iPad more popular than the World Cup?

Apple gizmos hotter than TVs this week

More Brits are interested in early adopting Apple's new iPad than in buying big TVs to watch the World Cup on, according to the latest search statistics.

The iPad, launched in the UK today, accounted for 24 per cent of all laptop-related searches last week, making it the most-hunted computer, search monitoring firm Hitwise said.

"We expect UK searches for the iPad to overtake TVs this weekend, even despite the surge in demand for TVs in the run up to the world cup," Hitwise's Robin Goad blogged.

But the stalwart iPhone will take some beating. Queries related to the phone stood at 0.083 per cent of all UK searches, compared to the iPad's 0.014 per cent.

Overall, Apple products accounted for 10 per cent of searches in the electronics category, with Microsoft trailing at 4 per cent, Hitwise said.