Citing an anonymous “inside source,” HotHardware has reported AT&T could lose their iPhone exclusivity on Wednesday, when Apple is also expected to introduce its long-awaited touchscreen tablet.

The report does not go as far as to claim what other U.S. carriers could offer the iPhone. But a source allegedly told the Web site that AT&T is “tired of taking the heat” for poor reception from iPhone users. In short, the report claims, AT&T officials believe the iPhone is hurting the company’s image, and they are no longer interested in having exclusive access to Apple’s handset.
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When Apple finally takes the wraps off its long-anticipated tablet next Wednesday, the device will strike a familiar chord with owners of the original iPhone, with similarities in industrial design trickling all the way down to the handset’s button and connectivity components, AppleInsider has learned.

Nearly two and a half years have passed since AppleInsider exclusively reported in September of 2007 that the Cupertino-based gadget maker planned to follow the blockbuster success of the iPhone with a broader entry into consumer electronics, spearheaded by a completely new category of device akin to a “slate” and reminiscent of a modern-day reincarnation of the company’s now defunct Newton tablet.

Since then, Apple has surprised in its capacity to work alongside dozens of partners and still maintain a relatively tight lid of the product’s design, feature set, and software-driven functionality. Though recent weeks have been met by a flurry of reports on Apple’s likely intentions for the device, a 28-month trail of rumors and speculation have left onlookers with exponentially more questions than answers.
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New evidence suggests that Apple may in fact name its tablet, the iPad.

Recently, MacRumors discovered that Apple had acquired iSlate.com. TechCrunch then dug deeper and found that iSlate is a registered trademark of what is likely a dummy corporation used by Apple. Until now the name iSlate seemed the most likely candidate for Apple’s new device.

However, recent findings reveal that another name, iPad, may be the name of Apple’s imminent tablet.

A search in the Canadian trademark database reveals that Apple’s dummy corporation Slate Computing, LLC also applied for a trademark for “iPad” under the categories of handheld mobile digital electronic devices with a broad range of applications. This application was filed in July 2009 — much more recently than the original iSlate trademarks which date back to 2006-2007. Slate Computing, LLC did not apply for a similar trademark in the U.S. due to the fact that Fujitsu appears to control the U.S. trademark as it relates to handheld computing. Read more…

With a rumored Jan. 27 event fast approaching, speculation regarding Apple’s still-unannounced tablet continues to mount. This week, one analyst shared alleged information on the device’s internal components, while another attempted to project the cost of its parts.

Analyst Ashok Kumar of Northeast Securities spoke with AppleInsider this week about the device, which is expected to debut this month and ship in March. Kumar said the tablet processor will be manufactured by Samsung and will be based on the Cortex-A8 ARM architecture. He believes it will have a speed of about 1GHz.
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With their upcoming tablet, Apple may be offering the flexibility that many prospective U.S. iPhone owners have wished for: carrier independence. According to a Broadpoint AmTech analyst, Apple will be offering 3G wireless data networking on their Tablet with multiple providers with Verizon support a “certainty”.

This would mean that customers will be able to choose from a number of mobile providers for their Tablet’s data service when not near a Wi-Fi hotspot. This would allow Tablet users to browse the web, check their email, and more wherever there was 3G service. Such connectivity is taken for granted on mobile phones such as the iPhone, but is increasingly expected for other mobile devices. Read more…

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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Verizon, the largest wireless provider in the U.S., is reportedly investing in its network to make it capable of handling extra traffic from Apple’s iPhone, a company official said.

In an interview with BusinessWeek, Anthony Melone, Verizon Wireless’ chief technology officer, said his company is prepared if Apple decides to end its exclusive agreement with AT&T in 2010.

“We have put things in place already,” Melone reportedly said. “We are prepared to support that traffic.”
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Though previous studies found the iPhone was outselling Windows Mobile devices and had a greater presence online, Apple’s handset finally unseated Microsoft devices in terms of overall use in October, a new study has found.

The latest survey of mobile operating system marketshare from research firm comScore found that the iPhone spiked to nearly 9 million U.S. users by the month of October, pushing it well past Microsoft’s total of just over 7 million users. In July, the two companies were about even in total mobile OS market share. The latest survey data was obtained by FierceWireless.
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Apple and 17 other companies were named in a new lawsuit filed this week over two patents related to accessing computer software from remote systems.

BetaNet has targeted Apple, along with Microsoft, IBM, Adobe, Kodak and others, over alleged infringement of two patents. U.S. Patent No. 5,222,134, awarded in 1993, is entitled “Secure System for Activating Personal Computer Software at Remote Locations,” while No. 5,103,476, of 1992, has the name “Secure System for Activating Personal Computer Software at Remote Locations.”
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TomTom has dropped the price of their U.S. & Canada navigation app to $69.99 until December 28th.

The price drop comes after TomTom recently announced a U.S. only version of their app for $49.99.

Via iclarified.com