All the effort that the alliance between Apple and the US press to peddle the iPad appears to have backfired.

For months the Apple stoked US press has been telling the world that Steve Jobs would change the world with his giant iPod touch. Initially there were indications that it might have worked, but now punters are starting to lose interest. It appears that most have worked out that the gadget is pointless, expensive and means nothing to them.

The survey was conducted by electronics shopping site Retrevo. It says that two weeks after the product's unveiling more than twice as many respondents said they were uninterested after the iPad. Retrevo did similar surveys to gauge interest in Apple's new portable touchscreen device both before it was announced and after.

Before Jobs' Mob's Nuremberg Rally announcing the iPad 26 percent of those surveyed said they knew about the device but weren't interested. After the announcement, that number jumped to 52 percent. Three percent said they would buy an iPad without knowing anything about it. That number went up to nine percent. Another 21 percent of those surveyed said they were still interested but wanted to know more about it. Only 18 percent steadfastly claimed to still know nothing about that iPad and not care one way or the other.

Most punters have realised that they don't need an iPad. Almost half of respondents said before the announcement that they didn't need one, and 61 percent said after the announcement that it was unneeded. More than 59 per cent said it was not worth the extra $130 upgrade to 3G data. Just 12 percent said yes. The rest were still undecided.

With seven weeks yet before the WiFi-only version goes on sale, and another month to wait before the 3G models roll out it is starting to look like interest is sinking. It would be jolly nice if for once consumers realised that Jobs mob is peddling a bit of overpriced tat which is useless to God and man.