Apple iPad's UK arrival delayed until May

Apple has delayed the international launch of the iPad until the end of May, in order to meet US demand for the tablet computer, as Vodafone, Orange and O2 announced they will be offering 'price plans' for the device in the UK.

In a short note on its website, Apple claimed it has delivered half a million iPads since it became available at the beginning of the month, saying "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."

"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," the statement added.

Apple said it would start taking international pre-orders and announce pricing on 10 May.

The international launch was supposed to coincide with the arrival of the 3G model of the iPad in April, but Apple noted it had a "large number of pre-orders" for that edition as well.

Thought the Californian firm didn't offer an apology, Apple did hope that its own sales success would cheer eager buyers. "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."

Meanwhile, Vodafone said it will "offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK."

Vodafone's spokespeople weren't discussing exactly what those price plans were for, but one said "there will be plans to accompany all models of the 3G version."

In near identical wording, its rival said: "O2 today announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in the UK."

Orange also confirmed it would offer a iPad price plans.

Read our review to find out if the iPad is worth waiting for.