Apple iPad pre-orders start March 12, shipping on April 3

Apple has finally given official word on when it will start to ship the iPad. US pre-orders will start on March 12, with availability from April 3. This is for the Wi-Fi model initially, with the 3G models shipping in late April.

Other regions including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK will ship in late April. Pricing in these countries will not be announced until April. The Wi-Fi iPad models will be available for pre-order with US prices starting at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. The 3G models will have prices starting at $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.