When the iPhone made its debut in 2007 everyone knew it would be an exclusive to AT&T for some time. The exact length of that exclusive agreement was rumored to be five years but it was never possible to get confirmation on the exact terms of the agreement from any of the parties involved, especially Apple. That is, until now.

Based on court papers filed in 2007 as part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit in California which claims Apple and AT&T illegally exerted a monopoly over iPhone service by telling customers the iPhone’s required service contract was two years long when the Apple / AT&T exclusivity deal was actually for five years, there’s now some light to be shed on the deal.

Responding to the lawsuit, Apple’s lawyers argued that no one was ever promised an unlocked iPhone after two years and they repeatedly confirm the existence of the five-year agreement while noting it was publicly reported in USA Today.

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If you’re waiting and hoping for a Verizon iPhone this year, you might be disappointed yet again. According to a recent analyst report highlighted over at Computerworld, the iPhone is going to remain an AT&T exclusive at least until the end of 2010. Why? Well, read on.

AT&T is offering data plans for the iPad on a non-contract basis at the reasonable price of $15 for 250MB of data and $30 for unlimited data. According to analyst Brian Marshall of BroadPoint AmTech, AT&T would not have agreed to those low prices, and no-contract plans, without receiving something big from Apple in return. That “something big”, he thinks, is an extension of the iPhone exclusivity agreement with AT&T.

“AT&T had to do something dramatic to get the iPad,” said Marshall. “For that pricing [on the iPad], AT&T was able to negotiate a six-month extension on the iPhone exclusive,” he continued.

So there you have it iPhone fans. If you’re as sick of AT&T as I was but still must have your iPhone, you’re just going to have to hang in there a a bit longer. Of course, this is just one person’s opinion, albeit an informed one. Still, he could be wrong and we may never see a Verizon iPhone.

After all, Apple usually does what’s in Apple’s best interest so going to the trouble of making a CDMA iPhone for just the U.S. market, where they already dominate the space, may be more than they are willing to do. If you believe Marshall, I guess we’ll find out at the end of the year. Until then, try not to be too hard on AT&T.

The Iron Man 2 hype machine is in full effect leading up to Friday’s release of this summer’s most anticipated comic book property to hit the big screen in 2010. This week alone, we’ve brought you news of the ‘Iron Man Central’ app hitting iTunes, as well as some of the ‘Iron Man 2′ easter eggs to keep an eye for while you’re watching the flick, and now Marvel Digital has released 4 new free digital comics for their free Marvel Comics App available in the iTunes App Store.

While the app is free to download, comics generally cost around $1.99/each, with Marvel releasing a batch of new freebies each week. This week, with all eyes on Iron Man 2, the free choices revolve around this popular franchise.

Two issues go into the way-back machine, all the way to 1968 for some classic silver-age Iron Man action with issues #225 and #280. The third issue is a bit more up-to-date with The Invincible Iron Man #1 which details some of the events of the first flick. And finally the fourth free issue from Marvel Digital this week, Black Widow Saga #1, gives readers an insight to this mysterious character from the second film.

So what are you waiting for? Fire up your iPhone or iPad and let’s get primed for all things Tony Stark! After the jump, take a closer look at these free issues. Free is good, right?

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If you thought it was just a matter of time before Steve Jobs would come around, see the error of his ways and embrace The Flash (no, not the superhero) well, to put it nicely, you were wrong. Not gonna happen. . . ever. How do we know? Simple, Steve told us so.

In a statement signed off on by Jobs himself, Apple has posted their “Thoughts on Flash” which highlights most of what has been said in the past about why Apple won’t be supporting Flash on iPhone OS devices like the iPhone and iPad. They will also be blocking programs that attempt to recompile and be used as iPhone OS applications, especially games.

Still not convinced? Think it’s all just a misunderstanding at that Steve’s resolve will weaken? Well, take a look at what Apple said and tell us there’s room for doubt that Steve Jobs hates Flash:

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years.

The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

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Today Apple announced the availability of the second version of the iPad, aka the iPad 3G. For those of you who’ve been waiting for some iPad goodness, you have a definitive date to count the minutes until: April 30, 2010. In addition, those of you who pre-ordered the 3G iPad should start to receive shipments the same day.

The iPad 3G will set you back $130 premium more than the Wi-Fi-only iPad. You will also get the pleasure of using AT&T’s 3G network for your needs but in a somewhat surprising move, you won’t have to agree to a teo-year contract in order to do so.

The 3G service from AT&T will be available on an as-needed basis. In other words, if you need it for a day, you pay for a day. A month? Pay for a month. That’s quite a bit better than having to stick with a company for a minimum of two years, especially given their relatively poor track record of network performance.

On a related note, Apple also announced its second quarter earnings today and, no big surprise, the numbers look pretty good. It reported adjusted earnings of $3.33 per share, well above Wall Street estimates.

Total revenues were $13.5 Billion. That’s more than $700 millon above even the most optimistic predictions. Gross margins up to 41.7 percent, from 39.9 percent a year ago.

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You have to give it up for Marvel. They truly seem to be embracing the online and “digital” new media. They’ve got an iPad application that lets you read comics on the device, they offer comics online at Marvel Digital and they’ve released a series of very well done motion comics, which you can play on your iPod Touch or iPhone.

They don’t just phone it in or do a half-assed job on the motion comics either. Everything is professional and of the highest quality. Heck, they even get superstars like Joss Whedon and Brian Bendis to write the motion comics and artists such as John Cassaday and Alex Maleev to draw them, so they must be taking these projects pretty seriously.

The latest character to get the full Marvel treatment is Iron Man in the new Iron Man Extremis motion comic, which is written by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov. To commemorate this event we’ve got a behind the scenes video of the making of the new moco, courtesy of Marvel. As we’ve done in the past, here’s the synopsis provided by Marvel:

Experience Iron Man in a whole new way – IRON MAN: EXTREMIS Motion Comic. From the story by Warren Ellis & Adi Granov, this incredible epic blends seamless motion, dynamic voice acting, and stunning special effects, bringing to life the story that redefined Iron Man for the 21st Century. Now you can get an exclusive sneak peek at this breathtaking visual breakthrough in motion comics with a brand new behind the scenes video! The first episode of IRON MAN EXTRMIS goes on-sale Friday, April 16th!

Check out the video after the jump and just like it says above, get your own copy of Iron Man Extremis this Friday.

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Today in a special event, Apple CEO Steve Jobs revealed brand new details on the next version of Apple’s iPhone OS. The new version, which will be called OS 4.0, brings many features users had been hoping for as well as some new ones they never thought of. The new software will be released to developers today but you’ll have to wait until Summer to enjoy it on your iPhones once it officially is released.

Here’s some of what you can expect when the OS 4.0 Update hits the street:

Multitasking

People have been asking for it and now Apple is going to deliver. You’ll be able to work on one application while using another in the background. Switching between the two will be quick. Plus, Apple says having several applications running in the background won’t effect performance of the iPhone. I guess we’ll have to wait and see on that one.

Email

iPhone OS 4.0 brings the iPhone’s email capabilities in line with its desktop Mail application. Global inboxes are now part of the iPhone as well as the ability to sort emails by threads and open attachments in specific apps.

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The iPad has shipped, the box has arrived and I’ve opened it and looked inside. Yes, the iPad is here. By way of refrence, I ordered a 64GB iPad with WiFi only. My rationale for this was I usually use most of my devices where there’s Wifi so the idea of having 3G capability on this iPad wasn’t really a factor.

Not only that, I don’t like the idea of giving AT&T any more money than I already do for my iPhone 3GS and I didn’t really want to wait another month to try out the iPad. So, Wifi version it is.

Although, after using it I may discover that having 3G is more important than I think it is. We’ll have to see about that one. I’ll do a more in-depth review a bit later after using the device for a few days but until then, here’s what I think so far.

Design and Build Quality

Apple designs nice looking productuct and nobody can deny that. They also tend to build them pretty well. The iPad is no exception. On first use it was a bit heavier than I expected but stil, as I usually carry a much heavier 13″ MacBook Pro around most of the time, the weight really won’t be a factor.

Also, once you see and use the iPad, the black bezel around the edges makes perfect sense. That’s where you hold it with one had while you use it with the other. In other ways, build quality is excellent with all the parts fitting together very nicely in a tight package.

Oh, and did I mention the screen is absolutely beautiful. Pictures and video look amazing and book text, either from iBooks or with the Kindle for iPad Application, is very readable. However, I would say that reading a book on the iPad is not quite as easy on the eyes as it is on the Kindle. I think the Kindle, at least for me, is a slightly better reading experience. But fortunately, the iPad does so much more and for shorter durations, or after I get more used to it, will probably end up being fine for reading books.

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If you believe the folks at The Wall Street Journal, AT&T’s monopoly on the iPhone will finally be coming to an end this June when Apple will release a CDMA version of the iPhone which will be available on Verizon. According to people “briefed on the matter” a special CDMA version of the iPhone will be made starting this September by Pegatron Technology Corp., a subsidiary of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

To which company will this CDMA device be headed? Verizon Wireless. Even though I bash AT&T for their network (and I’m not alone here for sure) and the fact that calls continuously seem to drop, I can actualy tell they’ve made a few strides in improving their network, at least in the Los Angeles area.

Still, in LA at least, Verizon is usually the clear winner when it comes to network availability and the ability to make a call and stay on that call without dropping. So, if their really is an iPhone coming to Verizon, I may just have to pick one up. That or I may just give up the iPhone all together and go for a Google Nexus One when it comes to Verizon. The next few months should be interesting indeed.

If you’re been waiting for an excuse to use that extra $499.00 you’ve got burning a hole in your wallet, Apple may have just given you one. Today, the company announced, via their website, that it will begin shipping its brand new tablet device, the iPad, on April 3rd and will begin taking pre-orders on March 12th.

This is great news for those of you who want to take your eBook reading to the next level and also for people who never jumped on the Kindle bandwagon. It’s also great news for those of you looking for a super-sized iPhone that will run all those cool apps without having to agree to a lengthy contract with AT&T. Although, if you do want to have such a contract (and 3G wireless), the iPad with 3G will be available later in April, complete with said AT&T contract.

Even though I’ve pointed out a few things I feel the iPad is missing (although some, like the camera, may actually be there after all) I still feel there’s some merit to the device. I would be even more excited if I didn’t already have a Kindle, which I feel, as a “single use” device, is actually better for reading books than the iPad will be.

Still, the iPad definitely has a lot of possibilities and I look forward to exploring those come April 3rd. Expect a full review of the iPad once I get my hands on one. Until then, if this device is truly for you, better start saving those pennies because April 3rd isn’t that far away.

It’s Tuesday so that must mean it’s a day for lawsuits, at least where Apple, Inc. is concerned. Case in point, our favorite fruit flavored technology company is suing hardware maker HTC for infringement of 20 patents concerning the iPhone user interface and its hardware and architecture. The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. International Trade Comission and in the U.S. District Court of Deleware.

Steve Jobs himself had this to say about the lawsuit: “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Jobs. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” Yeah, he seems a bit miffed about the whole thing.

Although the Google Nexus One is not mentioned specifically in the lawsuit and HTC does make several other Android handsets, some could argue the touchscreen models interface does look quite a bit like the iPhone’s. Still, “quite a bit” does not necessarily a lawsuit make. Could it just be a bit of posturing to warn others away from trying to steal Apple’s ideas or to slow down the progress Android is making in the marketplace? Maybe.

Apple has the right to defend it’s ideas and the cash to try and punish those it deems responsible for stealing said ideas. However, I was kinda hoping to get my hands on a Nexus One when it is released for Verizon. I hope this lawsuit doesn’t hold that up. Neither HTC nor Google has issued a statement yet concerning the lawsuit.

Even though Apple won’t be attending this year’s Macworld Expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, that isn’t stopping organizers IDG from having one. This year, in what they are calling ‘The Start of a new Era” the organizers have assembled a host of great speakers, panels and events for Apple and Mac enthusiasts everywhere.

Some of the highlights of the event include an evening with David Pogue, Q&A with writer/director Kevin Smith, the 20th anniversary of Photoshop event, Macworld Magizine’s “Best of Show” awards and a hands-on demo of Apple’s latest product, the iPad.

The Show Floor opens Thursday: 12:00pm to 6:00pm

Thursday’s Highlights:

Late Night with David Pogue – Join New York Times’ Columnis David Pogue for song parodies, surprise guests, jokes at Apple’s expense, and a lot of geeking out.
9:00am – 10:00am

See the Best New Products First

11:00am – 12:00pm
Q&A with Kevin Smith – filmmaker and director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. The conversation, sure to be lively, wry and irreverent, will give Macworld attendees a special opportunity to engage with Smith as he answers audience questions – nothing is off limits!
2:00pm – 3:00pm

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