Apple iPad launch put back to April, priced from £389

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Apple's iPad tablet will only go on sale in the UK in April, with prices starting at £389.

That's the word from gadget site Geeky Gadgets, which quotes an unnamed source in pricing the non-3G iPad variants at £389 (16GB), £439 (32GB) and £489 (64GB). The same source revealed “we are more likely to get the iPad in the UK in April as opposed to March, which is currently being quoted on Apple’s website”.

Unsurprisingly, Apple is saying nothing about this latest rumour, while Geeky Gadgets itself admits it “can’t confirm 100 per cent that these prices are correct”, but the quoted prices are consistent with similar predictions made in the past.

The iPad was announced at the end of January, but only went on sale in the US at first, where it costs $499, $599 and $699 depending on the amount of on-board storage. Then there's the 3G version running on AT&T, which adds an extra $130.

Details on UK pricing and availability for the 3G iPad remain hazy. It's not known whether Apple will restrict itself to a single 3G provider, as with AT&T in the US, or will work with multiple partners. The latter appears more likely, with Vodafone, O2 and Orange said to have already held talks on the subject with Apple – the same three networks that carry the iPhone in the UK.

The matter is further complicated by the iPad's use of the smaller microSIM format instead of a conventional SIM card. Thus far, rumours have linked Orange and O2 with orders for the smaller-format SIM, but nothing more concrete has been confirmed.

The latest rumours at least mean the iPad is making the news for something other than its lack of Flash support, with Adobe and Apple chief executive Steve Jobs having waged a public war of words since the iPad's launch.

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