One of the most important ongoing stories in tech for 2011 was the incessant legal maneuvering between Apple and Samsung. The patent wars have crossed the globe with battles being fought every day in different countries and over different patents. Both sides have had major victories. Both sides have suffered devastating losses. In the middle of it all, a new type of infringement popped up on the internet this month. MacRumors noted that the ad (below) “feels a lot like an Apple iPad ad” but what they didn’t notice is that Samsung used the same young actress that appeared in an iPhone 4S commercial….

In the world of public relations, you sometimes have to toot your own horn when others won’t. That seems to be the case with AT&T, a company that has been in need of more victories in light of poor customer relations and retention as well as a legal battle on their hands over the merger with T-Mobile. To that end, they announced today that they activated one million iPhone 4S’ shortly after launch, making it the most successful iPhone launch in the company’s history. With Verizon going through their second and Sprint having their first, it is actually very encouraging news for the telecommunications…

The concept of “world phone” that Apple proposed when they first released information about the iPhone 4S is becoming a reality as Apple plans on offering an unlocked, contract-free variation in November that will work on supported international GSM networks as well as AT&T. It will not work on CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless or Sprint. Users will need a local micro-SIM card for the phone to work properly abroad. The prices on the unlocked iPhones are up there in the iPad range with the 16GB at $649, the 32GB at $749, and the 64GB at $849….

The big gamble starts October 7th. Sprint just updated their website with an advertisement for pre-orders on the iPhone 4s. Eyes of the tech world and Wall Street will be watching the pre-order numbers closely as Sprint has “bet the farm” on the iPhone; their plans to buy 30 million iPhones over the next 4 years for $20 billion has already worried investors and drawn criticism. Editorial Note: As we recently mentioned, their ability to take a piece of the iPhone market from Verizon and AT&T hinges on their ability to promote their unlimited data plan as a differentiator. The ad, pictured above,…

There is little doubt that when Sprint begins servicing iPhones, current Sprint customers will switch to it. The real question that must be answered to determine Sprint’s long-term future is whether or not they’ll get conquest sales from Verizon and AT&T. Rumors have been circulating about unlimited data plans since it was first discovered that Sprint would be getting the iPhone. Many believe it’s the only way they can turn this into a successful move; investors are already worried. They need a big win or the gamble they’ve made by betting so much on a successful iPhone could crush the company….

The rumormill is always hard at work for (or against) Apple, particularly when it comes to imminent iPhone releases. Journalists turned to the most reliable leak on the Apple board, former Vice President Al Gore, to confirm some of what many have already speculated. There will be multiple iPhones released in October. Whether that means simply that more than one iPhone 5 will be produced or that there are multiple models being launched is still up in the air, but most are latching on to the latter possibility since it’s more newsworthy. While at the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in Johannesburg,…

With all of the rumors and false sightings, we were starting to believe there was more myth and legend to it all than truth. Now, it seems that a credible source is declaring a month for launch of the magic beast known as iPhone 5. Just in time for the Christmas shopping spree (as if it needed the boost for sales) the iPhone will have its newest edition launching in October, 2011. Last week, Gizmodo reported that AT&T employees were barred from requesting vacation time the last 2 weeks of September, prompting the nature cry of, “It must be the iPhone launch!” John Paczkowski from AllThingsD received…

As if they didn’t do a great job already of marketing each individual product they put out, Apple has stepped up their push in the phone market by appealing to those who already have iPads and Macs, as well as those who have friends who have iPhones, iPads, or Macs. “If you don’t have an iPhone…” is the concept and centers around Facetime, the iOS app that allows users to video conference through their mobile devices or computers. With Android phones moving up quickly in the marketplace, Apple is feeling the heat to be more than just the “cool” smartphone. They want to take back any marketshare they’re…

Apple’s iOS, for all its benefits, is notoriously closed. Particularly annoying about this is that you have no access to the OS’s file structure, which means you cannot download music or video clips from across the web. Thankfully a new iPhone and iPad app called Meteoric looks to fix that. Though on the surface Meteoric is a download manager, it actually works by providing the user with a browser. As you browse through sites, links to media content – images, music, video, or any other format that works natively on iOS – can be downloaded simply by long-pressing the link. Upon doing so, you then get…

Monday is going to be an interesting day, to say the least. Rumours surrounding WWDC ’11 concern all sorts of neat stuff, including but not limited to what the final build of Lion has in store, iCloud, and more. But this is a cool little tidbit, especially if you’re a Twitter freak. According to Rob Scoble, Twitter will have deep integration with iOS5, much more robust than “lame send to Twitter buttons”, and “a lot deeper than just photos”. What exactly this means remains unclear for the moment, but if like me you’re a Twitter nut, you await the official announcement with bated breath. Hopefully,…