Apple has made a swift and quiet change to way it describes its Ipad tablet, according to The Inquirer.

The firm has dropped the term "4G" from its descriptions of the Ipad following criticisms in countries where that claim was found to be misleading

Critics have come from as far as Australia and the UK and have appealed to national advertising standards organizations. Although Apple initially defended its wording it has now changed its mind and its text.

The term "4G" does not show up in Apple web pages about the Ipad in the UK. There we learn that the Ipad "Supports fast mobile data networks around the world, including HSPA, HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA.2."

Apple has confirmed the changes and in a statement to The Inquirer it said that it had simplified the text in order to prevent confusion.

"The new Ipad supports many high speed networks around the world, including LTE in the US and Canada and HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA in many countries," said a spokesperson.

"Carriers do not all refer to their high speed networks with the same terminology, therefore we've decided to use 'WiFi + Cellular' as a simple term which describes all the high speed networks supported by the new Ipad. The advanced wireless features of the new Ipad have not changed."