Mophie, a technology company will be showcase it's cool credit card add-on this CES in Las Vegas, we will try to get as much info as possible at CES and post on here.

The Credit Card Reader will be a combination of a dedicated hardware device that bolts on to your iPhone or iPod touch, and third party app that will allow small businesses the ability to take credit card payments on the go.

This is only available on iPhone for now.  but not surprise to see it on Android soon as well

via: pocket-lint

Pretty good success for Apple, who sold about 2 million iPhones in France only this year (2009).  This means Apple will have taken 20% of France mobile market value. "The French market is expected to grow this year through the sale of 3.5 million smartphones," said Matthew Cortesse, director of telecoms research.

via: 9to5mac

TechCrunch is reporting that VoiceCentral, whose third-party Google Voice app was also removed from the App Store, will bring Google Voice back to the iPhone.

Interestingly though, it will be using a browser, completely bypassing Apple's app restrictions and revenue sharing. Bad news for Apple.

The experience will look and feel exactly as it would were it a normal app (swiping and all). Black Swan, as they're calling it, will feature everything you'd expect, with the only exception being your contacts. You will first need to import your contacts into your Google account before being able to use them.

Here what it can do:

• Place calls through Google Voice^TM
• Browse your recent call history
• Listen to your voicemails
• Read and send SMS messages
• Import Google Voice^TM contacts for easy dialing/SMS
• Review your billing and transaction history
• It can even be used offline to browse your contacts, call history, voicemails, and SMS messages.

Here are the mains specs and features of LG UX280 Wine:

240 x 320 pixels internal TFT display with 262K colors

GPS

Bluetooth

1.3 MP camera

Hearing aid compatibility

Talk time: up to 4 hours

Standby time: up to 7 days

3.89 x 1.93 x 0.66 inches

3.32 ounces

The new LG clamshell can be found online, as well as in U.S. Cellular's retail stores.

Apple Inc. co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs said Wednesday he is taking a medical leave until the end of June - just a week after the cancer survivor tried to assure investors and employees his recent weight loss was caused by an easily treatable hormone deficiency.

Apple's stock plunged 7 percent.

Jobs, 53, said in a letter last week that he would remain at Apple's helm despite the hormone problem, and that he had already begun a "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment. But in an e-mail to employees Wednesday, Jobs backtracked.

"During the past week I have learned that my health-related issues are more complex than I originally thought," he wrote.

Apple's shares have surged and crashed over the last year in step with rumors or news about the CEO's health and his gaunt appearance. While the top executive's health is an issue for investors in any company, at Apple the level of concern reaches fever pitch because Jobs has a hand in everything from ideas for new products to the way they're marketed. Investors fear that without Jobs, Apple will not be able to sustain its growth of the last decade, which has seen Apple branch out from its Mac computers into the iPod and the iPhone.

Last week, Jobs said his disclosure of his hormone problem was "more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say" about his health. It came on the eve of Macworld, the biggest Apple trade show of the year, and Jobs said he wanted everyone to relax and enjoy the show.

Even so, the limited amount of medical information in that announcement did little to soothe Wall Street's nerves, and in interviews last week analysts predicted that the health watch would continue.

Apple's history of keeping information about Jobs' health under wraps is only fueling the speculation. The company waited until after Jobs underwent surgery in 2004 to treat a very rare form of pancreatic cancer - an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor - before alerting investors. That type of cancer is easily cured if diagnosed early, unlike the deadlier and more common adenocarcinoma.

And last summer, Apple insisted Jobs' weight loss was due to a common bug, even as The New York Times cited anonymous sources who said Jobs had undergone "a surgical procedure" to address the problem.

Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over Jobs' responsibilities while he is on leave, though Jobs said he plans to remain involved in major strategic decisions while he is out.