The days leading up to the January 27 launch of Apple’s iPad was filled with speculations of a front facing camera for iChat, Adobe Flash for streaming video in browser and a completely new OS thought to be a cross breed of iPhoneOS and MacOSX. Unfortunately Apple failed to deliver anything more than just a really large iPod Touch with many of the same features.

I was really excited to hear that Apple was launching a “new creation” and knew it couldn’t be anything but the amazing tablet from Cupertino everyone had been waiting on for years. But after the press event was said and done, I realized my hopes had been brought really high, only to be dropped straight back down to the cold hard floor.

It seems the hit might have been even harder for Apple. Retrevo — a consumer electronics review site — conducted a survey of 1,000 random users between January 16 – 20 (before the media event), and then surveyed another 1,000 random users after the hoopla (from January 27 to February 3). And what they found may not indicate the blockbuster buzz that Apple was shooting for.

According to the survey, the event definitely helped word get out about the new device. During the first sampling, researchers found that only 37 percent had actually gotten wind of a tablet device from Apple. After the media event, that margin more than doubled, with 80 percent now saying they’ve heard of the iPad. And although the number of people who plan to buy one increased, from 3 to 9 percent, those who had no interest in purchasing also jumped from 26 to 52 percent.

If you’re on the fence about purchasing the iPad, thanks to some confusion over what exactly it is supposed to be used for, you’re not alone. Those who said they needed more info about the device prior to making a purchasing decision doubled from 15 to 30 percent.

Pricing also impacts the statistics. Taking the internet with you wherever you go with the iPad, via the 3G version, will set you back an additional $130 more than the cost of the Wi-Fi only model. Like many others, that doesn’t sit too well with me, and actually turns me off from the 3G unit. Apparently others agree. Retrevo found that nearly a third of those surveyed said they would pass on the 3G iPads in favor of the cheaper Wi-Fi only counterparts.

And that’s when the geek in me starts to pop up. Why pay $130 for 3G capability when, on most smartphones today, you are able to transfer your internet signal via Wi-Fi to other devices? On some handsets, it does require some know-how, but it will grant you the same feature for the much cheaper version and no extra data plan costs. (Sadly, this doesn’t necessarily apply to iPhone users. Those without jailbroken devices are still waiting for internet tethering to be enabled.)

In light of this study, we mustn’t forget that we are still nearly 2 months away from any type of pre-order. And we all know how persuasive Apple can be in their ad campaigns. Will these same numbers still apply when the iPad is finally released? That’s the question. We will have to wait and see how developers will be making use of that special SDK (software developers kit) for the iPad, and if they will be capable of defining the tablet as something more than just a Big Screen iPod.

Via Retrevo

.

.