SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 - The announcement of Apple's tablet iPad and related media hype helped raise the awareness of the new device, but failed to convince consumers to buy one, said a survey released on Friday.

The survey, by online technology shopping site Retrevo, showed that about 48 percent of consumers said they had heard of the Apple tablet before the company formerly unveiled the device.

The percentage rose to 82 percent after Apple announced the long-anticipated iPad on Jan. 27 and said shipping will begin from March.

According to Retrevo, the results were based on study of more than 1,000 randomly selected users.

The survey also found that the number of respondents saying they had heard about the tablet but were not interested in buying one doubled from 26 percent before the announcement to about 52 percent following the launch.

Moreover, among people polled after the unveiling of iPad, 61 percent said they didn't think they needed an Apple tablet. The percentage was 49 percent before the iPad announcement.

"Not only did Apple fail to convince new buyers, it may have lost many potential buyers who now say they don't think they need an Apple tablet computer," Retrevo said in a posting on its blog.