Apple iPad available for order tomorrow! Statistics on who may buy one

In the event you have been living under a rock, Apple announced that it is releasing a new device, the iPad. Further, pre-order for the device begins tomorrow with the Wi-Fi version available April 3, and the 3g + Wi-Fi model available in late April. The question remains however, who is going to buy this device? Well, questions answered, at least in terms of popularity statistics drawn Facebook fan pages concerning the device. At the January 27 announcement of the iPad, Apple revealed there will be 6 versions of the iPad, 3 Wi-Fi only models, and 3 featuring Wi-Fi and 3g capabilities. The Wi-Fi only versions range in price from $499-$699 depending on how much memory you want, 16, 32, or 64gb. The 3g version ranges in price from $629-$829. To utilize 3g service over AT&T’s network, a contract is not required. Prepayment for the service is however, at a price of $15 for 250MB or $30 for unlimited data. According to a report published by RapLeaf, in terms of fan pages, "The iPad (#1) Facebook page has 69,293 fans, The iPad (#2) has 23,637 fans, and The iPad (#3) has 5,009 fans." Further, "the iPad (#1) is the most gender-balanced, The iPad (#2) is 57% female, while The iPad (#3) is 53% male." The report also found that fans of the iPad were, overall, represented by younger users of Facebook with "nearly 50% of overall fans are between 18 and 25 years of age, and 85% of overall fans are 35 years old or younger." The report also provides additional insight into other things these same individuals are interested in (full report here). The conclusion of the study finds that, “fans of iPad on Facebook tend to be sociable 18-25 year olds who seem to be into pop culture.” Whether this translates into sales remains to be seen, but grabbing a consumer’s attention at a young age bodes well in terms of interest in future products released by Apple, i.e. the anticipated release of the next generation of the iPhone. Will you be pre-ordering an iPad, or will you even purchase the device at all? If so, will you opt for in-store pickup at one of Dallas’ 9 area Apple stores? Will you get the Wi-Fi only version, or the 3g supported version with service provided by Dallas-based AT&T? Leave your feedback below, submit any questions to us via Formspring, visit our Facebook page, or follow us on Twitter. Source: www.examiner.com