Rumor is that users will be able to pop a 3G SIM card into the next iPod Touch and subscribe to a data plan of their choosing. AT&T and Verizon Wireless already offer 3G service for the iPad, so a connected iPod Touch would presumably work just like they do.

If this rumor turns out to be true, this is great news for those wanting a data only phone. Skype could replace a traditional voice plan, and iMessages, the messaging service that will launch with iOS 5 this fall, could reduce the need for SMS. Using data-based services could lead to big savings on a monthly smartphone bill.

During an earnings conference call last year, Steve Jobs hinted that Apple had tested several designs for the iPad during its development process. One of these possible designs may have surfaced in a patent application recently approved by the USPTO and now we get to see what might have been.

This patent shows off a Wi-Fi+3G iPad with an extra USB slot for landscape connectivity. The auxiliary USB slot would let you place the iPad in a dedicated landscape dock and dock it in portrait mode while syncing using both slots. Apple holds a patent for the design, but we will likely never see this in an upcoming iPad model. Still, it always nice to see how things might have been.

Amazon had already entered the UK’s e-book market last year and now the company has it’s sights set on Germany as it has now launched the German Kindle Store, with more than 650,000 titles. With the launch, the German Kindle Store instantly becomes Germany’s biggest e-bookstore.

It has about 25,000 German-language titles, thousands of free classics, and a large collection of independent newspapers and magazines. Customers also have the ability to buy the latest Kindle and Kindle 3G models directly from Amazon.de, along with free, German Kindle apps for iPhone, iPad, PC and Android. I bet the site is extremely busy today.

Remember when iPhone owners complained about AT&T’s network and could not wait for the day they could use their Apple devices on Verizon’s network? It wasn’t so long ago. Well, we have iDevices on Verizon now and guess what? It isn’t all it was cracked up to be. The grass always seems greener on the other side.

Verizon iPad 2 users are having reboot problems. Apple calls the number of users with problems “small”, but they have acknowledged the problem after message boards went crazy this week with customers complaining they are having difficultly accessing Verizion Wireless’s 3G data network.

Looks like Verizon-based Apple gadgets have a recurring reboot problem. Owners of Verizon’s native iPad 2 with both Wi-Fi and 3G (in 16, 32 and 64GB memory configurations) are complaining that they have to reboot their devices if they want to connect to 3G after previously switching that feature off.

Wi-Fi works just fine apparently, but 3G connections can take several minutes or just never happen. It doesn’t seem like all Verizon iPad 2 users are having this problem, but the complaints from those who are affected are very similar. It just goes to show that Verizon has it’s own set of problems with iDevices, much like At&t

Good news for those in the UK, looking forward to the iPad 2. Apple has added the iPad 2 to its UK Apple store, as shown in photo below, with a convenient button that lets you “select an iPad”. Sadly it doesn’t seem like you can actually buy that selected iPad 2 just yet though, but it is expected to go on sale on Apple’s online store at 1AM in the morning tomorrow. Those in the UK can also buy one from Apple stores starting 5PM tomorrow on March 25th.

The iPad 2 for the UK starts at £399 for the 16GB WiFi model, £479 for the 32GB WiFi model and £559 for the 64GB model. The 3G and WiFi iPad 2 start at £499 for the 16GB model, £579 for the 32GB model and £659 fpr the 64GB WiFi and 3G model.

The latest version of the iPad, the iPad 2 only went on sale on Friday in the US, and @comex has already managed to Jailbreak the new device, though we don’t have any details on just when the jailbreak will be made available to everyone. That didn’t take long at all. The jailbroken device was a Verizon Wireless model, but the 3G versions should also be able to be jailbroken just as easily.

Interestingly, this iPad 2 was jailbroken remotely, the iPad 2 used belonged to @chpwn. It shouldn’t be long now until the jailbreak for the new iPad 2 is available to everyone. When we know more, we will let you know.

HP’s TouchPad has shown up in a Vietnamese leak with a video showing that the tablet will have 3G soon. It shows a 32GB version with a SIM card slot for 3G on HSPA networks. They didn’t load webOS 3.0 because it was low on power, but a side-by-side with an original iPad showed it to be nearly identical in size to the original iPad, which has the same 9.7-inch screen size.

Versions of 3G have been promised by HP and are rumored to be arriving as early as September in AT&T. A Verizon 4G edition with LTE is also expected for the same time and would need its own SIM slot. Officially, only a Wi-Fi version is due to arrive by this summer.

Olivetti was originally known for typewriters, but with typewriters not exactly flying off the shelves, they’ve turned to manufacturing tablets instead. Olivetti has announced the release of the OliPad, and are calling it Italy’s first tablet.

The OliPad features a 10-inch screen, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity, NVIDIA Tegra 2, Android 2.2.2, and a 1024 x 600 display. There are also USB and HDMI ports and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Launching at the same time is the Application Warehouse, “a virtual storehouse of configurable and customizable software applications designed by Olivetti specifically for business and government.”

Steve Jobs said earlier that the new iPad pricing will stay exactly the same as the original iPad, which means a base price of $499 for the 16GB WiFi version. Well, despite the fact that you can’t get an iPad 2 until March 11th and you can’t pre-order it yet, it looks like Apple is already putting the original models on sale.

The base model 16GB WiFi only iPad is $399, with prices ranging up to $729 for the 64GB 3G model. You can also get a refurbished one for a starting price of $349. So if you want the original model, now is the time to get one. Will you be getting one?

The above mockup was spotted in China and seems to match closely what we have been hearing about the iPad 2. It has a slimmer profile, an almost entirely flat back, larger speaker, and rear- and front-facing cameras. The model number is one for the original Apple TV while the FCC ID is for a WiFi-only iPad, but those could be placeholders since this is a mockup and not a real working tablet.

It looks like the SIM card slot has been repositioned to a slot that was once expected to house an SD card reader. There is also the 3G antenna and the sloped power button and headphone jack.

The JetStreamHD is a new media streaming device for the iPad, which converts any media format in real-time to accommodate for your mobile device and adaptively adjusts the streaming bit-rate to make best use of your Wi-Fi or 3G connection strength.

The JetStreamHD is designed to remove any headaches, like with conversion issues, download time, sync hassles, or iPad memory limits. All you have to do is connect with your iPad over Wi-Fi or 3G and then you’ll be enjoying thousands of movies, TV shows, songs and photos from your home network. Sounds pretty good.

We now have official word on the Xoom’s pricing thanks to Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha. Reuters is reporting a price of $799 for the 32GB Honeycomb tablet when bought with 3G (which will be upgraded to 4G) from Verizon without subsidies, while a WiFi-only version will cost only $600.

That price is in line with the 32GB iPad, but the 3G Xoom is $70 more expensive than the Apple alternative. We don’t know when those models will be available, but rumor is that pre-orders or reservations could begin as early as tomorrow, with the tablet launching in full next Thursday.

We now have more details on the availability and pricing for BlackBerry’s PlayBook. Looks like it will be available at Office Depot for $499.99 and in “week 17” which means about the last week of April. The PlayBook will have 16 GB of storage, wifi and is capable of 3G speeds when connected to a Blackberry phone.

The pricing is on par with Apple’s iPad, but RIM will want to get the PlayBook out as soon as possible since Apple’s iPad 2 is coming.

Americans tend to take things for granted and we forget that you can’t get an iPad everywhere in the world. However, it is now available in one more location. The Apple iPad is finally available for purchase in the Philippines.

The company is selling all six models of the iPad on its online store, with prices ranging from PHP 23,990 (around $541) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model to PHP 40,990 (around $924) for the 64GB 3G model. Folks in the Philippines can now enjoy what the iPad has to offer and they can look forward to all of the apps and accessories that will empty their wallet.