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks," a statement from Apple read.

Though this is definitely a disappointment for those outside the US looking to get their hands on the device, and certainly Macophiles worldwide, some analysts agree it is a positive sign for the device's overall success.

"It validates that there is strong end-market for the device and that the demand was not coming just from early adopters or 'Mac heads'," said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross in a Reuters article.

Similarly, Charlie Wolf, of the firm Needham & Co in New York, told Bloomberg News: "It may be a modest disappointment for Europe and the other countries, but it's in no way going to damage iPad sales."

According to Ian Fogg of Forrester Research, the reason for the delay made sense.

"The iPad is in a new category of devices," Fogg told BBC News. "For that reason, I think it would have been very hard for Apple to have accurately predicted sales before launch.

"There is a possibility of manufacturing or component problems but it's more likely that they simply didn't forecast demand."

Analysts have predicted iPad sales in excess of 5 million by the end of 2010, worldwide.

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