Apple iPad News

Apple announced today that strong sales of iPad in the US will delay the international launch by a month. They also announced that first week numbers topped 500,000, an update from the 450,000 number released on Thursday. Here is the full statement:

Although we have delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its first week, demand is far higher than we predicted and will likely continue to exceed our supply over the next several weeks as more people see and touch an iPad™. We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.

Faced with this surprisingly strong US demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May. We will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders on Monday, May 10. 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.

Hyundai has announced that they will be including a free Apple iPad with every purchase of the Equus sedan. While the stated reason is to avoid publishing the owners manual on paper, the obvious reason is to cash in on Apple’s hype. This is not the first time a carmaker has used Apple’s brand to sell cars. When the iPad was first released BMW was the first to add an iPad 30-pin connector cable in the glovebox.

It is not clear if other luxury carmakers will follow Hyundai’s lead, but Hyundai has certainly accomplished their marketing goals.

Application technology website Appadvice is reporting that sources familiar with the situation say Apple will begin taking US preorders on Thursday, February 25th.

Preorders will be limited to the wifi iPad version and estimated delivery date is March 29th. No estimated date yet when iPad 3G will be available for preorder but our guess is sometime in March.

Earlier this week Business Week reported that Apple is working with McGraw-Hill and Hachette Book Group to publish iPad Textbooks. Hachette is reportedly in discussions with Apple to release their trade books on Apple’s iPad platform.

The WSJ reported today that Apple’s forthcoming tablet, or “iPad,” will cost under $1000 and will have a screen size of 10 to 11 inches.