The official release in the UK and US will be March 16 – but due to preorders many will have to wait a few weeks until they can get their clammy paws on the brand new precious Apple tablet, keen to smudge the virgin screen with their prints.

Even more devasting is that purchases are limited to 2 per person – so eager eBay upsellers could be limited in their profits.

%TNT Magazine% the new ipad
Confused humans try to figure out why they can’t yet touch the magical screen of The New iPad

The New iPad (no longer known as the iPad 3) features some improvements over the iPad 2, including an improved processor a higher resolution screen and faster connectivity to the internet.

However, consumers will be expected to pay £659 for a 4G enabled top-of-the-range iPad – £260 more than the most basic 16gb 3G model which costs £399.