HBO Go app set to stream its way to iPhones, iPads and Android devices

Are you familiar with the HBO Go online streaming service that lets subscribers catch up on HBO's award-winning and ass-kicking TV content? Well, 'appy news for you, dear reader, for it's about to hit smartphones and tablets early next month. Android and iOS HBO Go apps have been teased by a new video on HBO's YouTube channel, with promises of "instant and unlimited access" to "every episode of every season" of your favorite shows, garnished with a selection of hit movies. The apps and streaming will be free to HBO subscribers, who'll be able to get their Sopranos nostalgia on over 3G as well as WiFi. May 2nd is the date on which the teaser video ends, though it doesn't explicitly say that the service will be enlivened then. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Thanks, Joe]

UK carriers discount iPads

 

Orange and T-Mobile in the UK slashed prices for iPad models with 3G connectivity to as low as GB£99 with a 24-month contract. In addition to boosting new business for these popular mobile carriers, the "limited time" offers appear to be a strategy for clearing inventory ahead of the highly anticipated launch of a next-generation device.

New customers qualify for a £99 iPad by signing up for an Orange data plan priced at £27 per month. Meanwhile, existing Orange and T-Mobile customers qualify for the discount with iPad data service starting at £25 per month. The monthly fee provides iPad users in the UK with up to 1 GB of "anytime" mobile data. The current offer represents price cuts of at least £100. Previously, subsidized pricing for the iPad with 3G started at £199 for existing customers and £229 for new customers.

A new 3G-enabled iPad without a carrier contract costs £541.

It's unclear whether these popular UK carriers -- that provide mobile services to approximately 37 percent of the UK -- have been informed of Apple's plans for a new iPad or are simply making an educated guess about the device's immediate future. The iPad was originally announced over a year ago in January 2010, and it went on sale in April 2010. Much like its cousins in the iPod and iPhone families, the iPad is expected to follow an annual release cycle. Many expect the "iPad 2" to go on sale before the end of April 2011.