It's official: Apple's iPad now available for pre-order

Macworld - If you've left one of your browser tabs open to the Apple Store for the past seven days, your payoff is finally at hand. As promised last week, Apple made the iPad available for online pre-order on Friday morning, meaning you must now once again reset your countdown clock timer for the device's ship date of April 3.

All models of the iPad can be pre-ordered, but the versions with the optional 3G radio won't ship until late April. There are three Wi-Fi configurations: the $499 16GB version, the $599 32GB version, or the $699 64GB version. The three 3G models will cost $130 more than their respective Wi-Fi counterparts--$629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for 64GB. Of course, getting 3G service will require a 3G data plan from AT&T at an additional cost. Apple allows each customers to pre-order up to two iPads.

If you pre-order the iPad for delivery, Apple says it will arrive on April 3 unless your area doesn't have Saturday delivery, in which case it will show up on Monday April 5. You can also reserve a unit for pick up at your friendly neighborhood Apple Store on April 3, presuming you don't mind wading through the mobs of people who decided not to pre-order.

In addition, if you feel like tricking out your iPad, Apple's also allowing you to order the iPad accessories it announced in January: the $39 iPad case, $29 dock, $69 dock with keyboard, $29 USB power adapter (one is included in the box), and $29 dollar VGA adapter. The accessories, however, are listed as having a ship time of "by April 3," suggesting they probably will arrive later. (We tried to order the iPad Keyboard Dock along with an iPad, and the online Apple Store actually showed mid-April as the ship date.)

Originally published on www.macworld.com. Click here to read the original story.