Apple’s iPad will be only available on Saturday, but thousands of iPad apps are already available on the US App Store.

Users can purchase and download the iPad apps, but obviously they will need to wait to get their iPad to use them.

If you download the iPad apps then in iTunes they'll appear in a separate section of the "Apps" pane just below iPhone and iPod Touch apps.

MacRumors points out that:

Apple has also updated the Terms and Conditions for the App Store, reflecting the addition of iPad functionality and also clarifying that various types of iTunes gift cards and other credits are managed by a separate company known as Apple Value Services, LLC.

Here are some of the changes that you will observe in iTunes with the availability of iPad apps:

• There is a toggle for iPhone and iPad apps for all the sections in iTunes such as News and Noteworthy, What’s Hot, Staff Favorites, Top Paid Apps and Top Free Apps.

• MLB.com’s At Bat 2010 is the iPad App of the week.

• You already have iPad apps showing up in the Top Charts.

• If you want to find out all the iPad apps then you can checkout this iTunes link.

If you are wondering why the iPad apps are available even before the launch of the iPad then it seems Apple had asked developers to set the release date before the iPad launch. MobileCrunch speculates that this could be to “avoid any last minute hiccups”.

Here are some of the news and noteworthy iPad apps:

• Netflix free iPad app (iTunes link) to watch TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix. When I first heard about the iPad app, I thought it was an April Fools joke as it was too good to be true. I think this will be one of the killer iPad apps.

• Apple’s productivity iPads apps (iTunes link) – Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

• Pandora Radio app for iPad (iTunes link) comes with an entirely new interface.

Are you planning to buy an iPad? If so, which iPad apps do you plan to install on day one?