Hasta La Gadget!

A Verizon iPhone? Not quite. Not yet. At the very least, however, this surprising bit of news seems to mark the fact that, if there were any issues between Apple and Verizon in the past (Verizon famously was said to have fatefully opted not to carrying the iPhone before launch) that’s all water under the bridge now.

Apple has added yet another store to the ever-growing list of stores that stock the iPad. Verizon Wireless is joining Apple Stores, Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and Sam’s Club in stocking the massively popular consumer tablet.

The companies issued a joint statement on the seeming odd matching. Apple’s COO Tim Cook seemed pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing (really? You couldn’t get a sentence-long quote from Steve Jobs about how utterly exciting and amazing the whole thing is?),

We’re thrilled to be working with Verizon Wireless to get iPad into the hands of even more customers this holiday season. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before, and together with Verizon Wireless we’re offering an easy way to stay connected wherever you go.

Verizon’s own COO John Stratton, meanwhile, called the match “the perfect pairing for holiday travels.” Just like a pine tree and spray-on snow, right John?

What’s perhaps most interesting about the pairing is the fact that the iPad will be bundled with the Verizon Mi-Fi. The package comes in three pricing tiers–$629.99 for the iPad Wi-Fi 16GB and the MiFi, $729.99 for the iPad Wi-Fi 32GB and the MiFi, and $829.99 for the iPad Wi-Fi 64GB and the MiFi.

There’s no 3G AT&T version, naturally.