The Apple iPad has been available in North America for more than a week, and there is such high demand that Apple will have to delay the international iPad launch for one month.
Apple originally expected to release the iPad to international consumers before the end of April, but will have to wait until late May.
The company reportedly "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," Apple noted. "We have also taken a large number of pre-orders for iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April."
Even though the enterprise is expected to skip the iPad for a while, tech savvy consumers are apparently flocking in droves to purchase the shiny tablet.
iSuppli predicted 300,000 units sold on the first day of release, with 7.1 million units sold by the end of 2010. Other analyst groups were surprised by the high sales prediction offered by iSuppli, saying it'd be unlikely the company would be able to reach that figure.
It's possible sales will wind down -- even if supply increases -- but a 500,000 first-week sales figure is a good first offering by Apple. Some analysts noted the Cupertino company could sell up to 1.25 million iPads by June.
Some analysts cautioned that Apple may not have been able to produce a significant number of iPads -- and this doesn't necessarily mean the iPad is setting sales records.
The company will disclose international pricing on Monday, May 10, which is when international fans will have their first crack at pre-ordering the tablet.
