Apple Confirms Delay For iPad 3G’s US Arrival

Apple has confirmed that the Apple iPad 3G has been delayed, and will now be launched in the United States on 7 May instead of late April.

Strong Sales Start

The Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad launched on 3 April in the United States only and Apple said that it had shifted 450,000 units by 8 April. Indeed, demand for the device proved to be so strong that Apple was forced to delay the UK launch of the iPad by one month.

UK users will now only be able to pre-order the device from 10 May, and the tablet will only hit UK shelves in late May. Indeed, both Vodafone and O2 said they would announce dedicated iPad price plans at the end of May, reinforcing the late international appearance of the tablet.

This led one frustrated European user, Paul Shadwell, to write an open letter to Steve Jobs complaining of the delay to the European launch of the iPad.

“Twice to my knowledge you have falsely stated international availability of the iPad and while I do not believe this is any fault of your own, I can imagine that you are not happy being shown as deliberately pulling the wool over the rest of the worlds eyes,” Shadwell wrote.

And to his surprise Steve Jobs replied in a terse email.

“deliberately pulling the wool over the rest of the worlds eyes.

“Are you nuts? We are doing the best we can. We need enough units to have a responsible and great launch,” Jobs apparently wrote.

3G Version Faces US Delay

Yet it is not just UK users suffering delays. The 3G version of the iPad, which was to have shipped in the US in late April, will now instead be on US shelves from 7 May. However it is understood that those who have pre-ordered the device, will see their tablets begin shipping in late April.

At the moment, in the United States the cheapest iPad is the 16GB Wi-Fi model, which costs $499 (£329), whereas the most expensive version, the 64GB version that comes with Wi-Fi and 3G, costs a hefty $829 (£546). UK pricing has yet to be announced.

Future iPad

Meanwhile much speculation has continued over what the next generation of the iPad will look like. Some reports have suggested that Apple is working on a ‘Nano’ version of the iPad, set for release in the first quarter of 2011.

However, many reports believe that Apple will include a camera with the next generation device. Especially after a listing on the Apple jobs website showed that the company is looking to hire a quality assurance engineer to work on video and stills capture with the iPad media team.