Signing a deal with DSGi to store the iPad tablet computer at PC World and Currys stores, Apple added three times the number of stores where it would be available during launch.

Apple and DSGi agreed on a 60 day preparation to market the iPad in advance.

DSGi runs 52 Apple franchises in its stores and has a lengthy relationship with the company. It is expected to outrun other rivals because of its position.

DSGi memo to sales staff indicates that the tablet pc will be available 9am in 28 Currys Shop, 70 PC World stores, 19 combined PC World/Currys stores and 22 Dixon outlets. A list of DSGi stores with stocks of the iPad will be released on its website.

Demand is expected to be high, according to the memo.

US launch of the iPad is currently selling at 200,000 a week, while it sold a million in just 28 days which caused a delay in the launch in Europe.

Apple has only 27 stores across Britain and high British demand is being anticipated. Customers, meanwhile, are still not completely informed about where the iPad could be bought.

Since the offer started in May 10, thousands have put their reservations over the Iinternet, but few will be delivered on the launch date.

Customers ordering online now will have to wait until June.

The IDC research company expects 46 million tablet computers to be delivered worldwide in 2014, while 7.6 million tablet computers were sold last year.

This emerging market is expected to surge from 7.6 million units to over 46 million units by 2014, said IDC. The expected increase represents a 57.4% compound annual growth rate.

Media tablets fall between laptops and smartphones. Demand for this product is increasing strongly due to the variety and number of applications for services and content that extends the uses of the device.

“The availability of apps unique to media tablets and that differentiate the experience of using one compared with a PC or smartphone will be crucial for driving consumer demand”, said IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian. “As the category matures and more media tablet-optimized apps become available, IDC expects that media tablets will evolve beyond nice-to-have devices and become necessities for many consumers”.

IDC defines the device category as tablet-like designs with colour displays of 7-12 inches. The systems use ARM processors and light operating systems, such as Google’s Android OS and Apple’s iPhone OS.

The media tablet’s technology differentiates it from a tablet PC, which has been used as data input by field workers. This computer typically runs full OS for PC and is based on x86 processors.

In addition, the tablet PC’s built-in hardware keyboard is different from the media tablet, which uses a finger or stylus to input data and navigate.

Luckily though, the successful launch sales of Apple’s iPads came as healthy sales of Macintosh products were recorded this year, a recent market data released by the NPD Group showed.

NPD Group’s latest research report shows a 17% drop of iPod sales in April in a year-to-year basis, but an increase of 39% in Mac sales was recorded, compared with figures the same time last month.

While Apple fans in the UK are still waiting for its release, the iPad was already launched in the US on 3 April. Analyst Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray believes that the release of the tablet PC is badly affecting iPod sales, claiming that the data from the NPD Group shows: “The first sign of the degree to which the iPad cannibalises iPod or Mac sales”.

Munster added that: “from the early NPD data, it appears that the iPad has a minimal cannibalization impact on Mac sales, and could be slightly cannibalising iPod sales”.

Whether the iPad will have a significant impact on the sales of laptop or netbook from other manufacturers is still not clear. However, some industry analysts are closely watching those developments.

The 39-year-old Hughes covered gadgets like TVs, phones, and his latest ‘masterpiece’ iPad clothed with 22-carrat gold and about 53 individual diamonds.

The ultimate luxury 2.1-kilogramme iPad, with sparkling gems arranged on its Apple logo and solid gold surrounding the screen and rear, costs around £130,000, which is significantly more expensive compared to the £600 regular.

The Liverpool-based designer also offers a gold-plated iPad, which is set to be sold for a more cost-friendly £2,000.

He also designed luxury phones such as Blakberrys encrusted with diamonds and an extreme games console Nintendo Wii ‘Supreme’ plated with gold costing £300,000.

On his website, the iPad is described as “outstanding even down to the precise polishing to reveal its most beautiful harmonious appearance”.

It was also described as: “A magnificent combination of top of the industry technology and unrivalled craftsmanship was involved in creating this masterpiece”.

Hughes, who began making the gadgets with his wife Katherine nearly ten years ago, creates the lavish gizmos by moulding the gadgets’ shapes, before pouring in the gold to finish the process, which can at times take six weeks.

“The process works for objects and gadgets people can relate to, and when we’re finished with the products they can often look bizarre and outrageous”, said Hughes. “We have gone for the higher end of the gadget end market”.

“It’s all about having something different, and that’s what we provide”, he added.

Demand for the gadget is evidently high among British tech savvy users, though some computer owners are not yet convinced because of the device’s lack of a conventional physical keyboard attached to the tablet computer.

The keyboard issue may be solved by investing in a ClamCase – “the all-in-one: keyboard, case and stand… with a sea of features under its shell”.

ClamCase can boost iPad experience by improving ease of use, protection, and efficiency, and allowing users to connect to “other compatible Bluetooth devices such as Sony Playstation 3, Tivo and HTPC (home theatre PC) to give you the ultimate wireless keyboard experience“, the product’s marketing messaging claims.

The case itself has been made from a ”smooth yet grippy rubberized” material and ”the 360 degree hinge provides a more user-friendly hold for confident handling”.

The case can be flipped around and used as a stand for using and viewing the iPad in a tablet mode, giving users “the capability to display a digital picture frame slideshow in both portrait and landscape views”.

It is still to be seen whether or not ClamCase can convince netbook enthusiasts to forego their MSI Winds and Eee PCs.

Meanwhile, release dates and pricing of the case are yet to be confirmed.

Coming in the form of an email, the malware provides a link to a rogue iTunes update, promising that the new software will provide users with the “best performance, newer features and security.” In actually fact, as soon as the link is clicked, malware starts acting upon the device, revealing sensitive iPad data to possible thieves.

Revealing more in-depth details regarding the virus, security firm BitDefender explained “Identified by BitDefender as Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY, the piece of malicious code inadvertently downloaded injects itself into the explorer.exe process and opens up a backdoor that allows unauthorised access to and control over the affected system. Moreover, Backdoor.Bifrose.AADY attempts to read the keys and serial numbers of the various softwareinstalled on the affected computer, while also logging the passwords to the victim’s ICQ, Messenger, POP3 mail accounts, and protected storage.”

Whilst many iPad users have already experienced the piece of malware, no Mac consumers are reported to have noted the problem, suggesting that the virus was specifically created to act upon Apple’s new device. And whilst those in the U.S are subject to the fraudulent links, Apple’s disappointing delay of their international release may have saved some consumers valuable security problems.

With Vodafone the first company to release official details, a statement from the company said that the release of the iPad on their network would happen across Europe simultaneously. “Vodafone today announced that it will offer dedicated iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in Australia, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK,” they said. Meanwhile, as Vodafone neither confirmed nor denied any exclusivity deal, O2 and Orange quickly disclosed statements revealing that they too were to offer the 3G model.

All three statements were, as suspected, similar in every detail. With Apple liking to remain at the helm of their products, influencing companies where they can and always keeping an air of secrecy and mysteriousness surrounding their firm, it was not unusual to see uniform press releases across the board. Confirming that “the iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface,” none of the three providers were able to relay any further information regarding specific release dates or prices. For now, eager customers will have to wait for a further month before they can get their even remotely near the already iconic iPad.

Whilst Apple remains quiet on the subject, the Wi-Fi issue is already being highly criticised on the web, especially as the 3G models are yet to hit the shelves. California based ‘Case de Trevino’ expressed “Having same problem with wi-fi being weak and constantly fluctuating. I have to keep entering my password to regain access to my network after having lost a signal. Two iPhones and two MacBooks showing full signal with no interrupts. Certainly hope this is fixable. Too pricey of a toy for it to have this issue right out of box,” whilst another forum poster, syunker, revealed that after working perfectly their Wi-Fi simply stopped working.

Meanwhile, new problems have emerged suggesting that the devices do not charge properly through some USB ports, whilst users expressed that their iPads would only charge when in sleep mode or turned off completely. In addition, whilst Apple said that iPhone apps would integrate into the new tablet computer, many users reported crashing applications.

However, the complaints do not seem to have dampened the hype surrounding Apple’s innovative product as it continues to sell well in the U.S. And as international markets gear up for a launch date, expected at the end of this month, intrigue from foreign shores only rises.

Whilst Apple has confirmed that the iPad will be released internationally later in the month, they have taken great care not to reveal any specific date. However rumours circulating the internet are now coming thick and fast as a reported internal communication intimated that April 24th could see the iPad’s international launch. Firstly Apple employees in Canada were told that they could not take holiday on April 24th, followed by reports that British workers had also received the memo. Whether this is to prepare for imminent launch, or will be the actual day is not agreed, though a Saturday unveiling would follow U.S patterns.

Meanwhile, whilst U.S individuals had a three week pre-order period, there is only two weeks until April 24th, causing more speculation on whether pre-orders are to start any day, or the launch could be a week later to give a similar three week ordering period. Either way, iPad frenzy is certainly growing, even amidst reports of glitches, and whilst no details can be confirmed, fans are holding on to every hint they get.

Whilst, like in the case of the iPad, there has been much secrecy surrounding HP’s latest product, specifications of the machine have been leaked after a firm managed to obtain a copy of an internal presentation given to HP employees. Coming in two sizes, 32GB flash storage and 64GB, the machines are expected to cost $549 and $599 respectively. Like the iPad the user interface will be multi-touch, featuring an 8.9 inch, 1024 x 600 graphic display. A 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor will provide the necessary mechanics to run the UMA graphics, incorporating 1GB of RAM and a video accelerator allowing quality 1080p playback.

Meanwhile features of HP’s proposed slate include a SDHC slot, USB port, two camera’s, HDMI out, and an empty SIM card slow allowing for users to upgrade to a 3G modem if preferred to Wi-Fi. A two-cell battery providing five hours of life will power the device which is expected to shop with Windows 7 Home Premium.

Whilst the hype surrounding Apple’s iPad is still rife, it is expected that companies developing slate machines will remain quiet so as not to loose any possible advertising to a dominant market player. However, with HP’s details now widely circulated it is only a matter of time before they start their public campaign.