Apple fans queued up overnight at the Bullring in Birmingham to be among the first people in the country to get their hands on the new iPad 3.

Staff at the Apple store arrived early to open the doors to gadget fans keen to pay up to £659 for the new 4G-ready tablet.

The latest model, which has a higher resolution screen than previous models and a five megapixel camera with auto focus and auto exposure, ranges in price from £399 to £659.

The new iPad also has "voice dictation" which allows people to dictate straight to their computer rather than type.

Apple said the "retina display", which uses 3.1 million pixels on the 9.7in display screen, would have "the highest resolution display ever on a mobile device".

Another feature is a high-speed 4G wireless network which will allow users to download pictures and films quicker than before, even though this is not actually available in the UK yet.

Despite competition from cheaper rivals the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its launch in 2010, including 40 million last year.

In London, people had queued for days on Regent Street and for more than 31 hours outside Apple's flagship store in Covent Garden.

Jubilant fans emerged from the Covent Garden store included Dipak Varsani, who was first in the queue.