Apple’s release of the iPad was a hot topic in technology even before its April 3 release date.

Recently, the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Bookstore began carrying the new gadget, which is now available for students.

The iPad has a large, high-resolution LED-backlit, IPS display, a responsive multi-touch screen and a powerful, Apple-designed chip.

This new device can be purchased in three different gigabytes sizes. The 16 GB iPad is priced at $499, the 32 GB is $599 and the 64 GB is $699. The bookstore currently does not offer student discounts on the iPad’s.

Craig Sharp, a freshman geology major, said he does not know why any students would want to purchase an iPad at this time.

“They are so expensive, and usually the first version of items that Apple makes end up being not too good anyways,” Sharp said.

Since the bookstore began selling the iPad, only five have been purchased.

Grant Kerber, a sophomore athletic training major, said he thinks the iPad is a great thing for students.

“It practically does everything for you, and it can help with school work and keep you much more organized,” Kerber said. “They even let you try it out beforehand.”

The bookstore has a station where several iPads are set up for students to try them out.

Rhett Hite, a bookstore employee, said he thinks the iPad is a great new piece of technology.

“I think it’s a good technological medium in today’s ever-changing wireless electronic world,” Hite said.

Dan Somenek can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].