Apple is to delay the release of the iPad in Britain until the end of next month because that it says it cannot keep up with demand in America.
This is the second time Apple has had to put back an iPad launch: in January, its US debut was put back to April, after analysts reported that production delays and difficulties with suppliers in the Far East would limit the number of units available.
Last week Steve Jobs, chief executive, insisted his company was on track to release the tablet computer worldwide by the end of this month.
Though sales of the tablet computer have been strong since it went on sale in America on April 3, it has had a troubled infancy. Apple has received complaints about issues such as poor wi-fi connection, problems with charging and compatibility with applications designed for the iPhone.
Apple fans and users used forums and blogs to express their frustration at the decision. Alexander Vaughn from the App Advice blog said: “ You can chain your engineers to their desk or kill kittens; I don’t care. This [delaying the iPad release], however, makes you very evil.”
Another commenter on the MacRumors forum said: “Thanks Apple for screwing over the rest of the world, as if we don’t suffer enough with the inflated prices.”
A spokesman for Apple said the company had delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week and demand “is far higher than we predicted”.
IPad owners in the United States have reported a number of problems. They complained that wi-fi internet signals would falter, that there were some problems charging the iPad and that iPhone apps would crash when loaded on to the iPad.
Apple said it would announce international prices on May 10, when it will take iPad pre-orders. The wi-fi- only version has been released in the US, and the 3G version will be available this month. IPad prices range from $499 (£326) to $829.
Despite the setbacks, the iPad has been lauded by reviewers, and industry analysts predict that Apple will sell six million this year. Mr Jobs said that since going on sale, American users have downloaded 600,000 digital books and 3.5 million applications for the iPad.
Investors remained undaunted, with Apple’s share price rising 1.25 per cent in early trading yesterday to $245.47.
The mobile operators Vodafone, O2 and Orange said yesterday that they will stock the iPad, although they did not reveal the prices that users will pay to gain access to their networks.
Apple has decided against making an an exclusive deal with a single operator to launch the iPad as it it did with the iPhone.
The early success of the iPad has led to a number of technology companies to begin work on the own tablet computers for release later this year. These are believed to include Acer, HP, Dell, Nokia and Microsoft. Financial analysts at Deloitte said that tens of millions of tablet computers could be sold by the end of 2011.
It was reported this week that Google could also be planning its own tablet computer which would run on its Android operating system. The internet search company is understood to be working with a few publishers in “stealth mode” to explore delivery of books, magazines and other content on a tablet.
Apple is also expected to release the latest version of its iPhone this summer, possibly as early as June.
Last week, it revealed an updated version of its operating system for its mobile device, which allowed “multi-tasking” for the first time — the ability for users to run two apps at the same time. Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones to date.
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