Sort of an interesting story from CNN Money, suggesting that there will in fact be two new Iphones hitting the market this fall. The big news will be the Iphone5, which is much anticipated, especially following the release of the iOS5 recently. However, the biggest news may be the IPhone4S, which would be a speeded up but lower cost version of the current Iphone4, which would allow Apple to hit a market segment that they haven’t been in since the IPhone 3GS. That market is the middle ground, $350 or so unlocked phone range, which permits cellular companies to offer pretty attractive packages with the phones. It would give Apple a nice shot in the meat of the Android marketplace. Read more of the story on CNN Money here.

This is a pretty incredible story, one that makes even the biggest supporters of the patent process wonder what is going on. Capacitive touch screen technology is not new by any means, these sorts of screens have been around for years. However, Apple has managed to get a patent issued this week (applied for in 2008) that covered mobile capacitive touch screens. Many competing companies have expressed dismay or concern over this patent, which could be used by Apple to either push other companies out of business, or to make them pay a significant or punitive license fee which would make all smart phones more expensive.

Some more interesting discussion on this news at Cnet, as well as some background from Chinese news service Xinhua.

There has been many rumors about White Iphones, including that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a white Iphone seen in public recently. Well, it looks like it is finally going to happen, this story says that there will be white Apple Iphone 4s for sale in Italy soon. That’s right, Apple Iphone4 in white for sale in Italy soon… stay tuned for confirmation!

A very interesting article on CNN today (of all places) suggests that Apple is working towards a universal Iphone in the future, one that will be able to work on all networks. When Apple moved to put the Iphone on Verizon,they had to make changes to allow for it to connect and operate on their non-GSM networks. Apparently the chip used for communications on the new version is similar to that of the Droid pro also used on the Verizon network, which allows their users to operate outside of the US on GSM systems.

While the current Verizon version of the Iphone does not have support for the all important simcard, it would appear that the Iphone 5 may be based on this hardware and may in fact create a more universal Iphone. Check out the story here

For the second time in a couple of years, Steve Jobs has stepped down from his position as the leader of Apple, taking a medical leave. The last time, they said it was for some sort of imbalance, and turned out to be for a liver transplant. The last time had a sort of definite return date, this time it is very open ended, which has lead to some concern. Will this affect the Apple products in the future? CNN has an interesting story here. Apple shares are taking a beating, as the market opens for the first time after the announcement. There is at least some concern that Apple without Jobs isn’t anywhere near as good, and while there are many talented people working for Apple, only Jobs has “the vision” when it comes to products. We wish Jobs the very best and a speedy recovery from whatever ails him.

Interesting round up of rumors, thoughts, and ideas regarding the upcoming Ipad2 from Fast Company here. There is plenty of speculation at this point, some include suggestions that ipad2 is thinner, and some more interesting speculation here.. At this point, this is no on sale date (or even confirmation of the device), but most seem to suggest it is a late spring early summer 2011 release.

Nokia has confirmed that they are having some problems with the N8 smart phone, at least for a “limited number of Nokia N8 customers”. While reports like this say it is a power problem, it appears to be an issue that the phone will not boot after recharging. While tech details are scant, it appears that the power management system is not resetting properly, so it thinks that the battery still has low power, low enough to shut the phone off. While Nokia claims it affects a small number of phones, they are clearly indicating that this is covered under warranty, and they will take action for any customer experiencing the issue. This certainly stacks up well against companies like Apple who tend to dismiss customer complaints or who are not so forthcoming with fixes for their customers.

The newly introduced MacBooks are continuing the assault on all things Microsoft. Apple has brought to market the new laptops that are super light, with fewer moving parts and instant on capability (actually instant resume, but with incredible 2 week sleep time, it is effectively the same thing). Apple also announced the Lion OS, which will bring much of the Ipad style universe to desktop machines, which will be an interesting move. An interesting Cnet article here about it.

However, it could also be said that Apple is starting to crowd itself in the market. From Iphones to Ipads to Macbook Lights, they are crowding up one end of the marketplace. They do have the potential to be very dominant for a long time in the space for very portable computing, but at the same time, it is easy to see where users might be almost forced to choose between platforms. I cannot picture someone with the mobile requirements for both an Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi) and a Macbook, nor in this economy the money to pay for both either.

When Apple released the Iphone originally, they were careful to roll it out slowly into each market. As a result, there was plenty of grey market imported phones all over the world, as people who really wanted the phone and were not willing to wait would go out of market to get the phone.

One of the last markets they rolled out in was China, and by the time they go there not only had the grey market phones become an issue, but also the black market of knock off and near copy phones from Chinese companies had flooded the market. As a result, Iphone sales in China were not as strong as expected, and Apple just didn’t seem to crack the market.

Now with the Iphone4, Apple is moving much more quickly to get into the market, and will release the phone this week, only days after releasing the Ipad into this market. The phone will be available thorugh China Unicom stores, as well as Apple’s own stores in China. Read the full story here

An interesting article in USA Today gives us some interesting stats about smart phones and stats. First off, 30% of all phones in the use in the US now are internet connected “smart phones” . 19% of users have downloaded some sort of travel related App. Most importantly, 47% of travelers have used their phone GPS to find a destination or location. That is a significant uptake in the use of GPS devices in phones. Also, many people (29%) are using their internet connected phone to shop for airfares and hotels, which suggests that it is very important for travel related sites to be mobile friendly. Certainly, this is a major shift in the public’s use of cell phones over the last couple of years, at least in the US.

Suggested product: Garmin nüvi 255W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Portable GPS Navigator (Factory Refurbished)