The question of whether or not there's room in the ultra-portable market for tablet devices may soon be answered as Apple has today began taking orders for its eagerly-anticipated iPad.
Pre-orders are currently available to US customers only, with prices starting at $499 for a Wi-Fi model, and $629 for a Wi-Fi + 3G model.
Orders are currently limited to two per customer, with Apple guaranteeing an April 3rd delivery.
Buyers of the 3G-enabled model are also being offered data plans from US carrier AT&T. A 250MB/month data bundle is available at a cost of $14.99 per month, whilst an unlimited data plan will cost a monthly rate of $29.99. Both data plans are offered without a minimum contract term.
Although expected to sell well, analysts have thus far struggled to gauge the public reaction. Current predictions suggest Apple could sell anywhere between two million and five million units this year.
The iPad will become available to European consumers later next month, but UK pricing remains speculative.
Source: The Apple Store (US)
