Apple iPad Pricing and Availability: $600-$1000, March 1st? [Updated: Fake]

According to a (now deleted) tweet by major German electronics retailer Media Markt, the Apple iPad will go on sale March 1st at a price of 499 Euros with contract with T-Mobile or 899 Euros without. In U.S. prices this would likely be around $500-$600 U.S. with contract and $999 without. We came to these numbers by comparing similarly priced Apple items sold in Euros and USD (Mac Mini: 549 Euros / $599 USD, MacBook 899 Euros / $999 USD).

The company, however, quickly deleted the tweet but not before it was retweeted a number of times. NetbookNews.de also picked up on the story and seems to believe that Media Markt would be in a position to know this information. The German site tells us that Media Markt is the biggest German electronics chain akin to Best Buy in the U.S., and has a dedicated Apple section.

Given Apple's secrecy, however, we're not convinced Apple would reveal such information to their retail partners ahead of the official announcement. That said, it's possible that mobile carriers such as T-Mobile have been briefed already due to the carrier agreements that must be put into place. Apple's Media event takes place Wednesday, January 27th.

Update: fscklog reports [Google translation] that a company representative has confirmed that the Twitter account is not an official Media Markt account, and thus the iPad posting is certainly fake.