Edible Apple

When Steve Jobs moseyed up on stage on January 27th and took a seat on a plush comfortable looking chair to use/showcase the iPad, we were told that the wi-fi version of the iPad would begin shipping in 60 days. Earlier today, Apple announced that the iPad would hit store shelves on April 3, a full week after the projected launch date.

Big deal?

Not really, but given that analysts need a reason to earn their keep, vague reports about iPad delays and low inventory on launch started making the rounds this past week.

For what it’s worth, component suppliers for the iPad have said that everything is right on schedule as launch day approaches. Meanwhile, in-the-know Apple/tech blogger John Gruber writes that the one week iPad delay, if you even want to call it that, was merely the result of some last minute software issues that needed to be resolved.

My sources suggest that Misek is wrong. It was the software, not the hardware, that took a week or two longer to finish than they’d hoped. Nothing extraordinary or unusual, just the usual hard-to-predict timing of turning software that’s almost ready to ship into software that’s ready to ship. In the grand history of major OS release date slips, one week is pretty tame.

Touche.