Apple’s iPad is today available for online pre-order in nine international countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Both the WiFi-only and 3G versions will be available from May 28. Apple has also confirmed that its iBooks e-books store will launch in these countries on 28th May too. In addition, Apple plans to release the high-profile tablet computer in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July. Apple has confirmed UK pricing for the device (supported by Orange, O2 and Vodafone). The Wi-Fi only iPad will cost £429 (US$635) for the 16GB version, £499 for the 32GB version, and £599 for the 64GB version. Meanwhile, the 3G-enabled models will cost £529, £599 and £699 (US$1,034) respectively. These prices are significantly more expensive than Apple is offering the device for in its home US market. The cheapest iPad model in the US (16GB, WiFi-only) retails at US$499 whilst the most expensive model (3G, 64GB) is US$829. Meanwhile the iPad can be pre-ordered in Australia (in partnership with Telstra) from A$629 (US$559) for the base model, up to A$1,049 (US$932). In Japan, iPhone operator SoftBank said it will offer the iPad starting at JPY48,960 (US$535).

The international launch of the iPad was originally scheduled for late April, but Apple delayed it by a month due to what it called higher-than-expected US demand. The iPad, a 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet intended primarily for games, Web browsing and digital media of all sorts, went on sale in the US on April 3. The company has already sold more than 1 million iPads and customers have downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store. Analysts expect the company to sell roughly 5 million of the devices this year.