3G iPad to hit US stores on April 30: Apple

(Netflix)

Apple said Tuesday that the iPad model featuring 3G cellular connectivity will hit stores in the United States on April 30.

Customers who pre-ordered the 3G model, which also features Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, will receive their new tablet computers on the same date, Apple said in a statement.

The Wi-Fi-only model of the latest device from the maker of the Macintosh computer, the iPod and the iPhone went on sale in the United States on April 3 and the company sold over 500,000 units the first week.

Apple announced last week that heavy US demand had forced it to delay the international release of the iPad by a month, until late May.

The Cupertino, California-based company had planned to begin selling the touchscreen tablet computer in late April in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Switzerland.

Apple confirmed Tuesday that it will announce international pricing and begin taking online pre-orders for the iPad on May 10.

The iPad allows users to watch video, listen to music, play games, surf the Web or read electronic books. It runs most of the more than 185,000 applications made for the iPod Touch and the iPhone.

The cheapest iPad model, with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16 gigabytes of memory, is 499 dollars while the most expensive - which includes 3G connectivity and 64GB of memory - costs 829 dollars.

Apple shares were 0.35 percent lower at 246.21 dollars in early afternoon trading on Wall Street.