Verizon Selling Apple iPad Now

As of this morning, you can finally buy the Apple iPad from someone other than Apple or AT&T. I wonder if this larger marketing push may be a way to get the iPad in the hands of more people… I wouldn’t be surprised if we see retailers like Best Buy or even Wal-Mart carrying the iPad for the holidays.

The following email blast went out to Verizon customers this morning.

The announcement, which came about 15 days ago, brings the Apple/Verizon partnership to a new level, with speculation buzzing even more that the game-changing iPhone is next to finally break-free from the AT&T exclusivity deal.

Details:

• As Mashable notes, “the collaboration won’t see Verizon compatible technology embedded in the iPad, it will bundle the iPad Wi-Fi with a Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot.”
• Concerning pricing of the add-on MiFi device, Techcrunch notes “Apple is agreeing to sell all three varieties (storage sizes) of their iPad in Verizon’s stores across America starting in two weeks. When purchased with their MiFi device, the two together cost $629.99, $729.99, and $829.99 for the 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB variations, respectively. Yes, those are the exact same prices that Apple is selling the iPad with built-in 3G from AT&T for. But again, the MiFi is a stand-alone product, so Apple/Verizon are selling you the WiFi-only version of the iPad to use in conjunction with this device.”

For me, I’d rather have an android tablet, I’m wondering if the Samsung Galaxy is worth the hype it’s getting (and possible maneuvering from Apple to keep their sales up?)