Apple’s touch-screen iPad tablet will go on sale in the UK in “late April”, the company has revealed. The late April launch date applies to both models of iPad – the wi-fi only and wi-fi plus 3G – in the UK.

Apple’s UK website still gives a March launch date for the wi-fi only iPad with the 3G iPad stated to arrive in the UK in April. However, according to a press release from the company today, both devices will now arrive at the same, albeit slightly later, time.

CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad back in January. The touch-screen tablet device resembles a giant iPod Touch and is designed for web browsing, playing games and reading e-books.

The news coincides with Apple’s first iPad advert, which featured during the Oscars. You see the airbrushed hands of a man at home picking up the iPad to check out videos, read the New York Times, flip through book pages, check his private mail, and that sort of thing… See for yourself.

Apple’s impact on the smartphone market shows no signs of letting up – but the iPhone maker is facing stiff new competition in the touchscreen stakes.

The popularity of touchscreens on smartphones has increased massively since Apple introduced its iPhone. And in the last quarter of last year, for the first time ever, touchscreen devices accounted for more than half of all smartphone shipments globally, according to research from analyst house Canalys. Another survey conducted by the analyst at the end of last year showed that more than half (60 per cent) of 4,000 consumers polled wanted a touchscreen interface on their next mobile device.

In the latest piece of research, touchscreen smartphones took 55 per cent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2009, with shipments of touchy-feely devices up 138 per cent year-on-year, according to Canalys.

By contrast, overall smartphone growth was significantly lower, standing at 41 per cent. The analyst said the total number of touchscreen smartphones shipped in 2009 was more than 75 million, with total smartphone shipments hitting 166 million.

The iPad is the topic of conversation the web is buzzing about after the touch screen product was finally unveiled. Last week, Trendrr revealed that there were 177,000 tweets alone in the first hour after the announcement. But what was the sentiment behind those tweets?  

Crimson Hexagon analyzed the content of more than half a million tweets following the iPad announcement. While the results aren’t shocking, what it boils down to is that the Twittersphere is split straight down the middle. 48% of tweeters reacted positively, while the remainder — 52% — had less than stellar things to say about the iPad in a virtual tug-of-war.

Based on the breakdown below, the largest chunk of tweets were very enthusiastic about the iPad, with 29% of people firmly decided on buying it. It may just be Apple ‘fanboy’ syndrome, but even in light of all the negative counter tweets, it’s hard to ignore that nearly one third of half a million tweets — 145,000 to be exact — indicate a decided intention to buy the iPad, with the $499 price point resonating with these future purchasers.

Of the 52% of tweets that lacked enthusiasm for the iPad, the majority — 21% of all tweets — had a bad reaction to the name itself. Nineteen percent just weren’t impressed, and 11% were critical of all the build-up and/or just sick of hearing about it. Those that were disappointed, per the Twitter sentiment analysis, primarily took issue with the iPad not supporting Flash or multitasking.