Home > Hardware > Macintosh

Computerworld - Tomorrow's the first on-sale day for Apple's iPad, the tablet-styled device that CEO Steve Jobs has repeatedly called "magical" and "revolutionary."

You won't be able to get your hands on an iPad for another three weeks -- Apple has set April 3 as the ship date. But at least you'll finally be able to pre-order one.

What are the chances you'll actually have one on April 3 if you order tomorrow? What models can you buy now, get later? And which one ism really right for you?

Good questions, all. We have the answers to those, and more.

Exactly, what can I do tomorrow? You can pre-order an iPad at Apple's online store, or reserve an iPad at an Apple retail store. Apple will start taking orders at 8:30 a.m. ET, 5:30 a.m. PT, so if you're on the West Coast and you want to order an iPad, you'll want to be up early.

You can't walk out of the store with one, or expect an iPad to show up at your door next week, though, so just calm down. Take a breath. Relax.

Do I have to go to the store in person to reserve one? No. Customers can reserve an iPad by dialing the local store as well as driving to it and showing up in person. Some stores said that people can also place orders online by visiting the specific store's Web site.

If I reserve an iPad at my local Apple store, am I guaranteed to get it on April 3? Stores we talked to were hesitant to commit to a guarantee, but company representatives said that Apple had allocated a "certain number of reservations" per store, and as with iPhone launches in the past, each store would likely stop taking iPad pre-orders when it reached that number.

"If you reserve one, there's a pretty good chance you'll get it on April 3," said one store rep on the telephone.

If I pre-order an iPad on the online store, when will I receive it? April 3? No. According to an Apple sales representative manning the company's toll-free line, Apple intends to ship the iPad on April 3, a Saturday. "You'll have to give it a least a day to arrive, maybe more," said the rep, who added that he didn't have any additional information beyond that. "The sooner you place your order, the closer to the head of the line you'll be," he said.

What models can I order starting tomorrow? Although you can pre-order any of the six models on Friday -- three with WiFi only, three with both WiFi and 3G -- only the WiFi-only devices will ship or be available for pick-up on April 3. Apple has not yet said when it will deliver the WiFi+3G models, but at the January launch of the device, CEO Steve Jobs said they would ship about a month after the WiFi-only iPad.