Willamette Geek: Verizon Finally Carrying Apple... iPads??

While not the smoking gun guaranteeing the Apple iPhone's imminent arrival at Verizon, the announcement that the wireless carrier will carry the hit media consumption device starting Oct. 28 (along with perennial rival AT&T) is another huge sign something is afoot.

And before you ask, no, there's no CDMA version of the iPad. Big Red will only be carrying Wi-Fi iPads. But they will be bundled with its MiFi 3G portable hotspots at what seems to be an iPad-specific rate plan of $20 a month for 1GB of data.

The bundles will be priced at $629.99 for the 16GB iPad, $729.99 for the 32GB model and $829.99 for the 64GB. AT&T will of course have access to the 3G models of the iPad.

It's a wash as far as pricing goes. But even though the Wi-Fi-only models lack the GPS module present in the 3gs, the MiFi you get from Verizon can pump data to up to four other devices besides your shiny new tablet.