Aside from the already-confirmed iPad pre-orders, which go into effect today, Apple may have more than one reason to pull its online store for maintenance, especially when it does so on a global level. The company is known to be launching the iPad in the US for now, yet Apple online stores worldwide are down bearing Apple’s customary banner, saying, “We are busy updating the store for you and will be back shortly.” Are the recent Mac Pro / MacBook Pro rumors about to materialize?

The folks at 9to5mac seem to be the first to acknowledge Apple’s move to take the online store offline. The site signals that all of the international stores are down, suggesting that iPad pre-order availability may not be the only update targeting Apple fans, this time around. And it's fairly possible this is actually the case.

For a while now, Apple has been rumored to prepare a new range of Mac Pro computers, as well as new MacBook Pro configurations. Just yesterday, Softpedia reported that ZDNet had been tipped off on the production of new Mac Pros launching on March 16 with ‘hexacore’ Core i7-980x processors clocked at 3.33GHz. Reportedly, the processor can go at up to 3.6GHz, via the TurboBoost feature. Other reports seem to corroborate this rumor.

There is also talk of plans to revamp the MacBook Pro line, although these reports are rather scarce, and less convincing. Nevertheless, recent advancements in hardware development would justify upgrades on both fronts (desktop and portable). Whether or not accurate, this kind of speculation is going to be either dissipated, or amplified within the coming hours (depending on what Apple’s online store shows, once back online).

In the meanwhile, Softpedia readers are encouraged to share their thoughts in the comments. Tell us what products from the company’s lineup you’d like to see updated this time around. Those who are planning to pre-order their iPad are encouraged to share with the world the model (networking, storage) they settled for.

Update: The Apple store is back online. As expected, Apple has only introduced the already-confirmed availability of iPad pre-orders (or at least this is what we can spot at first glance).