An interesting twist by Sprint, or so it seems. A recent update for the HTC Thunderbolt that was rolled out to subscribers now blocks tethering, and requires that the user pay $30 a month for the right to tether. It seems a like a weird move to remove functionality, but at the same time may be as a result of excessiv data usage by some users.

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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.

This is something I am not really clear on being useful, but I guess it had to happen. Sharp today started shipping into the Japanese market via DoCoMo mobile service an Android based 3D phone. Key is the dual camera lenses, which allow the phone to shoot true 3D depth images. It uses Android Gingerbread 2.3, has plenty of features including HDMI out. It is based on a 1.4ghz Qualcomm processor, and it’s connection data speed is high enough to qualify as a 4G phone, if it ever made it to the US market. Right now, it is a Japanese market phone only.

More of the story here

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.

AT&T has added hotspotting features to it’s Android phones, and it may be adding them to it’s Iphone offerings as well.

Hot Spotting allows the smart phone to become a hub for an adhoc wireless network, giving internet access to other devices that connect to it wirelessly. This means that you can use your smart phone as a modem for your laptop, as an example, which is a popular option for road warriors who get tired of looking for Wifi to work with.

Adding this feature to the IPhone would help keep AT&T ahead of it’s competition in the market. Now that they no longer have a monopoly on IPhone sales, they need to push ahead.

Read the full story here.

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.

Asus is one of the best known brands when it comes to computer motherboards, and increasingly in areas such as cell phones, video graphics cards, and the like. Now they are pushing into the wireless tablet market, but are wisely hedging their bets with not just one new product, but three products that bridge the gap from pure tablet to a tablet / laptop hybrid.

The two most interesting devices are the EEE Slider, which is a tablet with a slide out keyboard that greatly improves the ability to type quickly, and expands the usefulness of the product. The EEE Pad Transformer has a detachable keyboard, and allows the user to configure the unit like a laptop or as a tablet either way. The units will run the Android Gingerbread version, although they were suggesting that the newer Honeycomb version might come shortly after.

These are interesting form factor developments, as the market continues to hunt for the best products for the users. While Apple has a running start in the tablet market, it isn’t clear that their device or methods of operation are the best. With players like Asus coming into the game, it is clear that the market will continue to see many new products for a while to come.

More on this story here