Today in Tech: Why the iPad 3 is one to watch, Verizon killing unlimited data

A curated selection of the day’s most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to you everyday.

The Telegraph reports that Steve Jobs was reportedly blocked from knighthood because the Apple CEO refused an invitation to speak at the Labour Party conference. (Other notable honorary knights include Bill Gates and Apple collaborate-U2 frontman Bono.) The info comes from a former senior Labour Party member, but a party spokesperson denies the news. (Telegraph via Fortune)
Meanwhile, Apple is currently in the midst of defending its attempt to trademark the phrase “App Store,” claiming that Microsoft failed to prove that the term should remain a generic term that can be used by any mobile app marketplace. (TechFlash)
Also, expect Apple to finally unveil the follow-up to its über-popular iPad at its big event this afternoon at 10 AM PST/1 PM EST in San Francisco, where Jobs himself may make an appearance. If outlets like Engadget are to be believed, expect the next-generation tablet to be thinner, faster, and more powerful with a dual-core ARM processor, double the RAM (512 MB), and at least one video camera, though it will likely not have a higher-resolution display and built-in SD card slot. Fortune will cover the event throughout the day, so keep checking in for the latest. (Fortune, AllThingsD, and Engadget)
But according to an unnamed Apple staffer who spoke with Cult of Mac, today’s iPad 2 won’t hold a candle to the iPad 3, which this person says is on track for a release later this year. “For the iPad 2 don’t get your hopes up too high,” the source said. “That’s all I’m going to say. They’ve had a number of problems along the way, and the third-generation iPad is the one to make a song and a dance about.” (Cult of Mac)
Andreesen Horowitz named Scott Weiss the venture capital firm’s fourth partner. As our own Dan Primack reports, Weiss was employee #13 at Hotmail and stuck around as head of a business development team once the email provider was acquired by Microsoft in 1998. In 2000, he founded and ran networking security company IronPort Systems, which was acquired in 2007 by Cisco Systems for $830 million. He most recently served as vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Security Technology Group. (Fortune)
Hulu CEO Jason Kilar says the popular video streaming company is on track to make as much as $500 million in ad and subscription sales this year, almost 100% more than the $263 million it hauled in during 2010. (Ad Week)
Verizon Wireless’ CFO said during a recent webcast that Big Red will probably kill off its unlimited data option some time this summer. The mobile carrier had kept the plan largely to attract Verizon iPhone customers, which launched last month. So expect tiered plans and pricing for data usage like AT&T coming very, very soon. (Reuters)
Facebook just scooped up group messaging service Beluga, founded by ex-Google employees last July. The startup was in the midst of an angel round of funding, which according to TechCrunch, had become a heated competition over the quickly-rising service. (TechCrunch)
Boxee announced it received $16.5 million in funding to expand its offerings. The Series C round was led by new investors like Pitango and Softbank and also included existing investors like Union Square Ventures and General Catalyst. (paidContent)
Microsoft Bing passed Yahoo for the first time for global search engine market share last month. According to StatCounter, Bing closed out the month with a 4.37% search share, while Yahoo owned 3.93%. Of course, both still fall way behind Google’s lead with 89.94% of the market. (ReadWriteWeb)