The company headquartered at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, has announced that its upcoming iPad is launching early next month in the US, confirming tech-analysts’ expectations that the device would be delayed. The iPad will ship in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Switzerland and the UK in late April, at around the same time the Wi-Fi + 3G models will become available in the US.

Apple has also confirmed plans to offer the ability to pre-order an iPad from its web store beginning with March 12. This offer is limited to US residents, who can also reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at one of Apple’s retail establishments. The company’s official announcement (excerpts) has been reproduced below for our readers.

CUPERTINO, California—March 5, 2010—Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

iPad starts at $499 for the WiFi-only model with 16 gigs of storage, and goes all the way up to $829 for the WiFi + 3G version with 64GB of storage. Visit Apple here to learn more about its “magical and revolutionary” iPad.