Before we learned its launch date, we heard scurrilous rumors Apple’s iPad was facing delays in its launch schedule. Now we discover that some of the very peripherals Apple itself was toting for the iPad are delayed until May. What gives?
Specifically, the 10W USB Power Adapter is delayed until May (meaning you’ll probably only get a USB-to-30-pin cable in the box, and not the power brick that accompanies the iPhone) along with the iPad Keyboard Dock–the funky little wedge of white plastic that so impressed us at the iPad launch with its powers of transforming the iPad into a mini iMac-esque computer. Apple’s own iPad case is also delayed until mid-April.
Given that these extras are simple low-tech devices, it’s frankly surprising that Apple, a World-player on the tech scene, can’t get their production right…when a host of other peripheral makers are bound to release a horde of iPad-compatible bits and bobs in the days and weeks after its arrival in April. Is it a case of Apple’s perfectionist tendencies coming into collision with distant manufacturer’s development programs?
Or dare we ponder that the iPad is still undergoing final-phase tweaks as Apple polishes away the last bumps and wrinkles in its design before it goes on sale? That’s kinda believable if you’re talking about software issues, but when you’re talking about problems with timely delivery of something electronically “dead,” like the iPad case, it gets less believable unless Apple’s actually changing (or recently changed) the device’s dimensions. That may not be beyond the pale, when you note that Apple just recently re-purposed the mute switch on the iPad into a screen rotation lock.
But the Keyboard Dock delay is the one that’s really grabbed us. There’s been much made of the obvious blank key on this device as viewed at the launch event. What’s it for? Has Apple been busy working this out, and recently changed its mind–to the point it’s slowed its delivery process? Is there an implication for the iPad OS in relation to this key? Conspiracy theorists start your blogs in 3…2…1…
To keep up with the news on Apple’s wonder-iPad, follow me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter. You can grab the URL via the QR code on the left, if your smartphone’s handy.
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