Apple's new iPad, which will be on sale here by the summer, is likely to prove a major disappointment for Irish consumers who will not be able to take advantage of one of its most attractive functions ? downloading movies and TV shows.

The iPad has been hailed as "revolutionary" by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, but critics said its success in Ireland may be limited by the unavailability of movies.

Jeff Orr, a senior media analyst at ABI, an American research company, said the tablet device would now have difficulty getting off the ground in Ireland. "This is a major stumbling block. It is quite a setback and won't make the iPad as attractive because of these limitations. The lack of availability is quite surprising."

Apple said there were no plans to make film and television shows available to customers in the Republic.

A spokesman for Apple Ireland said: "In Europe, TV shows are currently only for sale on iTunes in the UK, France and Germany, and movies in just the UK and Germany.

"We have nothing new to announce on this."

Orr said the iPad had already come in for criticism over a number of other issues.

"It can't replace other devices such as laptops or computers, as they have their uses already, so it is primarily an entertainment device. If a range of entertainment is not being provided, through the company's own iStore, then this puts the device's whole point into question.

"You buy an Apple device, use their Apple stores, do everything on their terms and nothing else and then find that you cannot access certain features because of wherever you are in the world. This is what is called a closed ecosystem, and it is proving to be a downside of the device.".