More Claims of Taller, Thinner Next-Generation iPhone with 4-Inch Screen and New Dock Connector

iLounge reports
on information it has received regarding the next-generation iPhone,
claiming that Apple will indeed be making the move to a 4-inch display
by increasing the height only has had been previously speculated.
To accommodate the taller screen, the body of the device will also
become slightly taller, but it will also see an approximately 20%
reduction in thickness.

What we’ve

Claimed iPhone 5 SIM Card Tray Appears Identical to iPhone 4S

Following last week's leak of home buttons claimed to be for the next-generation iPhone, parts vendor SW-BOX.com has just posted information on a claimed iPhone 5 SIM card tray fresh from one of its parts suppliers.









The tray appears essentially identical to the SIM card tray found in the
iPhone 4S and 4, and if the part is indeed legitimate it suggests that
Apple may retain a similar

iPhone Activations Drop 43% at AT&T, But Represent 60% of Total Postpaid Phone Sales

AT&T today announced
its financial results for the first quarter of 2012, revealing that it
activated 4.3 million iPhones during the quarter. The number marks a
substantial drop from the 7.6 million iPhones activated last quarter for the launch of the iPhone 4S, but still easily tops Verizon's 3.2 million iPhones sold during the first quarter.

Both
Android and iPhone device sales remain

Apple's Celebrity iPhone 4S Ads Score Well with Viewers

Advertising tracking firm Ace Metrix today shared its data on viewer reactions to Apple's new celebrity iPhone 4S ads
featuring Siri and starring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel. The
new ads are registering well with consumers, generating scores higher
than any other iPhone 4S ad released so far this year.





“Apple’s
ads for iPhone had been falling rather flat earlier in the year,

Apple Could Achieve a 4-Inch iPhone Display by Increasing Height Only

Amid continuing rumors that Apple is looking to increase the size of the
iPhone display from the existing 3.5-inch screen to something in the range of 4 inches, one persistent concern has been how Apple would deal with the change in screen dimensions.



All models of the iPhone and iPod touch released to date have carried a
3.5-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, allowing developers to target

Steve Jobs' Idea for Ad-Supported Operating Systems Was Nearly a Reality

Back in late 2009, an Apple patent application surfaced showing that the company had explored ad-supported operating systems,
with the user receiving free or discounted goods or services in
exchange for viewing the advertisements. The patent application, which
was filed in 2008 and shows ad integration in Mac OS X, was notable for
listing Steve Jobs as the lead inventor.





As Ken Segall

Valve Releases Steam Companion App for iPhone

Valve, the company behind the popular gaming platform Steam, has released a new companion app for iPhone called Steam Mobile
as a closed beta. The app allows Steam users to view their Steam
friends list, see what games their friends are playing, and chat with
players in-game.



Gamers can also browse -- and apparently purchase, though the app
descriptions are a little fuzzy on

iPhone 4S Coming to Indonesia, Costa Rica, and France's Free Mobile on January 27

Following a major expansion
of iPhone 4S availability to China and 21 other countries two weeks
ago, Apple appears to be preparing to make a few more additions to the
device's market reach this Friday, January 27.



Apple's current iPhone partners in Indonesia, Telkomsel and XL
have both announced that they will begin carrying the iPhone 4S on
Friday. Telkomsel is the country's number one

Comic Writer Tries Out iBooks Author

Apple's new iBooks Author application
enables users to make interactive iBooks on their Mac. Apple says the
software allows authors to make "stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks,
history books, picture books, and more for iPad." Richard Stevens,
author of the Diesel Sweeties webcomic, has expanded that list of possibilities to include comic strips.





Diesel Sweeties author Robert Stevens

UpNext Releases Impressive 3D Mapping App for iPad

Mapping company UpNext has released a new iPad app
with its 3D mapping technology. The app shows uses points of interest
and friends Foursquare check-ins to help users navigate on a 3D
representation of close to 50 cities. TechCrunch, writing about the app, says:



I am seriously impressed. The resolution is great and
the onscreen update speed is amazing. It offers the best of services

iBooks Textbook Sales: Authors Set Pricing Up to $14.99, Apple Takes 30%, iBooks-Exclusive

Engadget highlights
the economics of publishing iBooks Textbooks to the iBookstore, noting
that paid downloads follow Apple's traditional App Store and iBookstore
model where the company takes a 30% cut of the purchase price of each
book. Authors are free to set their own pricing, although Apple has
placed a maximum price tag of $14.99 on the textbooks.





In addition, the

Some iPad Textbooks Weigh In Above Apple's 2GB Book Size Limit

Cult of Mac took a look at the size of the digital textbooks available on iBooks after today's education-focused media event. File sizes range from Pearson's 793MB Environmental Science up to a hefty 2.77GB for Biology.





- Pearson’s Environmental Science – 793MB

- National’s Chemistry – 959MB

- E.O. Wilson’s Life On Earth – 965MB

- McGraw Hill’s Algebra 1 – 1.09GB

- McGraw Hill’s

A Comparison of US iPhone Data Plans

With the introduction of new iPhone data plans from AT&T, here's a look at the data plans from the three providers that natively sell the iPhone in the United States.



AT&T:



- $20/month for 300MB data with a $20 charge for each additional 300MB

- $30/month for 3GB data with a $10 charge for each additional 1GB

- $50/month for 5GB data with mobile hotspot/tethering and a $10 charge for

Apple's Smartphone Market Share Surge Continues through December on iPhone 4S Strength

Last week, research firm NPD released data
showing that Apple's iOS had significantly closed the gap on Android in
new U.S. smartphone sales in October and November, narrowing Android's
34 percentage-point lead to just four points in the wake of the iPhone
4S debut.





Nielsen now takes a look at its own data, showing similar momentum that had carried over through the end of 2011.

Among

A Look at AT&T's Throttling for High-Use Unlimited iPhone Data Customers

Late last year, AT&T began throttling
the data speeds of its highest-use unlimited data customers, knocking
down the ability of the top 5% of its users to consume data for the
remainder of a billing period once they hit certain thresholds. While
AT&T no longer offers unlimited data plans, it did so for several
years with the iPhone, and users who had previously signed up for the
unlimited

iTunes Match Goes Live in the Netherlands

Less than a week after Dutch music copyright organization Buma/Stemra announced that it had
struck a deal with Apple regarding iTunes Match, the service has now gone live in the Dutch iTunes Store.





An iTunes Match link is not yet showing up on the front page of the
Dutch iTunes Store, but Apple has updated the iTunes Store terms and
conditions in the Netherlands with new text covering the

Baby Connect App Celebrating More than 1 Million Saved Events Weekly

Announcing that Seacloud Software, the developers of Baby Connect,
has released the latest update of their acclaimed product for iPhone,
iPod touch and iPad users. Thanks to a consistently rising increase in
the number of parents and child care centers using the app to keep a
pulse on a child’s health and development, Baby Connect is celebrating
the milestone of more than one million

Sculley: Newton Laid the Groundwork for the Today's Mobile Industry

In a wide-ranging interview
with the BBC, former Apple CEO John Sculley was asked about Jobs
killing off the Newton, and what he thought of the product in
retrospect. Sculley admitted that the Newton was "clearly too ambitious"
but nailed "many of the concepts."



Perhaps most importantly, Sculley points out that Apple had to develop a
new type of microprocessor to power the Newton,

Apple Expands iPhone and iPad Recycling Program to UK, Germany, and France

Last August, Apple expanded its recycling program in the United States to allow customers to turn in their used iPhones and iPads for Apple gift cards.




As noted by Macworld UK and Macerkopf.de [Google translation], Apple has once again expanded its recycling efforts by bringing a similar initiative
to the UK, France, and Germany. But rather than offering payment in
the form of an Apple

Singapore Carriers to Offer Camera-less iPhone 4S Models

The Jakarta Globe reports
that Apple's three carrier partners in Singapore are making plans to
offer iPhone 4S models lacking cameras, with the move said to be
targeting members of the military who are prohibited from bringing
camera-equipped phones onto their bases. Carrier M1 even briefly
offered camera-less models on its website earlier this week.







"iPhone 4S Non Camera" listing on