Earlier today we received official details from Apple [AAPL] regarding the launch date and the price of the Apple iPad in the UK. We already knew a few of the networks over in the UK would be offering price plans and Orange are the first to step forwards with their offerings.

Orange are calling the plans pay-as-you-consume and they will offer several plans starting with a pay monthly for what you use plan where costs are 5p per MB with a limit of £40/month being applied to the account.

Next up are the bundle plans where you can sign up for a day, 7 days or monthly plans as follows…

iPad Daily (valid for 1 day until midnight) – £2 – 200MB
iPad Weekly (valid for 7 days until midnight) – £7.50 – 1GB
iPad Monthly 15 (recurring) – £15 – 3GB + unlimited browsing at Wi-Fi hotspots
iPad Monthly 25 (recurring) – £25 – 10GB + unlimited browsing at Wi-Fi hotspots [Read more…]

Apple [AAPL] has finally given a date for the first international launch of the Apple iPad. In the UK we can expect to get the iPad on May 28 although prices have still not been provided. Press release below…

iPad Available in Nine More Countries on May 28

Pre-Orders Begin May 10

CUPERTINO, California-May 7, 2010-Apple® today announced that iPad¢ will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on Friday, May 28. Customers can pre-order all iPad models from Apple’s online store in all nine countries beginning on Monday, May 10. In the US, Apple has already sold over one million iPads and customers have downloaded over 12 million apps from the App Store, as well as over 1.5 million ebooks from the new iBookstore.

iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch¢ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 200,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers have created more than 5,000 exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.

Pricing & Availability
Apple plans to release iPad in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore in July. Apple will announce availability, local pricing and pre-order plans for these nine additional countries at a later date.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

When iPhone OS is jailbroke, a number of interesting things can be accomplished that were previously locked up by Apple [AAPL]. The latest new feature to be added is for the Apple iPad running OS 3.2 that has been jailbroke by Spirit. The user in the video below has successfully managed to use the iPad Camera Connection kit to connect up an external hard drive, mount it and access it from the iPad.

To achieve the external hard drive compatibility you’ll need any iPad along with an external hard drive, iPad Camera Connection kit, split USB cable for providing extra juice to the hard drive and some terminal software that allows you to mount the drive when needed. [Read more…]

John Benson ordered an Apple iPad 3G in the UK that arrived from the US this week. When opening it up, it obviously had an AT&T microSIM that won’t work over here. The problem is that in the UK at the moment, microSIM’s are not available just yet so rather than waiting a month to use it, John took a knife to his Vodafone SIM and chopped off the plastic edges to make it in to a microSIM.

The U.K. resident was faced with a disparity in SIM cards once he received his iPad from over the pond, writing on his website, “This morning, my shiny new iPad 3G 64Gb arrived from the USA! The only problem was, it had an AT&T MicroSIM and as yet there is no such thing in the UK.”

[Read more…]

ClamCase is a device that converts your Apple iPad in to a laptop style device. The unit has a keyboard that the iPad attaches to.

To connect the keyboard to the Apple iPad, Bluetooth is used. The idea appears to be just concept at the moment although the company behind it hope to have it available to purchase in the fall of this year. Prices are not known just yet either.

As well as converting your iPad to a laptop, it also serves as a protective case when folder up. Also, the keyboard can be opened up to allow the iPad to stand on it’s side, or prop up the iPad for easier use. [Read more…]

Brando has launched a slim Bluetooth keyboard that is compatible with the Apple iPad. The keyboard measures just 112x61x13mm and weighs 70g.

The keyboard is powered by a rechargeable battery and is recharged over a USB connection. The keyboard isn’t just for the Apple iPad and is actually compatible with a number of other devices which includes Symbian S60 devices, Mac OS, Windows Mobile devices and most versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system going back to Windows 2000. [Read more…]