Apple iPad Air Release Date Coming: US Cellular To Launch Device On Non. 8, Other Regional US Carriers In ‘Coming Weeks’

On Friday, just three days after Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveiled the new iPad Air on Tuesday, U.S. Cellular (NYSE:USM), the country’s fifth-largest wireless carrier, said it would begin selling the new tablet on Nov. 8, while some other regional carriers also announced that the device would be available in the “coming weeks.”

U.S. Cellular said in its announcement that it would offer the iPad Air in multiple plans, and would allow the new tablet to connect to its 4G LTE network. The carrier will also launch Apple’s new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on Nov. 8, “making the day a big one for the company,” Apple Insider reported.

The announcement of the iPad Air’s availability on U.S. Cellular came after some smaller regional carriers, including C Spire and Bluegrass Cellular, announced that they would also launch the new 9.7-inch iPad.

Bluegrass Cellular operates in Kentucky while C Spire is based in Mississippi. Both carriers announced that the new iPad Air would support their 4G LTE networks.

According to C Spire, the company “will offer iPad Air with a range of attractive data plans that will allow customers to connect to its fast 4G LTE mobile broadband network with speeds up to ten times faster than previously available.”

On the other hand, Bluegrass Cellular said that it “allow customers to connect to its fast nationwide 4G LTE network with speeds up to 12 megabits per second (Mbps).”

Alaska’s GCI also announced similar launch plans for the Wi-Fi + Cellular models of the iPad Air, saying that the average download speeds on its network would be 5 Mbps to 12 Mbps, 9to5Mac reported.

Major U.S. carriers such as AT&T (NYSE:T), Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile (NYSE:TMUS) and Sprint will begin selling the iPad Air on Friday, Nov. 1, while the new iPad mini with Retina display will be released in late-November.

The iPad Air is powered by the Apple-designed 64-bit A7 chip found inside the iPhone 5s, and the M7 motion coprocessor that helps track movement while saving battery consumption. The tablet features a 9.7-inch LED-backlit Multi-Touch display with IPS technology with 2048x1536 resolutions at 264 pixels per inch. The device sports a 5-megapixel iSight camera and a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime HD camera.

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