The highly-anticipated iPad tablet computer by Apple has hit US retail stores today! A worldwide release in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K. is scheduled for late April.

You will have to wait to catch the 3G-enabled iPads, they will become available in late April with an AT&T data subscription included. The WiFi-enabled iPads will already be sold in from April 3 on.

On the iPad….

To learn more about what all the fuss is about and what is inside the machine, check out the Apple iPad specifications or watch some videos.  The iPad has the potential change the way we consume content and for more on that check out our content revolution articles.

Pricing in US and Europe

Pricing will be $499, $599 or $699 for the WiFi-enabled iPads with respectively 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb of storage. For the 3G-enabled iPads the prices are $629, $729 or $829 with respectively 16Gb, 32Gb or 64Gb of storage. Based on previous pricing of the iPhone, iPod and MacBooks in Europe, the iPad is estimated to be priced at € 460, € 560, € 650. The US dollar to Euro exchange rate does not really apply here; Apple usually sets its prices different from exchange rates due to the differences in markets.

Current predictions estimate Apple will sell 1.2 million iPads until the end of 2010. Next year, sales are estimated at 3.5 million. These amounts are significantly lower than iPhone sales, and they are for a reason. Apple expects consumers needs to adapt and get used to the concept of a tablet device just like they did with the iPhone. This process will take a few years.

Will the sales predictions become true? Will the Apple iPad be a success or not? And why? Can we expect queues like we did with the iPhone in front of the Apple stores? I want to know what you think! Tell me in the comments!