What can go wrong, will go wrong. Apple’s (AAPL) website shows that new online orders for the company’s iPad will ship as late as April 12. The product debuts in Apple stores on April 3. The delay in the online shipping date raises the issue of how many iPads Apple will have at its retail outlets.

Consumers may have ordered so many iPads that Apple has not been able to build them fast enough to keep up with demand. Or, there could have been a glitch in the Apple supply chain in which one or two parts have gotten into the assembly system behind the time that was intended. It’s one more thing to add to the rumor list as Apple’s most anticipated product since the iPhone launches

Douglas A. McIntyre