Going by a recent Digitimes report, it is unlikely that the launch of the Apple iPad will be delayed as rumored, because a confirmation by Foxconn Electronics – Apple’s hardware manufacturing partner – has revealed that it is “on schedule” in terms of the shipment of 600,000 to 700,000 iPads this month, and an additional 1 million next month.

The reported confirmation of the iPad production being ‘on track’ contradicts an earlier statement by Peter Misek, a Canaccord Adams analyst, who said that “the upcoming iPad launch may be somewhat limited as a manufacturing bottleneck has impacted production of Apple's newest device.”

Meanwhile, citing an Apple Store manager in southern California, The Examiner too has reported that iPads will ship on schedule in “late March; with the likely launch date of the WiFi-only version being March 26. As such, it is being expected that Apple will commence taking pre-orders for the forthcoming device in the coming weeks.

Most of the Wall Street insiders are expecting the iPad sales to be fairly ‘strong’ all through 2010, with the consumer interest in the device even beating that for the first-generation iPhone. While analyst Mike Abramsky at RBC Capital Markets is expecting the first-year sales of the iPad to be about 5 million units; analyst Charlie Wolf at Needham & Company expects Apple to sell nearly 4 million iPad in a year.