Verizon Wireless to Sell Apple iPad

Apple and Verizon Wireless announced this morning a partnership that would bring the iPad to Verizon Wireless Stores across the U.S. on October 28. While the collaboration won’t see Verizon compatible technology embedded in the iPad, it will bundle the iPad Wi-Fi with a Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot.

The iPad will be available in three bundles:

• Apple iPad 16GB + MiFi: $629.99
• Apple iPad 32GB + MiFi: $729.99
• Apple iPad 64GB + MiFi: $829.99

As far as data plans for the iPad, Verizon will offer one: Up to 1GB of data for $20 per month.

Industry sources are saying since facing intense competition from phone makers wedded to Google’s Android software, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, finally plans to make the iPhone available on VerizonWireless, the largest wireless carrier in the United States.

Alarming Report: iPhone 4 Glass Breaking Flaws

First the Antenna now the glass…  Apple‘s iPhone 4 glass is 82% more likely to shatter than the glass on the iPhone 3GS.

The report comes from independent warranty provider SquareTrade, which claims:

• “iPhone 4 owners reported 82% more damaged screens in the first 4 months compared to iPhone 3GS owners.”
• “Overall, the reported accident rate for iPhone [the] 4 was 68% higher than for the iPhone 3GS.”
• “An estimated 15.5% of iPhone 4 owners will have an accident within a year of buying their phone.”

SquareTrade concludes:

“With just 4 months of data, it’s clear that the iPhone 4 is significantly more prone to physical damage than its predecessor. The aluminosilicate glass seem[s] to crack at least as often as the old glass, and there is now twice as much surface area to break.

Despite this troubling increase, it’s important to take the accident rate into perspective. Overall, the iPhone is still a very well constructed device, with a non-accident malfunction rate much lower than most other consumer electronics.”

This is definitely a big problem for Apple.  SquareTrade states that the iPhone 4 is breaking 82% more than the iPhone 3GS. A sample group of about 20,000 iPhone owners, SquareTrade actually found that 3.9% of iPhone 4s suffered broken glass in the first four months, in contrast to 2.1% with the iPhone 3GS. Well  s771 broken iPhone 4s (out of 20,000), compared to 427 broken iPhone 3GS screens, so,  avoid dropping your iPhone 4.

Windows Phone 7 Syncing for Mac

Microsoft revealed that it will offer a Mac version of the Zune software by the end of the year. In a Twitter tweet that was subsequently removed, a Microsoft source stated, “I’m glad to confirm that Mac users would be able to use Zune on their Macs to sync with [Windows Phone 7].”

Apple’s iTunes software has been available for the Windows operating system for years, Microsoft’s Zune has not.

However, both the Apple iPhone, and the recently unveiledWindows Phone 7 smartphones rely on the respective music and digital content platforms to sync the smartphones with music, photos, and other data. Allowing Mac OS X users to join in the Windows Phone 7 fun by providing Zune for the Apple OS makes strategic sense.

Stay tune for more info.

Wal-Mart to start selling Apple’s iPad this Friday

Wal-Mart said the iPad will be available in hundreds of its stores in the United States to start, expanding to more than 2,300 outlets by mid-November.

Wal-Mart rivals Best Buy and Target are already selling the iPad, which Apple launched in April.

Demand for the 10-inch touchscreen tablet has so far been robust, and Apple initially had a difficult time producing enough.

The company sold more than 3 million iPads in the June quarter, and Wall Street expects the company to surpass that mark with ease in the September quarter.

Apple is set to report quarterly results next Monday.

Wal-Mart will sell the iPad for the same price as other retailers, starting at $499 for the more inexpensive model. The world’s largest retailer already sells Apple’s iPod and iPhone.

Shares of Cupertino, California-based Apple were up $1.75 at $297.11 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.

App Alert: Square iPhone Credit Card Swiping App

While thumbing through the iTunes App Store today . I came across this really cool and useful app today. It is called Square, it’s a mobile payment processing service founded by Twitter Co-founder Jack Dorsey. Well-funded and ambitious, Square aims to become the standard for mobile payment processing, especially for small businesses.

Check out a video of Jack Dorsey’s presentation of Square at this year’s DEMO conference.

App Alert: Look through Google Goggles for iPhone

One of my favorite Android Apps Google Goggles is now available for the iPhone.Google Goggles launched as an Android app in Google Labs in December of last year. The app processes pictures taken with the phone and recognizes the text within it, creating search results for things like books and business cards. It also recognizes things like landmarks, logos and book covers, but isn’t able to recognize food or animals. Even though Google is working on the functionality it is definitely going to become a must-have  app.

Just In: Motorola Mobility Sues Apple for Patent Infringement

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Oct. 6, 2010 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that its subsidiary, MotorolaMobility, Inc., has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) alleging that Apple’s iPhone, iPad, iTouch and certain Mac computers infringe Motorola patents. Motorola Mobility also filed patent infringement complaints against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of Florida.

Overall, Motorola Mobility’s three complaints include 18 patents, which relate to early-stage innovations developed by Motorola in key technology areas found on many of Apple’s core products and associated services, including MobileMe and the App Store. The Motorola patents include wireless communication technologies, such as WCDMA (3G), GPRS, 802.11 and antenna design, and key smartphone technologies including wireless email, proximity sensing, software application management, location-based services and multi-device synchronization.

Motorola Mobility has requested that the ITC commence an investigation into Apple’s use of Motorola’s patents and, among other things, issue an Exclusion Order barring Apple’s importation of infringing products, prohibiting further sales of infringing products that have already been imported, and halting the marketing, advertising, demonstration and warehousing of inventory for distribution and use of such imported products in the United States. In the District Court actions, Motorola Mobility has requested that Apple cease using Motorola’s patented technology and provide compensation for Apple’s past infringement.

Kirk Dailey, corporate vice president of intellectual property at Motorola Mobility, said, “Motorola has innovated and patented throughout every cycle of the telecommunications industry evolution, from Motorola’s invention of the cell phone to its development of premier smartphone products. We have extensively licensed our industry-leading intellectual property portfolio, consisting of tens of thousands of patents in the U.S. and worldwide. After Apple’s late entry into the telecommunications market, we engaged in lengthy negotiations, but Apple has refused to take a license. We had no choice but to file these complaints to halt Apple’s continued infringement. Motorola will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its R&D and intellectual property, which are critical to the company’s business.”

Left 4 Dead 2 for Mac: Now In Stock

For all the gamers out there Valve’s Left 4 Dead 2 for Mac is now available through the Steam store. Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first person zombie shooter.

Through the Steam Play functionality, existing Windows users can download the Mac version for free. New customers can also play on either platform while purchasing only once. Steam also launched their new “The Sacrifice” add-on pack for the game.

“The Sacrifice” is the prequel to “The Passing,” and takes place from the L4D Survivors’ perspective as they make their way South. In addition to advancing the story, “The Sacrifice” introduces a new style finale featuring “Sacrificial Gameplay” where players get to decide who will give their life so the others may live.

As a launch promotion, Valve is offering Left 4 Dead 2 at 66% off, with a single license priced at $6.79 and a four-pack priced at $20.39.

iPad: Sales Are The Fastest Ever, Passing DVD Player

CNBC reports that the iPad has become the most quickly adopted non-phone consumer electronics product in history, topping the DVD player. Apple sold over 300,000 iPads in its first day, and took just 28 days to reach one million units sold.

iPad sold three million units in the first 80 days after its April release and its current sales rate is about 4.5 million units per quarter, according to Bernstein Research. This sales rate is blowing past the one million units the iPhone sold in its first quarter and the 350,000 units sold in the first year by the DVD player, the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product.

While many products have quickly reached sales into the millions of units,  iPad is set to become the fourth-largest consumer electronics category in 2011 with over $9 billion in sales.

At this current rate, the iPad will pass gaming hardware and the cellular phone to become the 4th biggest consumer electronics category with estimated sales of more than $9 billion in the U.S. next year, according to Bernstein. TVs, smart phones and notebook PCs are the current three largest categories.

Bernstein’s Colin McGranahan also suggests that the iPad is likely to be “cannibalizing” even TVs and digital cameras, noting that customers who make $600 iPad purchases are likely to delay purchases of other electronics due to financial considerations.

source:CNBC

Apple Introduces New Retina Display

Now that that the iPhone 4 has been out for awhile and everyone is excited about the rumors of  Apple/Verizon deal. We have to pay homage to iPhone 4, with its new Retina display. The Retina Display uses technology called IPS (in-plane switching) — the same technology used in the Apple LED Cinema Display and iPad — to achieve a wider viewing angle than on typical LCDs. Which means you can hold iPhone 4 almost any way you want and still get a brilliant picture. That’s perfect when you’re sharing photos with a friend or moving your iPhone around while playing a driving or flying game. In addition, the Retina display offers four times the contrast ratio of previous models, so whites are brighter, blacks are darker, and everything is more beautiful.

Advancements in the glass. And under it.

Made from the same materials used in helicopters and high-speed trains, the Retina display glass is chemically strengthened to be harder, more scratch resistant, and more durable than ever. The glass also features an oil-resistant coating that helps keep the screen clean.

The Retina display includes LED backlighting and an ambient light sensor that intelligently adjusts the brightness of the screen for optimal viewing and battery life. When you lift iPhone to your ear for a phone call, a proximity sensor immediately turns off the display to save power and prevent accidental dialing.

In a word, resolutionary.

By developing pixels a mere 78 micrometers wide, Apple engineers were able to pack four times the number of pixels into the same 3.5-inch (diagonal) screen found on earlier iPhone models. The resulting pixel density of iPhone 4 — 326 pixels per inch — makes text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size.

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