According to a Thursday report by The Loop's Jim Dalrymple, the highly-awaited Apple iPad tablet computer will become available for pre-orders from Friday, March 12; with the company website to begin accepting the pre-orders from 8:30 a. m. Eastern.

According to the report, initially the pre-orders will be for the Wi-Fi-enabled iPad which has been scheduled for shipment in the US on April 3 - with the 3G-capable device likely to be shipped around a month later. Both the models will be compatible only with AT&T in the US, and will carry a $130 premium.

The announcement of the pre-orders is fairly in line with the Apple's statement during the unveiling of the iPad in late January - the company had then said that there will be a 60-day launch window for the Wi-Fi version of the device, and a 90-day wait for the 3G model.

Soon after the early April launch of the iPad in the US, both the Wi-Fi and 3G iPad models will hit the markets across the U. K., Canada, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, likely in late April.

Meanwhile, Apple's marketing drive for the forthcoming iPad - which will be priced at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-enabled base model, and $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB models - commenced last Sunday, with the company running its first TV advertisement for the device during the Academy Awards.