Case-mate, a designer of innovative accessories for mobile devices and electronics, today announced the availability of the Hug, a new protective case and charging pad for the iPhone® that showcases the evolution of wireless power. Created to give iPhone users a more convenient way to charge, the design-forward Hug delivers power without cumbersome cords or adaptors.

"The mobile phone is undoubtedly one of the most essential electronic devices to consumers today," said Shashi Reddy, founder and CEO of Case-mate. "And with the availability of the Hug, we're giving iPhone users a new way to easily re-charge - helping them get just a little more convenience and reliability out of the device that they so strongly rely upon each day."

Product features include:

* Efficient - The Hug delivers a "smart charge." It knows when the iPhone has reached a complete charge and, at that time, stops pulling power.

* Convenient - The Hug charges just as fast as traditional chargers, but without the hassle of cords and wires. Instead the charging pad transfers power wirelessly through a magnetic field to the iPhone enclosed in the Hug case.

* Design-Forward - The Hug, featuring a sleek two-part case and a charging mat, is constructed with durable injection-molded materials with true aluminum metal and accents. Its form factor was inspired by the flowing lines of the golden age of sport automotive design.

* Added Protection - The Hug comes with a durable, shock absorbing case and a charging pad. A screen protection kit is also included for total iPhone protection.

* Interoperable - The Hug is the first charging pad to be is designed in accordance to the specifications of the Wireless Power Consortium.

source: case-mate.com

Some of these patents are from 15 years ago and cover OS-level behavior, so it's hard to see how they can relate only to HTC's implementation of Android and not Google's OS as a whole. Yeah, it's wild, and while we're not going to blow out all 20 patents to sort out what they mean -- not yet, anyway -- we can certainly walk through the claims. Let's see what we've got.

* Patent No. 7,362,331: "Time-Based, Non-Constant Translation Of User Interface Objects Between States"
* Patent No. 7,479,949: "Touch Screen Device, Method, And Graphical User Interface For Determining Commands By Applying Heuristics"
* Patent No. 7,657,849: "Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An Unlock Image"
* Patent No. 7,469,381: "List Scrolling And Document Translation, Scaling, And Rotation On A Touch-Screen Display"
* Patent No. 5,920,726: "System And Method For Managing Power Conditions Within A Digital Camera Device."
* Patent No. 7,633,076: "Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices"
* Patent No. 5,848,105: "GMSK Signal Processors For Improved Communications Capacity And Quality"
* Patent No. 7,383,453: "Conserving Power By Reducing Voltage Supplied To An Instruction-Processing Portion Of A Processor"
* Patent No. 5,455,599: "Object-Oriented Graphic System"
* Patent No. 6,424,354: "Object-Oriented Event Notification System With Listener Registration Of Both Interests And Methods"

source: engadget

LOL, Apple probably feel threaten by the power of HTC.  Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek noted that Apple has not sued that many companies in the past, so the HTC suit must either be a strategic move or the result of what Apple considers a clear infringement on its patents.

Apple Inc., increasingly facing tougher competition in the lucrative market for smart phones, sued Taiwanese phone maker HTC Corp. on Tuesday, accusing the rival of violating patents related to the popular iPhone.

HTC was the first company to manufacture a cell phone based on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, which has emerged as a significant competitor to the iPhone. It is also making the Nexus One phone, which Google is selling directly to consumers.

Apple said HTC has infringed on 20 of its patents covering aspects of the iPhone's user interface and hardware.

source: AP and Yahoo finance

Bell Mobile TV is now available on iPhone. See below for one of the user reviews.

Possibly great if you are a Bell iPhone customer (subscriptions are not available to others). Even for those...

• WiFi must be turned off
• it does not work with the iPod Touch
• Even Bell customers must subscribe (3 options, NHL, TV, & 2010 Olympics)

It should say this clearly so we don't waste time with it (I would have preferred not to rate it, as it could be perfect for Bell customers that don't).

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later

source: apple iphone

So far, Apple hasn't suffered for its refusal to support Flash. That's because very few competing devices really have it. But that will change soon as some of the other hot smart phones start delivering Flash video, games and animations.

But how much do any of those users want Flash? Adobe says a lot.

The company told me today that in December, there were more than 7 million attempts to download Flash from Adobe.com from iPhones and iPod Touches. That number is up from 3 million download attempts from iPhones and iPod Touches in June.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=56724#ixzz0fATaC4nW

Well as far as Adobe, I really have to agree with Steve, after 3 years and counting, Adobe Flash still aren't supporting Mobile Devices.  They need to get their act together and work on the damn thing.  Well, they are a monopoly, i think we need another player, then I can guarantee that Adobe will be coming out with Flash support for Mobile next week.

As far as "Don't be Evil" quote by Google., steve calling it that it's just BillShit Crap: See following update by Wired.com

(Update, 1/31 4:20 pm ET: Another member of the audience, who also requires anonymity because this person is also not authorized to speak to the media, disputes the "bullshit" quote and says Jobs actually said: "Don't be evil is a load of crap," as first reported by Daring Fireball. This source also asserts that Jobs had nice things to say about how Adobe, or at least how the company used to be, as John Gruber's "little birdie" also told him first.

Read More http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/01/googles-dont-be-evil-mantra-is-bullshit-adobe-is-lazy-apples-steve-jobs/#ixzz0eEWP4IzH

Check this out, someone at redmondpie created iPad theme for iPhone and iPod, pretty awesome.

You will need to have a jailbroken iPhone to get it all to work. Follow the instructions posted here to first jailbreak your iPhone if you haven't already and then download and install the following in this order.

* Winterboard app via Cydia
* "Simple iPad Theme" via Cydia
* MakeItMine app via Cydia to Change the Carrier logo to iPad. More details here.
* Shrink app via Cydia to reduce the size of all the icons on the springboard.
* ProSwitcher via Cydia for Multitasking. More details here.
* NYTimes - The New York Times app for iPhone via App Store
* Classics - The iBooks lookalike app for iPhone via App Store
* Kindle for iPhone via App Store

All the details can be found at redmondpie.com

When Apple announced the name of its tablet computer today - the iPad - my mind immediately went to the feminine hygiene aisle of the drugstore. It turns out I wasn't alone.

The term "iTampon" quickly became a trending topic on Twitter because of Tweets like this one: "Heavy flow? There's an app for that!" A CNBC anchor, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, said the iPad was a "terrible name" for the tablet. "It reminds me of feminine products," she said.

"Are there any women in Apple marketing?" asked Brooke Hammerling, founder of Brew Media Relations, a technology public relations firm. "The first impression of every single woman I've spoken to is that it's cringe-inducing. It indicates to me that there wasn't a lot of testing or feedback."

It is not just women who were surprised. When Peter Shankman, a public relations and social media expert, saw the name on television, he was taken aback. "I'm waiting for the second version that comes with wings," he said.

Mr. Shankman was surprised that Apple, with its meticulous attention to detail, missed the significance. He cited a piece of company lore - when its naming conventions called for a new computer to be called the Macintosh SEx, Apple went with the name Macintosh SE/30 instead.

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER at NYTimes.com

Apple Inc. will sell the newly unveiled tablet-style iPad starting at $499, a price tag far below the $1,000 that some analysts were expecting.

The iPad, which is larger in size but similar in design to Apple's popular iPhone, was billed by CEO Steve Jobs on Wednesday as "so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone."

Apple iPad prices:

• Apple iPad 16GB with Wi-Fi: $499
• Apple iPad 32GB with Wi-Fi: $599
• Apple iPad 64GB with Wi-Fi: $799
• Apple iPad 16GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $629
• Apple iPad 32GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $729
• Apple iPad 64GB with Wi-Fi and 3G: $829

The Wi-Fi models will be available in 60 days (March), while the Wi-Fi + 3G ones in 90 days (April).

The iPad will have accessories: a case, a dock and a keyboard.

Some Apple iPad specs:

• 0.5 inches thin
• 9.7 inch multi-touch capacitive display with 1024 x 768 pixel resolution
• 1GHz Apple A4 chip
• Accelerometer, compass
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Wi-Fi
• Assisted GPS (only for the Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• SIM card tray (only for the Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB internal memory
• Standby: over 1 month

More reasons to believe the Apple iTablet is for real.  See a study by Flurry.

Using Flurry Analytics, the company identified approximately 50 devices that match the characteristics of Apple's rumored tablet device. Because Flurry could reliably "place" these devices geographically on Apple's Cupertino campus, we have a fair level of confidence that we are observing a group of pre-release tablets in testing. Testing of this device increased dramatically in January, with observed signs of life as early as October of last year. Apple appears to be going through its cycle of testing and polish, which is expected from any hardware or software company as it nears launch.

Apple is expected to announce the yet-to-be named hardware on Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco. There has been broad speculation about the functionality of the tablet, and what kinds of content and media partners the new device will feature. Additionally, there has been speculation about the most likely use cases for this kind of device, as well as which operating system the device will support. The choice of operating systems is particularly important for application developers because if the tablet runs on the same or upgraded operating system as the iPhone, then current applications running on the iPhone will also run on the tablet.

On these devices, Flurry observed approximately 200 different applications in use by testers. Studying category trends provides insight into the kind of user Apple is targeting and how it expects the device to be used. Below is a chart that shows the number of applications in use by category across test devices.

For the complete article take a look at blog.flurry.com