iPad to Hit US Stores on April 3rd

Come April 3rd, iPad (Wi-Fi models) will be available in the US; and by late April, the Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available. Beginning March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on April 3, at an Apple retail store.

iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models by late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. It will ship to additional countries later this year.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”



The company informed that the App Store on iPad will let you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world's largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone or iPod touch. In addition, the new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore that will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.


Apple further added that the iTunes Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. International pricing will be announced in April.

PS: Additionally, you can read Apple's iPad Unleash Fear and The Tablet War.