Apple sold around 600,000 units of the new iPad 2 tablet PC within hours of its launch last week through retailers in the U.S. As its initial supplies ran out, the delivery schedule of the next shipment is unclear. There is a possibility that the supply of the devices might be delayed more than expected due to the aftermath of the earthquake in Japan. As Japanese chipmakers including Toshiba halted production by the disaster, production of flash memory chips has been dealt a blow, which may cause shipments of the key component to fail to meet supply. Toshiba one of Apple’s principal suppliers of NAND flash memory chips halted production in Japan, which may cause shipments of the key component to fail to meet supply.
Apple has extended its estimated shipping time for the device from the original three to five days to three to four weeks. Some sources speculate the delay may also have been prompted by defects found in the newest generation of the tablet PC.