Reports are circulating that Vodafone has managed to secure the rights to Apple’s latest gadget, beating off competition from Orange. The iPad is expected to be available to buy in UK shops from this April.

The iPad, is a tablet computer, a term first used by Microsoft in 2001. A cross between a small laptop computer and a smartphone, it is a portable device designed to be used with a pen rather than a keyboard.

When it was officially announced the iPad caused something of a stir, but it won’t stop UK stores and other operators from stocking it, although some observers believe it won’t sell as well as Apple hope it will.

Two versions of the iPad will be available. The first is a basic WiFi. This should be released first around the beginning of April while the second version is a WiFi plus 3G “which can connect to HSDPA cellular networks and has Assisted GPS,” is supposed to be available later in the month.

However, while Apple is confident they can still produce the handset by April, the company has had production problems in China.

Both devices will feature “three different memory capacities.”

Vodafone has recently managed to beat off stiff competition from other companies to secure the rights to a large range of mobile phone devices. Besides, the iPad, other handsets include: HTC Desire, the HTC Legend, Sony Ericsson and the Nexus One.