National iPad Day is just over two weeks away, but when April 3 rolls around, iPad owners won't be able to get most of the accessories that were touted to go along with the device. As noted by Electronista, the iPad keyboard dock and USB power adapter have both been pushed back until May, after even the 3G model of the iPad is set to be released.
During the introduction of the iPad on January 27, the keyboard dock was the accessory that got some major attention from Apple-watchers. After all, it's the "cheapest" and simplest way to do text entry on the iPad without typing on the touchscreen itself. However, the delay doesn't mean WiFi iPad owners will be prevented from entering mass amounts of text until May—the regular (non-keyboard) dock is still set to ship on April 3, and iPad users can pair their devices with a bluetooth keyboard for text input if they so desire. (The dock connector to VGA adapter is also still on schedule for early April.)
The only other accessory that is currently MIA is the Camera Connection Kit. Announced at the iPad event, the kit is meant to allow users to read SD cards or connect to their cameras via USB through the 30-pin connector. The kit remains on Apple's spec page for the iPad but is nowhere to be found in the online store.
The inability to buy certain accessories to go along with their shiny new toy will undoubtedly disappoint some iPad buyers. Some have tried to analyze what these accessory delays could mean, but we're going to chalk it up to poor coordination among manufacturers.
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