Apple to start iPad pre-orders from March 12, will ship from April 3

Apple has announced the iPad release date and it’s certainly not March 26. A bit late from what was promised, Apple will sell the Wi-Fi only iPad in stores from April 3. The Wi-Fi + 3G version is expected in late April.

But if you hate waiting in line, Apple will start pre-orders from March 12 of both the models and will reserve your iPad (Wi-Fi model) for pickup from April 3. There’s no mention of the “special gift” for waiting in line so pre-ordering seems to be the best option.

Both the iPad models will start appearing in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK from late April.

Press Release

• iPad Wi-Fi + 3G available in stores from April 30
• Apple starts iPad pre-orders in US
• Apple releasing iPad in nine countries on May 28
• Apple pushes iPad’s international launch to May due to strong US demand