A new configuration page for AT&T Internet Tethering has been spotted in the latest iPhone OS 4.0 beta, according to MacRumors.

The page alerts AT&T customers that in order to set up internet tethering, you need to contact AT&T at 611 or visit AT&T’s website. The new message seems to indicate that AT&T may finally be ready to deliver tethering to U.S. customers.

This could be great news for US customers who have been waiting for tethering capabilities since Apple announced the feature last year.

[Via iclarified.com]

First revealed last year following the release of Apple’s fifth-generation iPod nano, the Nike + iPod Compatible Heart Rate Monitor is finally set for a U.S. release of June 1.

The news comes from a “Nike+ Pro” on the shoemaker’s official forums. While the person did not reveal why the hardware has taken so long to arrive, they did announce the U.S. release, which will be followed by other international releases this summer.

“It will officially launch (in the U.S.) on June 1, 2010, although it may reach some retail outlets slightly sooner,” the Nike official, named Clover, wrote. “It will reach Canadian markets in June and will launch internationally in summer 2010, exact date to be determined.” Read more…

As part of a planned expansion of electronics products in its retail stores, Walmart hopes to sell Apple’s iPad in some of its retail locations starting this year.

Gary Severson, senior vice president of entertainment for Walmart’s U.S. stores, told BusinessWeek that his company believes it will carry the iPad later this year. Specific details, including timing and pricing, were not provided.

Since the iPad launched in early April, Apple has sold the multitouch device at its own retail stores, as well as Best Buy and other assisted locations. Some Apple Specialist locations also carry the hardware. Read more…

Wireless carrier Orange U.K. gave the first glimpse at international 3G data plans for Apple’s iPad, with four different pricing options, including a pay-as-you-go price plan.

Users can pay monthly for what they use, at a cost of 5 pence (7 cents U.S.) per megabyte through the Orange plan. Daily plans, offering up to 250MB of use, cost £2 ($2.94), while a weekly plan with 1GB of bandwidth runs £7.50 ($11.01 U.S.).

A recurring monthly plan with 3GB of 3G data and unlimited browsing at Wi-Fi hotspots costs £15 ($22.02 U.S.), while a £25 ($36.71 U.S.) plan offers 10GB of monthly bandwidth. Read more…

Video – HERE

The German maker of a new tablet PC is setting out to rival Apple’s iPad with the promise of even more technology such as a bigger screen, a webcam and USB ports.

It is not, however, an “iPad killer” as it has been dubbed by some blogs but an alternative to its bigger rival, Neofonie GmbH’s founder and managing director Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen told reporters on Monday in Berlin. 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…

Sanho has introduced the HyperMac Nano, HyperMac Micro and HyperMac Mini – three pocket-sized, lithium-ion battery packs for charging iPhones, iPods, iPads and other USB-powered devices on-the-go.

All three models are exquisitely encased in aluminum and available in any of Apple’s nine iPod nano colors (black, silver, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) plus a darker (iPhone) black color. Users will be spoilt for choice when choosing the right battery pack to match their iPhone or iPod. Read more…

Two new analysts said Tuesday that the iPad-AT&T deal suggests Apple may extend its exclusive iPhone agreement through 2011, leaving the wireless provider as the sole carrier of the handset in the U.S. this year.

While speculation was rife for months (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that Apple would partner with Verizon for a new CDMA-compatible iPhone this summer, sentiment has changed in recent weeks, after Apple publicly stood by AT&T and also announced an agreement with the carrier for the iPad’s domestic 3G data plan. Lending its support for that line of thinking Tuesday was Barclays Capital, which issued a new note to investors with the conclusion that Apple and AT&T will likely remain exclusive for the remainder of 2010. Read more…

The iPhone will inevitably be available on multiple carriers in the U.S., one analyst believes, though 2010 is not likely to be the year Apple ends its agreement with AT&T.

Based on that assessment, Jonathan Chaplin, research analyst with Credit Suisse, downgraded Verizon stock to a “neutral” rating. The iPhone remaining exclusive to AT&T, he said, will have a negative impact on Verizon.

“Our analysis suggests that Apple will eventually sell the device at all carriers; however, there is a much greater probability that AT&T keeps exclusivity for another 12-18 months than investors realize,” Chaplin wrote. “We think this has profound impacts for Apple, the carriers and the other handset OEMs.” Read more…

In my post yesterday I touched on the likely long faces at Amazon H.Q. in Seattle. The iPad is something I’m sure they wished hadn’t happened, but of course it did, and I thought I’d take a closer look at the competition between the Amazon and Apple devices.

First off, if you were thinking of buying a Kindle DX, I’d say forget it. The iPad is a knockout punch to that device. At just ten dollars cheaper than the low end iPad, there just is no contest. The two devices are the same size (both are 9.7″), but the iPad has a color screen and can do a lot of things that Kindle just can’t do. Yes, the DX has free 3G wireless for buying books, but the iPad has 802.11n, and for most common usage, it just isn’t that hard to find a place to hook up. Read more…