HP has officially revealed the launch date for the much awaited TouchPad tablet running webOS. Lucky folks in the U.S can expect it on July 1st, with a staggered release for the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland in the near days after and Canada on the calendar for mid-July. The device will be available from the usual retailers (Best Buy, Staples and Walmart to name a few) and while there is no word on carriers picking it up immediately, HP did mention a partnership with AT&T to deliver a “connected” version later on in the summer – hopefully this means it will be 4G LTE compatible for faster data rates.

Although the previous rumor pegged the TouchPad in the $699 range, HP has also confirmed model pricing to be $499 for the 16GB version and $599 for the 32GB version. The TouchPad is expected to be shipping with the latest release of webOS, 3.0, which brings along Touch-to-Share with the Pre 3 or Veer smartphones – allowing users to simply place their phones on the display of the tablet to quickly pass along an open webpage.

At the heart of the TouchPad is webOS, a mobile platform written entirely with the “connected web” in mind. With multitasking, a flash capable browser and a growing ‘App Catalog’, HP is looking to fit into the tablet market somewhere between the Apple iPad 2 and the BlackBerry PlayBook.

For more information and official statement see HP Palm’s Official Blog for the press release and a full list of retailers.