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Indeed, according to The Australian newspaper, Telstra will be selling the new iPad from selected T-Life stores from 12.01am on Friday the 16th of March, almost 8 hours before Apple does the same.
Telstra's press release didn't mention this salient fact, but a quick call to one of Telstra's representatives has confirmed it's true.
The best reason to buy an iPad from a telco is because they'll sell you one on a 12 or 24 month plan, letting you pay the new iPad off over all those months, rather than requiring you to pay for it all upfront - just like mobile phones are sold, and just like iPad 2 models have been sold over the past year.
Telstra's plans look similar to those I saw from Vodafone, although while Vodafone is promoting its new 850MHz as 'nearly complete', Telstra's 850MHz network has been complete for some years, offering the HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA speeds that blow slower 3G networks away, with Telstra's plans and pricing available to view here.
While Optus won't be selling the new iPad from midnight at retail, it will be doing so online, giving Australians plenty of choices and places from which to buy the new iPad on launch day, something that will surely be followed by sold-out signs that could last for months - if previous iPad launches are anything to go by, forcing consumers to pre-order or pre-reserve a new iPad for pickup or for delivery, so as to save disappointment when walking into a retail store.
Anthea Roberts, the Director of Telstra's Mobile Broadband division said in Telstra's press release that 'Hundreds of thousands of Australians already love the speed, coverage and reliability available when using iPad on the Telstra Mobile Network. Telstra's super-fast 3G network is a great way for users to take full advantage of the amazing new iPad."
Details of Telstra's 'super-fast 3G' coverage are available here.