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Apple, AT&T hit glitches on iPhone 4 orders

Associated Press | Apple and AT&T faced two major problems taking orders for the newest
iPhone model just a week before it hits stores: Buyers reported
problems registering their orders and an apparent glitch in AT&T’s
website was steering some customers into strangers’ accounts.

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T-Mobile to offer free phones Saturday

Associated Press | Wireless carrier T-Mobile plans to give free
phones to customers who sign up for group calling plans at its retail
stores on Saturday — just days before rival At&T will start
selling Apple’s latest iPhone.

T-Mobile said Tuesday that throughout Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m.,
new customers will be able to get free handsets of their choice by
signing up for a “family plan,” which is a calling plan that has at
least two users.

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Motorola, BlackBerry-maker RIM make peace

Associated Press | Handset makers Motorola Inc. and Research In Motion Ltd. said Friday
they have settled a patent complaint over mobile technology that
Motorola brought to the U.S. International Trade Commission earlier
this year.

The companies said RIM, the BlackBerry maker, will give Motorola an
upfront payment plus continuing royalties for the use of its mobile
technology. They did not disclose specific financial terms.

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IPhone on T-Mobile network as soon as fall?

Associated Press | The iPhone will be available on other cell phone networks as early as this fall and will likely come first to T-Mobile USA, one analyst who follows Apple Inc. closely said Thursday.

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Slimmer, crisper Apple iPhone 4 out June 24

iphone44.jpg
Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces the new iPhone 4 as he delivers the opening keynote address at the 2010 Apple World Wide Developers conference June 7, 2010 in San Francisco. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Associated Press | The next iPhone comes out June 24 and will
have a higher-resolution screen, longer battery life and thinner design.

CEO
Steve Jobs opened Apple Inc.’s annual conference for software
developers Monday by revealing the iPhone 4, which will cost $199 or
$299 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T contract, depending on the
capacity. The iPhone 3GS, which debuted last year, will still be
available, for $99.

The iPhone 4 is about three-eighths of an inch thick; the previous
iPhone was nearly half an inch. It is getting a camera on the front that
could be used for videoconferencing, in addition to a five-megapixel
camera and a flash on the back.

See also
1pixel.jpg
• Apple’s 3rd founder walked away for $800

1pixel.jpgiPhone v. Android: Who’s buying what?

Photos: Earlier versions of the iPhone

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New details leak on Motorola’s Droid Xtreme

From PC Mag | Goodbye Shadow, hello Xtreme. New images and details have surfaced of Motorola’s Droid Shadow phone — now branded the Droid Xtreme — which was previously alleged to have been lost in a Verizon gym last week.

Get the full story: pcmag.com.

Motorola optimistic about enterprise business

Dow Jones Newswires | Motorola Inc. expects its enterprise business to post annualized
growth between 5 percent and 8 percent through 2012, with wireless broadband and
“next-generation” public safety helping to drive sales in that time.

Greg Brown, co-chief executive of the company and chief of Motorola
Solutions, said he expects Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions’
“growth” business, which includes the public safety and wireless
operations, to expand at least 10 percent a year over each of the next
three years.

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New Apple iPhone 4.0 expected Monday

Reuters | Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhone, which CEO Steve Jobs is widely expected to unveil Monday, will have to really set new standards in multimedia content and function to wow Wall Street and consumers.

Competition from a host of well-received smartphones based on Google Inc’s Android operating system is also growing, pressuring Apple to raise the bar even higher. The “iPhone 4.0 will keep them ahead of the game. Is it as easy as last year to stay ahead? No. I think Android has made huge progress,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

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Steve Jobs: iPad idea came before iPhone

ipad-jobs.jpgAssociated Press | Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs shared a secret
with his audience at a technology conference outside Los Angeles
Tuesday: The idea for the iPad came before the iPhone.

The idea to ditch the keyboard for what Jobs calls a multi-touch
display came about in the early 2000s, although the company was working
on a telephone at the time, he said. That’s when a prototype was
brought to him that used the device’s now-famous scrolling mechanism.

“I thought, ‘My God we can build a phone out of this,”‘ Jobs said at
The Wall Street Journal’s “D: All Things Digital” conference in Rancho
Palos Verdes.

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New AT&T wireless plans limit data usage

ct-biz-att-data-web.jpgAn AT&T kiosk at a mall in Peabody, Mass. AT&T Inc. will stop letting new customers sign up for its unlimited Internet data plan for smart phones and iPads. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, file)

Associated Press | In time for the widely expected launch of a
new iPhone model, carrier AT&T Inc. is pulling in the reins on data usage by its customers with smart phones and iPads.

The sole U.S. carrier of the iPhone is introducing two new data plans, starting June 7, with limits on data consumption. They’ll replace the $30 per month plan with unlimited usage that it has required for all smart phones, including the iPhone.

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Motorola ups value of stock awards for co-CEO

By Wailin Wong | Motorola Inc. has sweetened the terms of the employment agreement for
co-Chief Executive Greg Brown, increasing the value of stock awards he
will receive when the company completes its planned separation into two
independent businesses.

Motorola has targeted the first quarter
of 2011 for the split, with Brown leading the enterprise mobility and
networks business, which makes network infrastructure, as well as
communications gear for public safety agencies and businesses. Co-CEO
Sanjay Jha will lead the other company, comprising mobile phones and
cable television set-top boxes.

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Reports: Motorola plans Android tablet computer

From Information Week | Comments by Motorola co-CEO Sanjay Jha at an investor conference suggest the company may release this year an Android-based tablet computer 7- to 10-inches in diameter that would be a companion to a TV.

Get the full story: informationweek.com

Motorola reaches promotion deal with Verizon

Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Motorola Inc. has
reached a deal with Verizon Wireless to ensure some of its upcoming
smartphones will be heavily promoted by the largest U.S. carrier, a big
boost as Motorola tries to turn around its struggling handset business.

The new phones are a key test for Motorola co-Chief Executive Sanjay
Jha, who needs to demonstrate he can deliver a string of winners and
reverse losses as he tries to prove his mobile devices division can be
a stand-alone business.

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AT&T restores most U-verse Voice service

By Wailin Wong | AT&T said it has largely resolved an outage for subscribers of its U-verse Voice services. “Service has been restored for most U-verse Voice customers impacted by an earlier equipment issue,” AT&T spokeswoman Amy Grundman said in an e-mailed statement. “We continue work to restore service for a small number of customers still impacted.”

The company did not say how many customers were affected or how widespread the service disruption was, but online users of AT&T’s U-verse forums were reporting that the outage was nationwide. Subscribers to U-verse broadband Internet and television service did not appear to experience disruptions.

AT&T hikes fee to break iPhone contract

Associated Press | AT&T is raising the fee it charges buyers
of the iPhone and other smart phones if they break their two-year
contracts. Starting June 1, those buyers will have to pay $325 for
breaking their contract, up from $175 currently. For buyers of regular
phones, the fee is being decreased by $25 to $150.

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