Renowned illustrator Kyle T. Webster took a detour in 2009 from illustrating for clients like The New Yorker, Time and The Wall Street Journal. He spent ten months designing and developing an iPhone game with the hopes that it would not only be a fun diversion for those who play it, but that it would also help them improve their powers of short term memory. Read more…

Apple’s next update to the blockbuster iPhone handset is expected by one prominent analyst to have a lower total cost of ownership, and to also include new gesture-based functionality.

Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley maintains that the biggest barrier to greater iPhone adoption is the cost of the hardware, followed by the service plan. The investment in the device has been its biggest issue in both developed markets like the U.S. and emerging ones like China. Read more…

Apple is expected to announce Verizon Wireless a carrier for its upcoming tablet and the end of AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity, according to the NYPost.

Apple is expected to name Verizon Wireless as one of its carriers with its anticipated unveiling of a new tablet device on Wednesday, sources told The Post. That means Apple head Steve Jobs will probably introduce a Verizon iPhone, ending AT&T’s exclusive hold on the hot smartphone.
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Reiterating previous reports, MacRumors has heard that the Apple Tablet will indeed have a front facing camera.

Despite conflicting reports, we have reason to believe that the upcoming Apple Tablet will indeed carry a front facing video camera as recently described in the Wall Street Journal, “This person said Apple has experimented with the ability … for the gadget to automatically recognize individuals via a built-in camera.”

You can read up on the latest Apple Tablet rumors here.

[Via iClarified.com]

While Apple’s tablet is still expected to see a formal introduction at a media event next week, issues with battery life and durability could result in a June launch, an analyst said Tuesday.

In a new note to investors, Shaw Wu with Kaufman Bros. said checks with supply chain sources indicate the launch pattern for the tablet could follow that of the original iPhone in 2007, with a January unveiling and final product shipping to consumers six months later. He said that the June launch could be due to “minor issues” with more work needed on battery life and durability.

However, he said, checks also indicate that a tablet-type device will be introduced next week, at a Jan. 27 event, where the company has advertised it plans to show off its “latest creation.” Wu described the product as being like a “super” iPod touch. Read more…

Remember the information a few weeks ago about the big event scheduled for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on January 26th? Of course, all of the Apple bloggers and pundits jumped all over this date as being the date for the announcement of something big like the tablet.

After thousands of posts have touted that date as the day that Steve Jobs will come down from the mountain carrying the 7″ tablet under one arm and the 10.1″ tablet under the other, the Wall Street Journal’s Digital Daily is reporting that the event is going to be held on Wednesday, January 27th.
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An AT&T executive this week made comments to assure customers that the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. will not implement tiered data plans.

The comments from Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of mobility and consumer markets, came just a week after the AT&T official said the company would likely provide incentives to encourage bandwidth-hogging customers to “reduce or modify their usage.” What kind of incentives were never made clear, though de la Vega said it is inevitable that high-bandwidth users will be charged for what they consume.
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Image: Mock Up Not Real

Foxconn, Apple’s Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer, has reportedly received an order to build the next-generation handset, likely to arrive in mid-2010.

Eldar Murtazin, editor in chief of Mobile Review, broke the news on his Twitter account Thursday in a brief, singular post: “Foxconn received order for next generation iphone.” As noted by Engadget, Murtazin is the “ultimate insider” for news in the mobile phone world.

The timing makes sense, as Apple’s first three iPhone product debuts hit a June launch. For Apple to ramp up the production of millions of handsets in time for a global debut would take a significant amount of time. Read more…

As the iPhone has proven itself to be a formidable competitor in the handheld gaming business, the president of Nintendo has said his company must differentiate itself to survive.

As Apple portrays the iPod touch and iPhone as the ultimate portable gaming machine, Nintendo, maker of the Nintendo DS, has seen its profits freefall last quarter, from 133 billion yen a year prior to 64 billion yen. Highlighting the newfound competition between Apple and Nintendo, The Wall Street Journal noted that Nintendo has fended off several potential portable challengers, but it hasn’t quite faced a competitor like the iPhone.

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