Apple iPad goes on sale in US

Updated: read our complete iPad review.

The Apple iPad has gone on sale in the US, with thousands flocking to get their hands on one of this 2010's most eagerly anticipated gadgets.

People who pre-ordered the tablet computer were able to pick up their gadgets at Apple stores across the country, scenes that will be repeated in the UK in less than a month's time.

With positive early reviews, which nevertheless stopped short of calling the device the revolution that it hopes to be, the buzz around Apple's latest product is not likely to die down any time soon.

iBook

An iBook store means that the device is not only an internet slate, or a repository for the kind of apps that have propelled the iPhone to the top of the phone charts for so long, but also an e-book reader.

The word being best describing the buzz around the iPad is 'potential', with games developers excited about the potential for a new platform, authors keen to see if the Apple device can take e-books into the mainstream and publishers of newspapers and magazine poised to see if this is the next generation for media.

The likes of the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and confirmed Apple fanboy Stephen Fry have already paid testament to the iPad – and now the rest of the world will watch and wait as US consumers get their turn to try it out.