As many of our readers already know, this Friday will be pure magic for the Apple admirers and touch-phobiacs alike.  Apple announced the IPad 2 for worldwide release on Friday 25^th of March. So If you want to crack the bottle, be sure to line up early or you might end up returning home empty handed.

Reason why we say this is that Apple picked up a certain delay on the availability of  5 rumored IPad parts. After the tsunami struck Japan, it also struck the tight supply chain management in Apple’s manufacturing plant. 5 essential parts for the IPad 2 are currently being produced only in Japan. To sum up the Japanese “DNA chain” of the iPad 2:

- Toshiba’s NAND Flash
- Elpida Memory Inc’s DRAM memory
- AKM Semiconductor’s electronic compass
- Asahi Glass Co’s touch screen overlay glass
- Apple Japan’s superior battery (assembled in China, yet manufacturerd in Japan)

Due to logistical issues, employees not showing up and planned blackouts, Apple faces a hard time over the next weeks to make sure the band keeps swinging. As well as making sure all major stores get a decent first day’s supply.

Unfortunately Apple claims to be postponing the launch of their new shiny gadget in Japan  until further notice, this caused by the recent tsunami and earthquake(s)  who shook up the current country and economy quite a bit.

Now what about AKB48?  Since we’re located in the electronics capital of the world, we can’t put aside  the fact that the highly popular Japanese girls band AKB48 is releasing 2 different photo books, most likely to provoke queues in Japan  that match the Ipad adept’s lineup. AKB48’s RED and BLUE album, who are essentially an exclusive collection of photos taken by themselves in 2010. Will be released on the same day as Apple’s shiny gadget and will most likely sell like hotcakes… or should we say ‘Tayaki’?

For those of you unfamiliar with the name AKB48, some of their most popular hits are:

- Heavy rotation
- Ponytail to shushu
- Beginner

And many more…