A report on Monday says that RIM’s PlayBook tablet release was delayed because Apple bought all available touch screen displays.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]RIM had apparently planned to release the PlayBook sometime in mid-March, but because Apple had already booked all the touch panels, the company had to postpone the launch, according to DigiTimes.

With things back on track, RIM will now ship the PlayBook on April 19. The PlayBook with Wi-Fi comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties, priced at $499, $599, and $699 respectively — the same price as Apple’s iPad 2.

It is important to note, however, that the PlayBook only has a 7-inch display compared to the iPad’s 10-inch display.

RIM’s PlayBook is already a year late to the tablet market because it had no strategy, so another month hardly seems to matter much.