MacRumors

Associated Press reports that AT&T is quietly offering some of its iPhone customers the ability to switch to unlimited data plans as a means to keep them from defecting to Verizon, which is rolling out an unlimited data plan of its own for a limited time as the carrier launches the iPhone next month.

According to the report, AT&T's offer is being made to customers who had previously been on an unlimited data plan for the iPhone on AT&T but had switched to one of the company's lower-cost capped plans when it restructured its data plans as the iPhone 4 was announced last June. As part of that restructuring, customers with unlimited data have been permitted to retain their plans, but those who opted to switch to capped plans were told that once that change had been made they would be unable to switch back to unlimited data at any time in the future.

Based on this new report, AT&T appears to quietly be making exceptions to that policy, allowing users to move back to unlimited data rather than seeing them defect to Verizon.

Verizon Wireless will start offering the iPhone on Feb. 10 with a draw that AT&T no longer offers to new subscribers: a plan with unlimited data usage. But The Associated Press has learned that some AT&T iPhone users on limited plans won't need to move to Verizon for unlimited data.

In an unadvertised loophole, AT&T Inc. has allowed subscribers who have had an unlimited data plan in the past to switch back. That includes anyone who had an iPhone before June, when the limited plans took effect.

AT&T has declined to comment on the change in policy.

With the Apple online store's downtime last night, the company appears to have rolled out full details of the options available for Verizon iPhone customers. With both 16 GB ($199) and 32 GB ($299) models available, customers will be required to accept a two-year contract while selecting from various options for voice, data, and messaging plans.

Individual voice plans begin at $39.99 per month for 450 minutes, with 900 minutes available for $59.99 and Nationwide Unlimited checking in at $69.99. Family SharePlans begin at $69.99 for 700 minutes, with 1400 minutes ($89.99), 2000 minutes ($99.99) and unlimited ($119.99) also available.

As had been previously revealed, the only data plan currently available for the Verizon iPhone is a $29.99 unlimited plan with an add-on option offering 2 GB of mobile hotspot and tethering data per month for an additional $20.

Messaging options check in at $5 (250 messages), $10 (500 messages), and $20 (unlimited messages). Customers can also decline to add a messaging and plan and simply be billed at a per-message rate of 20 cents text and 25 cents per picture/video message. Family SharePlan messaging options include the same pay per use, $5, and $10 plans as on the individual track, but the $20 messaging plan includes 5000 messages for family talk customers with an additional $30 plan offering unlimited shared messages across devices on the plan.

Update: Apple appears to have removed the Verizon iPhone ordering pages from its site.

Research firm Canalys today announced the release of its latest estimates of computer sales for the fourth quarter of 2010, showing Apple jumping to third place in worldwide market share at 10.8% when tablets such as the iPad are counted as computers.

With the iPad surging into the market, Canalys calculates Apple's unit shipment growth at 241% year-over-year to catapult the company from a 3.8% global share to its present 10.8% share that squeaks by Dell for third place behind HP and Acer.

In support of the inclusion of "pad" devices such as the iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab in its PC market numbers, Canalys argues that the definition of the PC has constantly been evolving and that tablet devices like the iPad do offer a true computing experience.

'Any argument that a pad is not a PC is simply out of sync,' said Chiam. 'With screen sizes of seven inches or above, ample processing power, and a growing number of applications, pads offer a computing experience comparable to netbooks. They compete for the same customers and will happily coexist. As with smart phones, some users will require a physical keyboard, while others will do without.'

'Each new product category typically causes a significant shift in market shares,' said Chiam. 'Apple is benefiting from pads, just as Acer, Samsung and Asus previously did with netbooks. The PC industry has always evolved this way, starting when Toshiba and Compaq rode high on the original notebook wave.'

Several reports showed Apple claiming third place in the global mobile computing market in earlier quarters, but the new Canalys report appears to be the first showing Apple attaining the position in the overall (notebook/desktop/server) market.

Apple made some slight design changes to their website tonight, with a new dark navigation bar, as well as spring loaded and slide-in animations for products. The new design resulted in several hours of downtime for the Apple online store.

Some last minute part numbers had suggested the long awaited white iPhone may have been making an appearance, but that was not the case. The online store has adopted the new darker navigation bar, but there are no signs of new products.

The Online Apple Store went down tonight, which can mean new product updates. Late night downtime, however, typically points to maintenance.

One tweet claims that the downtime is related to the launch of the long-delayed white iPhone. The new iPhone parts are claimed to be MC604X/A (16GB) and MC606X/A (32GB) for the White model. The news is attributed to a forum poster who frequently has access to last minute part number lists which have been accurate in the past.

Update: The store returned with a new design but no white iPhone.

Apple today released a new iPad commercial entitled "iPad is Iconic", airing the ad on primetime television and posting it to the company's YouTube page to show off a number of high-profile applications for the popular tablet device.

As with previous commercials in the series, the new ad offers the same soundtrack and follows the same theme of displaying a series of quick shots of the iPad's capabilities interspersed with corresponding single-word descriptions relevant to the "iPad is..." theme: "fresh" (djay), "tickets" (American Airlines HD), "news" (The Wall Street Journal), "stories" (iBooks), a running counter racing past 60,000 iPad apps available in the App Store, "students" (Pages), "teachers" (Noterize), "hollywood" (Movie★Slate), and "iconic" (Vanity Fair Magazine).

Macworld received official word from Verizon about the pricing of the new wireless hotspot feature announced earlier this month.

Raney said that Verizon iPhone owners will be able to take advantage of the 3G wireless hotspot feature for an extra $20 per month on top of the iPhones required voice and data plans--thats the same price that applies to current Verizon smartphone owners.

The wireless hotspot feature allows Verizon iPhone users to share their 3G internet connection over Wi-fi to up to 5 other devices, such as your laptop or iPad. This $20/month fee would be on top of the existing voice and data plans and is said to include 2GB of additional data.

AT&T presently offers single device tethering for the same cost ($20/mo extra) and is said to be exploring offering the same wireless hotspot tethering. This feature will be included in iOS 4.3, but will be dependent on carriers to provide support for it.

With rumors swirling that a launch for the white iPhone 4 could finally occur in the near future, questions have been raised about what Apple has done to finally enable the company to possibly begin shipping the device to consumers. While Apple has not officially acknowledged the reasons for the delay, rumors have suggested that problems with the paint being used leading to light leaking through the painted surfaces have been pegged as the issue.

According to Mac Otakara (via iLounge), a small Japanese company has developed a process for controlling the uniform application of white paint to the iPhone 4, resulting in acceptable units coming off the assembly lines.

According to a source, specified printing white color for iPhone 4 brings poor yield and then huge number of defective products. This is the reason of disturbing to start manufacturing, a source said.

To solve this problem, a Japanese company developed miracle painting material which is able to be set thickness of painting layer.

Making no mention of the original report, AppleInsider has offered nearly identical information, and it is thus unclear whether that site's information is based on separate sources or the same sources or even the same report.

Microsoft today announced that it has launched free 30-day trial licenses for Office for Mac 2011, offering users the ability to test drive the popular productivity suite before committing to a purchase.

If you're still thinking about Office 2011, I'm happy to announce we now have a full trial available at www.microsoft.com/mac/trial, free to use for 30-days after download. We know it's important for some of you to be able to test out new features. For those that will be trying the suite for the first time, we hope you enjoy some of the new items - Outlook for Mac, new co-authoring tools, Excel's Sparklines, Dynamic Reorder in Word & PowerPoint, and more.

Office Senior Director of Product Management Pat Fox also notes that sales of Office for Mac 2011 since the new version debuted in late October have exceeded the company's internal sales goals so far.

For those who have already decided to purchase the suite or who opt to do so after giving the trial version a test, Amazon offers discounts on all Office packages:

- Office Mac Home Student 2011 - 1 Pack ($99.99)
- Office Mac Home Student Family Pack 2011 ($124.25)

- Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011 - 1 Pack ($174.99)
- Office Mac Home Business Multi Pack 2011 ($228.43)

Note: Purchases through these links financially benefit this site.

Pixelmator today announced that the company's photo editing application for Mac [Mac App Store] has grossed $1 million in the 20 days since the store's debut, marking a significant milestone for the already-popular application and over $700,000 for the application's developers after Apple's 30% cut of revenue.

I am ecstatic to announce that Pixelmator grossed a gigantic $1 million on the Mac App Store. And that happened in only 20 short days.

What is even better is that the app is getting rave reviews on the Mac App Store (4.5 stars with over 275 ratings on the US store, 5 stars with over 128 ratings in the UK, and 4.5 stars with over 129 ratings in Germany). And, thanks to the Mac App Store, more people than ever are choosing to download Pixelmator.

Pixelmator currently ranks as the fourth-highest grossing app on the Mac App Store, trailing only Apple's own Aperture, iPhoto, and Pages. The application has been able to combine a relatively high sales price of $29.99 with high-volume sales that currently see the application ranked 12th among paid applications in order to reach the $1 million mark in under three weeks.

While some developers have been worried about a "race to the bottom" when it comes to pricing as has happened in many cases on the iOS App Store, the current list of top grossing apps in the Mac App Store reveals that developers can succeed by offering quality applications at price points significantly higher than those seen for iOS applications. Of the top 20 grossing applications on the Mac App Store, only Angry Birds (#5) and Braid (#16), each checking in at $4.99, carry price points below $14.99.

As noted by AppAdvice, Apple's App Store reviewers have begun approving applications that take advantage of the third-party AirPlay video streaming capabilities present in iOS 4.3. The approvals come as Apple has yet to deploy the software update for public consumption, meaning that regular users are still unable to take advantage of the feature.

One example of a newly-approved AirPlay-compatible application is StreamToMe, a relatively popular universal application that allows users to stream content from Macs and PCs to iOS devices via Wi-Fi or 3G.

What's New in Version 3.5
- Auto detect subtitle encodings
- Preliminary support for WTV files
- Support for AirPlay video (requires iOS 4.3)
- Fixed a crash bug for large or slow folders

Apple issued the first beta version of iOS 4.3 to developers nearly two weeks ago, and followed that up with a second build just a week later. It is unknown when Apple plans to release the software update to the public, but the company may be preparing to release a third beta version tomorrow if the previous one-week interval repeats itself.

Eastman Kodak yesterday announced that it has received an initial determination from the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejecting its claims of patent infringement made against Apple and Research in Motion last year in relation to digital camera technology. In its decision, the ITC held the patent claim in question as invalid and thus not infringed.

Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) today announced that it has received notice that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) action brought by Kodak against Apple Inc. and Research In Motion Limited (RIM) has issued an initial determination recommending that the patent claim at issue is invalid and not infringed. The patent at issue relates to a technology invented by Kodak for previewing images on a digital camera-enabled device. This particular Kodak patent was recently confirmed as valid by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

A final ITC determination is set for May 23rd, however, and Kodak remains "extremely confident" that it will prevail in the case, noting that a separate judge had upheld the patent claim in a case against LG and Samsung and that other ITC representative bodies have also agreed that Apple and Research in Motion are in fact infringing on Kodak's patent.

Kodak filed a federal lawsuit and the ITC complaint just over a year ago and the ITC opened an inquiry into the case in February of last year. Apple filed a retaliatory countersuit against Kodak in April 2010, and the ITC agreed to hear that case a month later but has not yet issued any decision on the matter.

As noted by 9 to 5 Mac, Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.7, known as Build 10J846, to developers. The updated build comes just days after the initial seed of the next maintenance version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

While the update has grown in size by nearly 35 MB since last week, we've yet to hear about any new areas of focus beyond those included in the initial build: AirPort, Bonjour, SMB, and Graphics Drivers.

Update: We've heard that Apple has added Mac App Store as an area of focus for developers putting the new build through its paces.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon will in fact be offering an unlimited data plan for the iPhone when the device goes on sale next month, pricing the offering at $30 per month on top of customers' calling plans.

It's official: Verizon is going to offer iPhone buyers a $30 unlimited data plan. The carrier's heir apparent and chief operating officer, Lowell McAdam, told us the news ahead of the companys meeting with investors.

"I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot," he said. Not offering an unlimited plan would put up a barrier for customers who might otherwise switch from AT&T, he said.

The data plan offering may not be unique to the iPhone, however, as Engadget reports that the company is doing away with its low-end 150 MB data plan priced at $15 per month for 3G smartphone users, leaving the $29.99 unlimited plan as the only option. Verizon had just introduced the low-end plan in late October.

AT&T had offered a $30 unlimited data plan for iPhone customers, but switched to tiered pricing with the iPhone 4 announcement in June 2010, moving to a 200 MB plan priced at $15 per month and a 2 GB plan at $25 per month with no unlimited option available. Existing customers on the unlimited plan at the time of transition were grandfathered in and can continue on that plan, but new customers, as well as existing customers who have already switched to limited plans, can no longer sign up for unlimited data plans on AT&T.

Update: The Wall Street Journal has updated its article to note that McAdam later revealed that the $30 unlimited data plan would be a temporary offering, with the carrier set to shift back to tiered pricing "in the not too distant future".

Bloomberg claims that Apple will be incorporating NFC (Near Field Communication) hardware in the next iPhone and iPad. This feature would allow customers to use the iPhone and iPad to make purchases:

The services are based on "Near-Field Communication," a technology that can beam and receive information at a distance of up to 4 inches, due to be embedded in the next iteration of the iPhone for AT&T Inc. and the iPad 2, Doherty said. Both products are likely to be introduced this year, he said, citing engineers who are working on hardware for the Apple project.

Apple could potentially tie this payment system into people's existing iTunes accounts. It's described to allow customers to walk into a store and make payments directly from their iOS device. Apple may also incorporate loyalty rewards and credit system in iTunes as well. Other possibilities include using location based transactions to improve iAd targeting.

According to this source, Apple has already made prototype payment terminals intended for small businesses to scan NFC-enabled iPhones and iPads. These terminals could be subsidized or even given away to encourage adoption.

Apple has been hiring NFC experts as well as applied for several patents on the technology. A couple of previous reports have also pegged the next generation iPhone as having NFC technology built in.

Apple today launched an official Twitter account for the App Store, marking yet another potential way for users to keep updated on the latest news about the company's popular marketplace for iOS applications. The account's debut Tweet simply welcomes users to the account, which is up to over 4,000 followers at the present time and rapidly growing.

Welcome to App Store on Twitter! Follow us to discover new apps, get exclusive offers, and share with friends. #appstore

The @AppStore account is not yet verified by Twitter as being a legitimate Apple account, but the initial Tweet was retweet by the company's iTunesTV account, suggesting that it is indeed legitimate.

We don't yet know exactly what Apple plans to highlight with the new AppStore Twitter account, although the company's existing iTunes Twitter accounts offer announcements of new and sale releases on a fairly regular basis, so a similar model might be expected for the @AppStore account.

Update: A second Tweet has just been issued from the account, promoting the Nike Training Club application.

Update 2: @AppStore is now listed as a verified account and has already garnered over 50,000 followers.

The back-and-forth debate about whether Apple will seek to double the resolution of the iPad's display to 2048 x 1536 in the second-generation model continues, with PC World reporting late last week on comments from IDC analyst Tom Mainelli claiming that Apple is seeking to make the jump with its third-generation model, presumed to be released in 2012, and not the second-generation model expected to be released in the relatively near future.

"I think the Digitimes story probably got the resolution right, but the iPad version wrong," Mainelli told PCWorld via e-mail. "Our sources say Apple has requested that manufacturers begin work on displays with that resolution for the iPad 3."

"I don't believe anybody is ready to produce that resolution in volumes at this point. And Apple is going to require huge volumes for the iPad 2," he added.

Double-sized images found in Apple iPad applications had led to speculation that the company might be planning to double the resolution of the device's display in the forthcoming revision, but sources have indicated that such a change is unlikely.

Adding to the confusion has been speculation about the possibility of Apple still being able to offer a "Retina" display on the iPad while increasing the resolution by less than a factor of two, with observers arguing that the fact that an iPad is typically viewed at a farther distance than an iPhone would allow for an iPad "Retina" display at a lower pixels-per-inch than found on the iPhone. But others have argued that anything less than a doubling of the pixels in each dimension would cause significant problems for existing applications by not allowing them to be simply and sharply scaled up using pixel doubling methods.

Google today announced the launch of new support for the company's Cloud Print service on mobile devices such as those running iOS 3.0 or later. The service allows users to print documents and emails directly from Gmail's mobile interface.

Imagine printing an important document from your smartphone on the way to work and finding the printout waiting for you when you walk in the door. Just open a document in Google Docs or an email in Gmail in your mobile browser and choose "Print" from the dropdown menu in the top right corner. You can also print certain kinds of email attachments (such as .pdf or .doc) by clicking the "Print" link that appears next to them.

The feature is rolling out today and tomorrow for English-speaking users in the United States.

The one catch to the functionality is that in order to configure printers for use with the Google Cloud Print service, users must connect their printer to a PC running Windows 7, Vista, or XP and the latest version of Google Chrome. Google promises that support for the feature through Mac and Linux computers is "coming soon".

Apple is of course working on its own wireless printing technology, AirPrint, for iOS devices. But while AirPrint can offer support across a broad array of applications, it does require that the iOS device and printer be located on the same wireless network, whereas Google Cloud Print can enable printing to anywhere.