Apple's iPad is eagerly awaited in Poland Courtesy of Apple

Poland’s e-press distributors are preparing for the arrival of the iPad, despite the fact that no Polish launch date has been set for it. Around 300,000 units of the iPad, Apple’s latest foray into the nascent tablet computer market, were sold on its US launch day.

The device is described as a cross between a smartphone and a laptop. Among its sundry functions, the iPad can be used to surf the internet, listen to music, watch movies and to read periodicals and e-books.

It’s this latter function which has generated the most buzz so far in Poland.

On April 1, eGazety.pl, an online press distributor which offers access to titles such as Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita, Parkiet and Puls Biznesu, began offering its eGazety Reader application on the App Store, Apple’s software download service. The application will allow eGazety.pl clients to read over 300 Polish titles on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

“I think the iPad will have a big impact on the Polish market. To date the biggest problem for e-press has been that there is no device properly suited to it. … Desktop computers are obviously not mobile, laptops are not very compact or easy to carry, while iPhones are too small,” explained Piotr Żychliński, president of eGazety.pl.

“Now we have the iPad, which is the right size, has a good processor with good-quality graphics, and is easily navigable,” he concluded.

Other e-press distributors are also eying the device with interest, although not all have shown interest in furnishing software especially for it.

While there’s no word from Apple yet, unofficial sources suggest the iPad could arrive in Poland sometime this fall. It is expected to cost about zł.2,000.

Asked if he thought that price might restrict sales, Mr Żychliński agreed that it was high by Polish standards. However, he voiced the expectation that telecom operators would offer the device at a reduced price in an effort to woo new clients.