Apple

nTelos lands the iPhone on April 20 with a $50 discount and unlimited everything

Regional carrier nTelos Wireless announced this morning via a press release that it will carry Apple's iconic smartphone from Friday, April 20. The latest iPhone 4S will be priced at $149.99 for the 16GB model, $249.99 for the 32GB model and $349.99 for the 64GB model, the carrier said. The previous-generation 8GB iPhone 4 will be available for $49.99.

These prices entail a new 24-month contract. Unlike AT&T and Verizon Wireless, nTelos offers nationwide plans starting at $79 a month, with unlimited everything for $99 a month. They, however, throttle data after 5GB.

All iPhone models will be available in their retail and online stores and through telesales. nTelos stores will open early at 7am on the launch day. If you live in an area with nTelos covearge and are in the market for an iPhone, you can pre-register your interest starting today at their website.

The next iPhone to pack eco-friendly battery with fast charge time?

What you see here is a brand new breakthrough battery design from NEC called Organic Radical Battery (ORB). Measuring just 0.3mm in profile thanks to the use of polymer film of 0.05mm thickness, these ORBs are just a fraction of the somewhat bulky lithium-ion polymer batteries found in today's smartphones and other portable devices.

What’s best, the tech sports fast charge time and is is completely eco-friendly, unlike their lithium-polymer counterparts that contain some harmful elements. Apple's iOS gadgets and notebooks currently utilize the lithium-polymer battery technology.

According to a new report, Apple is interested in using the extremely thin yet powerful ORB battery technology in its revamped next-generation iPhone, expected some time during the early-summer or Fall.

Happy Birthday iPad

Two years ago today, the iPad went on sale in the United States for the first time. The launch came just two months after Steve Jobs unveiled the tablet on January 27, 2010, in front of a large crowd at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.

The CEO told the audience that Apple felt that it had finally come up with a device that would be better at tasks like browsing the web, sending emails, and sharing photos than either a smartphone or a laptop. "And we call it, the iPad."

RIM posts BlackBerry Mobile Fusion server with enterprise support for iOS devices

The ailing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion today released the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion enterprise server software, first announced last November.

Among the features is built-in support for tablets and smartphones running Apple's iOS and Google's Android software.

This is the first time RIM comprehensively supported iOS mobile devices in a major corporate enterprise server software.

Wall Street expects Apple to become the world’s first $1 trillion company

Those who sold their shares of Apple last October did not make the wisest move, but all is not lost. AAPL closed yesterday at $618.63 a share (more than a 32GB WiFi iPad, mind you) for a market cap of $577 billion. As the company's quarterly earnings report looms, analysts are running their spreadsheets and upping targets. So, how long until Apple zooms past the $1 trillion market cap milestone?

According to one analyst, it could be sooner than you think - in less than two years - as Apple drains market cap from rivals and profits from more money being poured into tech stocks. By a growing number of credible estimates, Apple is on track to become the first public company in the world with a $1 trillion market cap.

Phew, what a difference a few years make...

Apple to announce latest quarterly earnings on Tuesday, April 24

As noted by TheNextWeb, Apple has updated its Investor Relations page to notify shareholders that it will hold its Q2 2012 earnings call on Tuesday, April 24th. The call will start at 2pm PST, and include stats and sales figures from the last three months.

Apple has a lot of momentum right now and is expected to announce another successful quarter. Its stock price is sitting at the highest it's ever been, and its new iPad has broken a number of sales records since it launched early last month...

Apple features Siri in Rolling Stone magazine ad

Apple's been heavily promoting Siri, an iPhone 4S-exclusive digital secretary, in television commercials that are being aired in the United States and promoted on Apple's website and their YouTube channel. But up until now, the company refrained from promoting the feature in print.

Apparently, the company has changed its mind as the first-ever Siri print ad makes its appearance in Rolling Stone magazine. The full-page advert depicts a user checking out a list of San Francisco coffee shops on an iPhone 4S.

This is accompanied by the tagline "I could use a latte" and a line saying "You speak. Siri helps. Say hello to the most amazing iPhone yet"...

Rumor: Foxconn recruiter says next-generation iPhone is coming in June

Macotakara points to a report this morning from TV Tokyo's World Business Satellite. The TV show recently conducted an interview with a Foxconn personnel recruiter who had some interesting things to say about the next iPhone.

According to the blog, the recruiter told the news program that Foxconn is in the midst of a major hiring binge to prepare itself for production of Apple's upcoming handset — a device, that he says, will be launching in June...

AT&T and Sprint sell more iPhones than all other smartphones combined

Earlier today we told you that the iPhone 4S has been the top-selling smartphone for all three of Apple's US carrier partners for the last 6 months. The information came from a Canaccord Genuity investor note that was sent out to shareholders this morning.

Now, AllThingsD is pointing to another part of the report that also provides some interesting data. Not only is Apple's handset the top-selling smartphone here in the US, but some carriers are actually selling more iPhones than all other smartphones combined...

iPhone 4S still top-selling smartphone in the US

After months of redesign rumors, the iPhone 4S debuted last October without any kind of external changes. Much like the new iPad, the familiar-looking handset drew an onslaught of "disappointing" headlines from around the web.

But Apple obviously knew what it was doing. The 4S has broken a number of sales records, and helped Apple sell more than 37 million iPhones last quarter. And perhaps even more impressive, 6 months later, it's still on top...

Is Apple developing a physical gaming controller for iOS devices?

That Apple is toying with a bunch of varied gaming controller concepts is anything but unknown. Two years ago, an interesting Apple patent detailing an accessory for playing games with portable devices surfaced in the United States Patents & Trademark Office's database.

It was originally filed back in September of 2008, meaning the company had likely begun researching the invention ahead of the original iPhone debut five years ago. The patent outlines a few exciting gaming accessories for portable devices, such as a receptacle system of sorts that could let your iPod be inserted to play games.

Another highlight worth mentioning is a gaming controller featuring cameras, motion sensing, a dual-display configuration and physical buttons on the back coupling a multitouch surface on the front.

And now, AnandTech drops a little nugget with claims that yes, Apple is in fact working on a gaming controller for iPads and other iOS devices...

Check out this “iPhone Pro” concept with DSLR lens mount

As most of you know, we love a good iPhone concept here on iDB. Concepts allow us to see what kind of features could be implemented in the handset if conventional design rules didn't exist. And they're fun to look at too.

This latest mockup, which comes from designer Choi Jinyoung, is certainly no exception. The iPhone Pro, as he calls it, comes fully loaded with a 4.5-inch display, a built-in nano projector and a DSLR lens mount...