The Square credit card reader for the iPhone has gotten most of the buzz around here, especially after we saw that impressive demo at Macworld a few weeks ago. But VeriFone’s competing reader has been given the green light by Apple itself: the unit has been granted a deal for shelf space. VeriFone will be selling its PAYware Mobile units inside Apple’s retail stores coming up as soon as the end of March. Read more…

Today Apple announced that the iPad will ship in April, writing that the device will “be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.” Consumers will be able to pre-order their units starting March 12th, with pick-up at Apple retail stores. Read more…

Movie rental house Netflix is still testing the waters on potentially streaming movies instantly to the iPhone or iPod touch, according to reports from users.

The information comes from a survey aimed at Netflix users who own an Apple mobile device. According to the survey, the service would be available over Wi-Fi only:

“Whenever you want to instantly watch content on your iPhone, your iPhone must be connected to a Wi-Fi network (such as one you might have at home or at work, or in public places like coffee shops, book stores, hotels, airports, etc.),” the survey reads. Read more…

Michael Pachter is probably the most visible gaming industry analyst out there — while he’s not always right about his predictions and insight on the video game industry, he does usually know what he’s talking about, and he’s definitely got the ear of a lot of investors. And so when he says that Apple is planning to turn the Apple TV into a game console, people listen. Read more…

Comparing to Apple’s app store, the Android Market is still an underdog. Consumers who are considering an android hendheld, are likely to browse the web to see how android apps compare to apple’s apps.

Based on a  AdMob .pdf metrics report, Android and iPhone users download a similar number of apps every month and spend a similar amount of time using the apps. The same reports shows that iPod Touch users download an average of 12 apps a month, 37% more apps than iPhone and Android users. Well you can only do so much with an iPod Touch.

[Via funkyspacemonkey.com]

The end of this week has brought a little flurry of information about the differences between iPhone and Android users. First up, Admob has released the results of a survey that says the iPhone is twice as popular as comparable smartphones in both young and old demographics. Unfortunately, we can only guess as to why (it would be a little more interesting if either age showed a preference for one phone over another) Read more…

Back to the nightmare of explosions on Apple products, in fact, a few days ago in a school in West Newbury, Massachusetts, a girl’s iPod has suddenly exploded.

Fortunately there were no major damage, thanks to the prompt intervention of firefighters and police. It was not made known the model of the iPod, but most likely the cause that triggered the explosion is due to the battery.

Via iSpazio.net [Translated By Google]

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…

An interesting patent application came to light via PatentlyApple yesterday. The patent, titled “Camera as Input Interface,” was filed by Apple in August 2008 and details a means of controlling an iPhone by swiping a finger across the device’s camera lens. The patent proposes using the iPhone’s camera, which is typically idle when the user is on a call, to control voicemail options such as rewind, fast forward, and pause while the iPhone is at the user’s ear:
Read more…

Mixed reports have emerged that Apple may have created a new “Explicit” category for app submissions using iTunes Connect. Last week, Apple removed as many as 5,000 titles from the App Store that it determined were inappropriate for some users. The dragnet caught some apps but left others – like Playboy and the Sports Illustrated swimsuit app – still available for download. Some devs, however, have said that the new category does not appear on their iTunes submission screens.
Read more…