back to article Apple delays UK iPad launch

Apple has delayed the UK release of the iPad to allow more Americans to buy the "magical" gadget. Eager buyers in Blighty will now have to wait until the end of May - or take a trip to the States. "Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week [on sale], demand is far higher than we predicted and …

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  1. scottinsheff

    oh

    guess ill have to manage with a magnifying glass and my iphone and save myself 400 quid

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    hmm

    the words "artificial shortage" spring to mind ...

    1. Dr Richard

      Yeah right ...

      So by "artificially" delaying a rollout it means you will definitely sell more units and people won't wander off to the competitors who are falling over themselves to pre-announce units that they are desparately trying to deliver as early as possible in order to take the wind from Apple's sales ... yeah that makes loads of commercial sense, NOT.

      I'd go for cockup, not conspiracy every time .. they either got the demand planning wrong or the sub-contracted builders are having component / yield or other construction issues.

  3. Brian Chappell
    Thumb Down

    You missed a bit

    You missed really, really grating statement from the press release "We know that many international customers waiting to buy an iPad will be disappointed by this news, but we hope they will be pleased to learn the reason—the iPad is a runaway success in the US thus far."

    I don't think I can feel pleased that so US doesn't have to wait, we have to. Apple just made 5.8 billion people into second class customers.

    1. Don S.
      Dead Vulture

      @Brian Chappell

      Kind of like el Reg turning the rest of the world into "The UK".

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Welcome

      Pleased?

      "I know that Steve Jobs is waiting for me to buy an iPad and will be disappointed by this news [that I won't be buying one], but I hope he will be pleased to learn the reason—the fact that I have now switched to an electronics provider who doesn't patronise (s, no z, you'll note, just like it should be) anyone outside the US as much as he just has."

      Doormat...because that's what it feels like.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Surprisingly high demand my arse.

    It's a whacky marketing gimmick to make people think it's in short demand in order to make them pre-order it as soon as they can! Demand can't be that high seeing as they're on the shelves (and on eBay) now. Hardly a stock shortage.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    "unspecified production problem"

    As the Wi-fi signal blocked by the beautifully styled casing they now have to fit a better quality antenna......

  6. chr0m4t1c
    Badgers

    Maybe

    Those ebook distribution deals aren't going as well as they hoped.

    Even Amazon seem to have given up the idea, they just sell you everything out of their US store.

    I'm not convinced that Apple's service is set up for that sort of thing, though.

    Shame, it's a market that could do with being opened up a bit, what's there at the moment still has quite a whiff of "early-adopter" and is fairly fragmented.

  7. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

    Made an entry in my diary today...

    It just says: Bugger!

    Very annoying. I do wish Apple would communicate a bit better, rather than trying to be all coy and mysterious. Also, rather than trying to claim that 'we've been surprised by the size of the demand', I'd much prefer the rather more honest 'we've got supply problems'.

    Oh well, I suppose my shinyness itch will have to wait to be scratched. And I bet the price on eBay will start to go up again too.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good news in some ways...

    At least it means that all the developers for apps for the iPad will have had the chance to fix their initial release problems by then.

  9. Sven
    Alien

    Applespeak

    Worldwide: 500.000

    Global: 0

    Aliens: easy access to US soil so they can get one fast

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    The point should be

    Does anyone actually care?

  11. Gary F 1

    Desperate and pathetic.

    Good grief, you lot are a sad bunch.

    The nerdcore here are so in denial about the iPads success so far, that you have to desperately come up with reasons to explain the international launch delay.

    It couldn't possibly be the actual given reason, could it. The iPad couldn't possibly be popular, and selling out, with demand outstripping supply.

    No, they must be lying, it's a conspiracy because of production problems / hardware issues / attempts to build demand / aliens etc.

    Children, put your tinfoil hats away. The iPad is successful. Your predictions of failure are wrong. Get over it.

    It's just like when all the losers here predicted the failure of the iPhone. You all said that it would crash and burn and you were so very wrong.

    Next you predict the failure of the iPad, and that doesn't seem to be panning out for you either.

    You guys seriously have no credibility with your predictions or projections. Face it. You are a few vocal geeks and are out of touch with most people.

    Nobody wanted your first saviour (The Palm Pre - oh look, a for sale sign. Goodbye Palm) and nobody wants your next one (The Google phone - massively reduced sales projections after pathetic initial sales).

    I'll make you a prediction. The iPad will sell, you will hate it, but no-one will give a damn what you think. We'll just be enjoying our devices.

    Oh, and the Google Pad will fail in comparison, and the HP / Windows pad will work nothing like the mock-up and will actually suck. Badly.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Grenade

      Crikey

      Remember to breathe, Gary. In... Out... In... Out... That's it lad.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Translated for ease of reading.

    'Even we thought it was going to be a turkey, perhaps Steve's been slipping something extra in the koolaid'

  13. armyknife
    Big Brother

    Better a meritocracy than titles

    Or a marketing effort to hype up the worldwide launch ?

    I'd hazard a guess that the sales haven't been as good as they expected, after all 300,000 the first day (that takes care of most of the white plastic addicts), then only 200,000 over the rest of week ie the daily sales rate drops to a 10th.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Jobs Horns

    Opportunity knocks

    Got mine. Now I'll get two more to eBay. That should make mine free. Talk about lucky vacation timing.

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