Importer blames iPad delay on huge US demand

Apple's delay in providing New Zealanders with a release date for the iPad could be the result of huge pre-sales of the tablet computer in the markets earmarked for its initial release, says a local importer and distributor.

The iPad is scheduled for release in the United States this Saturday and other markets such as Australia, Canada and Japan late this month.

Richard Webb, chief executive of Auckland-based Apple distributor Renaissance Corporation, said he spoke to members of his team who dealt directly with Apple yesterday and they had still not been provided with the iPad's New Zealand launch date.

There had been huge pre-sale interest in iPad in the US, he said.

"I would imagine demand has outstripped supply and [Apple] is staging the countries that the product is launched in."

Seton Hill University, a Catholic liberal arts university in the US state of Philadelphia, announced on its website this week that it would provide every full-time student with an iPad in the northern autumn this year. The university has 2145 students enrolled.

Webb said he was not disappointed about being kept in the dark by Apple with regard to the iPad's New Zealand release date.

"We've worked with Apple for over 20 years now and this is just the way it is when you work with Apple." Webb said demand for iPads would be greater than the supply when they finally arrived on New Zealand shores.

"We've had a huge interest in the market."