Apple Delays iPad Global DeliveriesApple Delays iPad Global Deliveries

Apple appears to have been taken by surprise by "far higher" than predicted sales of its iPad -- so much so that the company plans to postpone the international launch of its tablet computer.

The company said it delivered more than 500,000 iPads during the first week of its sales. "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," the company said Wednesday.

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Apple added that "surprisingly strong U.S. demand" prompted it to postpone the international launch of the iPad by a month, until the end of May. The company added that it will publically set international pricing and begin taking online international pre-orders on May 10.

Adding that the company expects U.S. orders will continue to exceed supply over the next several weeks, Apple said that large numbers of consumers have also been ordering iPad 3G models for delivery by the end of April.

One employee at an Apple store in the Boston area said many consumers are waiting for the 3G device even as shipments of the non-3G iPad come in every day and immediately go out the door.

The employee said the iPad is selling well across a wide variety of uses, but in particular he has seen a large number of doctors buying the device. "Doctors like it, because it replaces their clipboards," he said. "They can show charts and reports to patients."

He added that universities are ordering the iPad in large numbers, sometimes 15 and 20 at a time. Consumers, he said, generally like the responsive on-screen keyboard, the speed of the device as compared with the iPhone and the iTouch and the big screen. "I can actually watch a movie on the iPad," he said.