iPhone Daily News Digest

In what looks like a very smart business move, Verizon is apparently pushing its staffers to promote MiFi to future iPad owners.

As you know by now, the WiFi-only iPad will be launched April 3rd by Apple, followed by a 3G version which will come only by the end of April. The 3G iPad will come with an opt-in $30/month unlimited data plan from AT&T, but if you just can’t wait, or hate AT&T, Verizon wants your business.

Their MiFi, which you might know already, is a mobile WiFi hotspot, a little device which connects to Verizon’s data network, and lets you connect up to five devices to it via WiFi. Verizon believes it would go great with your WiFi iPad, and has sent an internal information to its employee to promote just that.

Alright, the data connection will cost your more than if you go through AT&T at $60/month for 5GB of data. On the good side however, you’ll be able to share it with all your other devices, and a lot sooner.

Interested?

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Verizon is looking to turn no-iPad 3G lemons in iPad Wi-Fi + MiFi lemonade by craftily counter-programming the official AT&T data plans with their own potent portable internet and router combo, says Engadget.

You’ll save $130 off the price of the iPad 3G, but a 5GB Verizon MiFi plan will run you $60 vs. “unlimited” AT&T data for $30. Then again, you can use the MiFi for more than one device (and more than one at a time).

So, is Verizon’s plan a good one? Would you consider iPad Wi-Fi + Verizon MiFi on April 3rd rather than iPad 3G on AT&T in late April?

Verizon Wants to Sell You Data for Your iPad… via MiFi is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Is the recently announced Skype/Verizon deal delaying the release of Skype over 3G for the iPhone? Previously AT&T announced they would change their policy and allow VoIP over 3G, Apple announced they would change their SDK agreement to allow it, and Skype announced they would provide it to their iPhone users. AT&T has come through, Apple has come through, other VoIP clients have begun offering 3G. And Skype…? They said they were waiting to make sure Apple was okay with it. They made sure. They said they were waiting to improve 3G call quality. And…? Still nothing.

They did, however, announce a deal for Skype over 3G with Verizon at Mobile World Congress a couple weeks ago. Since then, WMExperts tell us the Windows Mobile Skype app is no longer available for download. According to Venture Beat (via BGR) their Symbian Skype App has now been pulled from the Ovi Store. When asked why Skype was removed from the Ovi Store, Venture Beat was told:

Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple

The iPhone Skype app [Free - iTunes link] is still in the App Store (after a short hiccup) but it’s still Wi-Fi only. When asked for comment after the Verizon agreement, a Skype rep would only tell TiPb that there was no further updates since last time.

So, is it just taking longer than we expected to get that really great 3G voice quality out for Skype? Or has the Verizon deal sucked all the attention out of the room?

Are you still waiting for Skype over 3G for iPhone, or have you started using alternatives? Let us know!

Is Skype/Verizon Deal Delaying Skype Over 3G for iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Reuters

iPhone staying on AT&T for awhile Examiner.com There had been speculation leading up to the debut of Apple's iPad that the iPhone might be moving to a different carrier with both Verizon and T-Mobile … AT&T CEO: IPhone An Important Part Of Line-Up For Some TimeWall Street Journal AT&T CEO sees iPad mostly used on Wi-FiReuters AT&T says tiered data pricing inevitable, not rushing towards 4GApple Insider Mac Rumors -Electronista (blog) -InformationWeek (blog) all 39 news articles »

Globe and Mail

Add Targeting Women To Palm's Woes Mediapost.com Palm's webOS has 58% male users to 42% female, about the same split as the iPhone. It appears Verizon is now featuring more gender-neutral and iPhone-like … Palm's Woes Are All About ImagePC World The end of the line for Palm?Yahoo! Tech (blog) Palm Pre and Pixi devices fail to make a dent as stock sinksNew York Daily News Inquirer -BusinessWeek -NewsFactor Network all 490 news articles »

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While we all just love whining about AT&T’s network performance and predict its demise at every turn, the company, at least on paper, is actually not doing that poorly.

PCWorld did some 3G performance tests in 13 major US cities and not only did AT&T trump its competitors by far, it actually deserves the “Most reliable network” badge more than Verizon.

Here are the full test results (click to enlarge):

[via PcWorld]

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Apple began airing two new iPhone ads last night during the Olympics (what hockey game?), one going after boredom by showing what you can do with your iPhone while you wait, and the other going after the hearts of parents (and grandparents) everywhere. Interestingly, neither featured the “app for that” or “app for almost everything” tag lines Apple has been using since 2008.

“On hold” starts off with the male caller being placed on hold, though he doesn’t mind because his iPhone means he can use the internet while he waits. He checks email, uses the Bank of America app [Free - iTunes link] to pay bills, and then the App Store to buy, download, and play Monopoly [$4.99 - iTunes link]

(Also interesting, they show the iPhone on Wi-Fi and not 3G, and don’t take any more swipes at Verizon for not being able to handle simultaneous voice and 3G data. Then again, Monopoly is too large to be downloaded over 3G even with the new 20MB limit ) He finishes with “I need my iPhone for, well, everything”.

“First Steps” has a new mom use Camara to video record her baby son’s first steps, then Messages to MMS the video to everyone. Next, she uses Phone to easily set up a conference call to discuss said first steps. It ends with “we would never have shared all that without the iPhone”.

New Apple iPhone Ads Go After Boredom, Parents’ Hearts is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Apple began airing two new iPhone ads last night during the Olympics (what hockey game?), one going after boredom by showing what you can do with your iPhone while you wait, and the other going after the hearts of parents (and grandparents) everywhere. Interestingly, neither featured the “app for that” or “app for almost everything” tag lines Apple has been using since 2008.

“On hold” starts off with the male caller being placed on hold, though he doesn’t mind because his iPhone means he can use the internet while he waits. He checks email, uses the Bank of America app [Free - iTunes link] to pay bills, and then the App Store to buy, download, and play Monopoly [$4.99 - iTunes link]

(Also interesting, they show the iPhone on Wi-Fi and not 3G, and don’t take any more swipes at Verizon for not being able to handle simultaneous voice and 3G data. Then again, Monopoly is too large to be downloaded over 3G even with the new 20MB limit ) He finishes with “I need my iPhone for, well, everything”.

“First Steps” has a new mom use Camara to video record her baby son’s first steps, then Messages to MMS the video to everyone. Next, she uses Phone to easily set up a conference call to discuss said first steps. It ends with “we would never have shared all that without the iPhone”.

New Apple iPhone Ads Go After Boredom, Parents’ Hearts is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

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