We told you about the HP TouchPad tablet earlier this month and of course we were intrigued by HP’s webOS 3.0-powered TouchPad. Now DigiTimes is reporting that we’ll be able to get our hands on one in just a couple of months. HP’s upstream component partners expect the device to go on sale in April, with delivery to retailers by the end of March.

The Motorola XOOM is set to launch on February 24th, and a rumored update to the iPad is also expected to be coming soon, so the TouchPad will have plenty of competition. HP hasn’t announced pricing for the TouchPad yet, but if it is priced attractively, the device may be able to attract buyers.

Amazon took another opportunity to hit the iPad where it hurts, namely it’s readability, in a new TV commercial for the Kindle. The 30-second ad points to the Apple tablet’s glossy LCD as a weakness, whihe e-paper on the Kindle reader has “no glare” to interfere with reading and can even be read in bright sunlight.

The ad also paints the Kindle as the savior of books, saying that “the book lives on:” the Kindle Store has over 800,000 titles. And they also focus on battery life is a quick focus, as the Kindle will last on a charge for a month.

We’ve seen our share of iPad covers, but the ARMOR cover may be the best when it comes to simplicity and protection. There’s an aluminum version for $75 and a titanium version for $160. It was designed by Japanese metal workers to provide the best protection for the iPad’s screen and let’s face it, that’s the part you worry about.

It may not have an embedded keyboard, or a kick stand, but with this material you won’t have to worry about your device at all, and that beats having those extras.

You certainly have plenty of choices when it comes to iPad stands, with or without speakers, but Sanwa is hoping that you choose their recently launched version. The 400-SP013 is their latest aluminum stand for the iPad.

It was designed by Taiwanese company KEYDEX and it isn’t very hard on the eyes. We’ve seen much worse. It’s pretty basic and this iPad stand also comes equipped with a pair of 1.5W speakers for quality audio. Sadly we don’t have any info on pricing at the moment, but hopefully we will have that info soon.

The iPad is supposed to be portable. Even so, sometimes you want to mount it somewhere so it can act as a monitor. Sanus can help. They have unveiled a new wall mount adapter for the iPad. The adapter doesn’t include the actual wall mount, but it does come with the adapter that you need in order to mount the iPad to any wall mount that uses a 100 x 100 VESA mount plate.

The adapter features a virtual Axis 3D faceplate that allows the iPad to be moved from portrait to landscape modes. The faceplate only works with the Sanus MF202, MF209, MF215, MC1A and MD115 wall mounts however.

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.

Looks like Sony has been working on a couple of tablets. Come on, you knew they had to get into the game eventually right? The first is a 9.4-inch Android 3.0 tablet known as the “S1″ (codename). Sony has been busy customizing Matias Duarte’s Honeycomb interface to its own specification. And Sony’s work is said to be cutting edge, created by an engineering team spanning Sony’s VAIO, Reader, PlayStation, and Sony Ericsson product groups.

Though the team is lead by the VAIO organization, it will probably launch without VAIO branding. It is also said that Sony’s custom-built transitions and UI elements have created a user experience that sometimes rivals and improves on the iPad’s. The tablet is 100 percent focused on Qriocity, Sony’s music, games, ebooks, and videos on demand service that’s just been launched in Europe.

This story smells a bit fishy, but a Georgia man claims that a local Walmart sold him a fake iPad, and now the store is refusing to give him a refund.

The iPad shown in the video below is obviously one of those fake display models Walmart uses to trick thieves, but how did Ken Lamal end up with this in his box instead of a new authentic iPad? That’s the question. This story just doesn’t sound right though. In the video, the reporter takes it to an Apple tech to confirm that it isn’t the real thing. I mean, come on. You should know better. The tech says that it’s probably a “brick in the box” return, meaning that a customer bought an iPad, then substituted the display model for the real thing and returned it for a refund.

We are still waiting for the iPad 2 to be made official, but there are already rumors about an iPad 3 that could be out as early as this fall. Sure, I guess it could happen. The rumor goes like this. Apple will unveil the iPad 2, which will be a modest update to the original iPad. It’ll get a front-facing camera, a faster processor, more RAM as well as support for both AT&T and Verizon’s networks. It won’t get a new retina display.

Then, during the fall/holiday season, Apple will unveil a bigger upgrade to the iPad, one with the higher-resolution display. The thinking is that this will allow Apple to adjust the yearly upgrade window for the iPad to be right in the middle of the holiday shopping season. That does make sense.

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.

At HP’s webOS event today, the first webOS tablet called TouchPad was introduced. The TouchPad features a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 9.7″ touchscreen (1024 x 768), 16 or 32GB of storage, Flash support, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, internal stereo speakers, Beats Audio, a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, and HP Touchstone support.

That is one nice feature set. The iPad 2, PlayBook and Xoom just got some serious competition. Nothing on price yet, but it will be available this summer.

The BBC has made its iPlayer app plans a bit more official by announcing that iPad and Android-specific versions of its software will be arriving by the end of this week. The iPlayer is a free TV catchup service hosting the best and most popular from the BBC’s catalog of recent programming, and the new native apps will let you watch on your portable device in a touchscreen-optimized format.

The finishing touches are being applied to the app right now and the apps should be available before the end of the week.

You own an iPad for convenience, so don’t think you have to leave it at home when you go to the beach. Instead, check out this new waterproof and sand proof case, called the DryCase. The manufactures says it’s completely waterproof.

The DryCase keeps your iPad waterproof by using a vacuum which is created in the case using a small pump to extract all of the air from the pouch. The case tightly seals around your iPad, but still allows the touchscreen to function. It’s like a spacesuit for your gadget.

There are plenty of tablet cases available for the iPad but how many are lined with solar panels? The Spark Tablet Case by Voltaic can generate up to 8 watts of power to provide about an hour of iPad runtime for every hour in the sunlight. Not bad. It also comes with a solar chargeable battery that contains almost enough juice to give the iPad a single full charge. The battery can be charged using the solar panels on the case, or via a USB port or wall charger.

Other features include a high-power 2A USB port, a regular 650mA USB port to speed up the iPad recharging process, water resistant solar panels, and the case itself is also waterproof. It’s also large enough to fit other accessories with your iPad and the charger can charge other mobile devices.

Rupert Murdoch has officially unveiled The Daily in the US. The iPad only publication is available right now in the US from iTunes. It will cost $0.99 per week or you can purchase an annual subscription for $39.99. So what do you get for that price? The Daily will feature 360 degree photos, and high definition videos for one thing.

You can also share articles from The Daily via Facebook and Twitter, and the application integrates Twitter feeds as well. The Daily will even be updated in real time with breaking news.