[UPDATE] Microsoft sets goal of selling 30 million Windows Phone 7 devices by the end of 2011, triple than Apple’s iPhone sales

Microsoft has been reported to have officially set a goal of selling 30 million Windows Phone 7 devices by the end of 2011. Microsoft sold just 16.5 million Windows Mobile devices in 2008. In the same year, Apple sold 11.4 million iPhones in the same year, which exceeded their initial goal of 10 million.

Microsoft is planning to launch Windows Phone 7 devices beginning in December of this year, which means that company will only have four quarters to reach their goal of 30 million devices sold.

UPDATE: Microsoft has announced today, May 31st, that the research done to come up with 30 million, was misleading. The number actually points to the total number of Microsoft smartphone sales. It seems like Microsoft was a little to anxious, a little too early.

Verizon iPhone could be coming as soon as November

TheStreet is reporting on a new research note conducted by Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar, who claims that Apple is prepared to announce a Verizon Wireless iPhone as soon as a November launch.

The Mac maker has also told its manufacturing partner Asustek to plan on starting full-scale production of a CDMA version of the iPhone to be available at Verizon as early as November, Kumar says. The report is yet another confirmation of Apple's long-awaited Verizon iPhone, which still awaits final approval from the two companies that have not always seen eye-to-eye.

The report also mentions that Apple is expected to raise production of the iPhone to about 40 million per year to handle the demand that is expected with a Verizon iPhone.

Apple is expected to announce a new iPhone, which could be running on Verizon Wireless' network on June 7th during WWDC.

Apple to announce new Apple TV: iPhone OS, Cloud-based storage, $99?

Engadget is reporting that they have received information on what could be the next Apple TV. The product is basically going to be an iPhone without the screen. Based on the next-generation iPhone, the next Apple TV is rumored to be running a form of iPhone OS, will have cloud-based storage and will cost only $99.

The new architecture of the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). The device is said to be quite small with a scarce amount of ports (only the power socket and video out), and has been described to some as "an iPhone without a screen." Are you ready for the real shocker? According to our sources, the price-point for the device will be $99.

According to the report, while streaming content to their Apple TV, users will also have the ability to pair their home entertainment system to a Time Capsule (wireless router + hard drive) and keep content locally on there. However, it is not yet known whether the Apple TV running iPhone OS will support iPhone/iPad applications from the App Store.

The report mentions that consumers should not expect to see the Apple TV being announced at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but the device update will be launched soon.

There is no doubt that this Apple TV will bring Apple inline with Google's Google TV.

iPad launches internationally today to long lines at retail stores

Apple's iPad has officially launched internationally today, in 9 countries. Long lines were reported in most of the Apple Stores in Paris, Italy, Sydney and Japan.

According to Reuters, Apple's retail store in Tokyo's Ginza had a line of about 1,200 people waiting to get their hands on an iPad.

"I wanted to touch it as soon as possible. I felt real excitement when it was finally in my hands," said Takechiyo Yamanaka, 19, who camped out in front of the Ginza store from Wednesday evening to be the first in line.

The iPad will continue to launch in other international countries in the later months of this year.

[Update] Qik to Charge $4.99 a Month for Video Chat on EVO

With Sprint already requiring a $10 extra charge for "premium data services" with its new phone, it was assumed that it would include video chat. However, it now appears that the video service Qik (which is included with the phone) will be charging an extra $4.99 via PayPal. It is unfortunate that all these extra charges are piling up for such a great device, they may even deter customers from buying them.

[Update] Qik has responded to this awful rumor, and they quickly squashed it. However, they did say that standard chat is free, but advanced features will cost. Here is the official word

Well, there’re a number of rumors flying around that the 2-way Qik mobile video service will require a premium subscription. We wanted to clarify what that really means. Firstly, rest assured that the core Qik service that lets you communicate live from your phone to other phones, web and desktop will be FREE. Yes – this means that the core capability of doing 2-way Qik video chat will be FREE for Sprint EVO 4G users. The subscription fee will be for some advanced premium features that we are working on, which we will be announcing on June 4th – the day the amazing HTC EVO 4G phone launches.

So, tune back in on June 4th for a complete list of features of the new Qik along with the optional advanced premium features for you to enjoy!

[Update via Android Central]

AT&T: 40% of iPhone sales are to business customers

ZDNet is reporting that AT&T Business Solutions CEO Ron Spears claims that his company sells 40%, or 4 for every 10 people, in iPhone sales to business customers.

Four out of 10 sales of the iPhone are made to enterprise users. When the iPhone came out, what most people heard in the first year from '07 to '08 was oh my God, it's not BlackBerry secure. This is not going to work on the enterprise space.

At the end of the day, it's just software. That's all it is.

When the iPhone first launched, it was believed by many corporate companies that it would not be a very good smartphone to use to do security and software issues, but it appears those issues have been fixed.

Google officially acquires AdMob

Google has announced via their blog today that they have closed the acquisition of mobile advertising company, AdMob.

Last Friday, we said that mobile advertising was moving fast. So are we! Today, we closed our acquisition of AdMob. Omar Hamoui has built a great team and great products at AdMob and we’re thrilled to officially welcome them to Google.

In the blog post, Google has said that they are working on incorporating AdMob's products and service's into Google products, along with bringing their team over as well. They hope that the integration will not take long and not affect consumers too much.

It’s clear that mobile advertising is becoming a much larger part of our clients’ and partners’ strategies and with this acquisition, it’s now a central part of our own business. In continuing to invest in this highly competitive area, we’ll be bringing together our technology, resources and expertise in search advertising with AdMob’s innovative solutions for advertising on mobile websites and in mobile applications.

Google plans to use AdMob in the mobile search market, the mobile website and ads market, as well as many other areas in the future.

Several media companies say that they will be sticking with Flash and not adding iPad support

The New York Post is reporting that NBC and Time Warner have announced that they will not be changing their website from Flash, which the iPad does not support and Apple does not like,  to HTML 5, which the iPad does support and is Apple-approved. The companies believe that changing their system just for the iPad would be too costly and they don't feel it is worth the time and money with Flash still being the web standard.

But, don't think that all media companies are doing this. CBS is attempting to make a limited amount of their videos available on a iPad-compatible website. Disney and ABC have both made iPad apps, with access to a lot of content. However, this is still a blow to Apple, and consumers, who are affected the most by this battle.

President of Sony Europe: PlayStation Network Premium coming to PS3

ComputerandVideogames is reporting that Sony Computer's Entertainment Europe president, Andrew House, has confirmed in an interview that a premium version of the popular PlayStation Network will indeed be coming soon to the PlayStation 3. The announcement is expected "soon," which could be as soon as next month's E3 conference. House also confirmed that the current PlayStation Network "as you know it" will remain free and will not be changed.

When asked what will be happening to the current PSN on the forums, House said "I can assure you that the current PSN as you know it will remain a free service. It is something that our competitors don’t offer and something that shows our loyalty to the PlayStation Community." He then went on to say that Sony is looking at announcing a premium service "to sit alongside the current free service."

Joystiq believes that the premium service will be alled "PSN+" and will give subscribers access to a lot of extra content that normal PSN users will not have, including downloadable content. Also, the report mentions that subscribers to the premium service may get an extra warranty on their PlayStation.

Joystiq claims that the service will cost $9.99, but we have to wait until E3 to be able to confirm any of this.

Google adds ‘Reshare’ feature to Buzz

The Google Buzz team has been working hard on adding new features to Buzz, and today, they have released a feature called "Reshare." The idea is very similar to retweeting on Twitter, and allows Buzz users to reshare a post made to their followers.

However, there are a few differences between Twitter and Google's service. On Buzz, the original author of the Buzz will be listed as the author on the reshare, and it will include comments on that Buzz.

Steve Ballmer won’t be at WWDC

In a tweet today from Microsoft's official Twitter account, the company announced that Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, won't be making an appearance at WWDC 2010 on June 7th.

Steve Ballmer not speaking at Apple Dev Conf. Nor appearing on Dancing with the Stars. Nor riding in the Belmont. Just FYI.

Ballmer had been rumored earlier today to be making an appearance at WWDC to discuss iPhone OS and Mac OS X development in Microsoft's Visual Studio 2010.

Palm’s Matias Duarte left Palm for Google

Early this morning, we heard rumors of Palm's Matias Duarte is going to be leaving Palm for Google. According to Engadget, official word is out, and he is now employed by Google. He is now the the new User Experience Director for Android.

Mr. Duarte worked with the head of Android, Andy Rubin to design the Sidekick, so it will be a nice reunion for the two. This guy also helped design Palm's webOS. Were excited to see where Mr. Duarte helps take Android.

Palm is probably saddened by the loss of their software designer, but i'm sure HP has it under control.

Acer announces e-book readers and touchscreen devices

According to Digitimes, Acer has announced a variety of e-book readers, and touchscreen devices. Acer announced their LumiRead, a e-book reader that supports Acer's clear.fi solution, which allows consumers to access and share e-books.

The device supports both Wi-Fi and 3G through the built-in modules for downloading the contents and Acer has already signed agreements with Barnes & Nobles to offer more than one million titles in its e-books store, as well as Germany-based Internet book retailer Libri.de to offer more than four million titles and China-based Founder, for providing localized content in English, Chinese and German. The content will also be translated for serving French and Italian readers.

The LumiRead features a 6 inch display, and only a few millimeters thick. It has a non-color E-Ink display, and it delivers a paper-like reading experience even in direct sunlight, according to Acer. It comes with 2 GB on-board flash memory. Apparently, it can deliver a thousand books, and can have even more with a memory card.

Acer LumiRead also features designs such as a QWERTY keyboard for easy web browsing for information of books. The auto-layout automatically adjusts the content to offer the best reading experience according to the format. The device supports various file formats to multiple users choices.

Acer also announced the new Aspire Z5710 all-in-one PC, the Aspire 5745P notebook, and the Steam smartphone.

The Acer Aspire Z5710 all-in-one PC features a 23-inch display that supports multi-touch function and Full HD (1920×1080) resolution. The device also supports Dolby Home Theater v3 with 5.1-channels HD surround sound for multimedia output. The Aspire Z5710 also features a slot-in optical drive, a card reader, HDMI port and optional TV-tuner.

The Aspire 5745P features a 15.6 inch LED backlit display, Intel Core processor, and premium graphics solutions and DDR3 memory is capable of running graphics-intensive applications.

The Acer Stream is a high-end multimedia smartphone, optimized for watching high-definition movies, as it can support up to 720p video resolution, supports listening to music with Dolby mobile, and allows web browsing. With the built-in HDMI port, Acer Stream is capable of connecting to TV, while the device's equipped touch screen is supported with AMOLED technology for offering strong display quality.

The LumiRead e-book

The Aspire Z5710 all-in-one PC

The Steam Smartphone

Project Natal will cost $149 alone, $299 with Xbox 360

According to Engadget, some new rumors have surfaced today stating that Project Natal will cost $149 as a standalone accessory. If you want to purchase it, and an Xbox 360 Arcade, you will be paying $299.

Microsoft told us that it wasn't going to be an impulse buy, because it wasn't going to be priced below $50, and I will admit that this is some interesting technology, and I don't think that Microsoft is over-pricing this accessory. I was actually shocked that is was priced this low.

October 26th is a rumored launch date for Project Natal. It is almost guaranteed that Microsoft will not keep the Natal name, and nobody knows what they will name it. More information is expected to be released at E3 in a few weeks.

Analyst: Apple has ‘little room for surprise’ at WWDC 2010

AppleInsider is reporting that analyst Gene Piper has said today that Apple has "little room for surprise" at WWDC 2010, which will begin on June 7th with a keynote from Steve Jobs.

He believes the hardware maker will introduce a new fourth-generation iPhone with a front-facing camera for video conferencing, better battery life, an improved rear camera, thinner design and longer battery life. But he said people shouldn't hold their breath for a major surprise, like a model compatible with the Verizon network in the U.S.

"We believe that it is unlikely that the next generation iPhone will be available at Verizon (or Sprint) at launch; rather, it is more likely that it remains exclusively available at AT&T in the U.S. at launch," Munster wrote.

The report also claims that Piper believes Apple will replace the $99 iPhone 3G with the iPhone 3GS or a new device at the same price. Piper also believes Apple may give an update on iPad sales and give a limited demo of Mac OS X 10.7.

"The Mac OS has not seen the same level of innovation as iPhone software in recent years," Munster said. "With the next version of Mac OS X, we expect Apple to bring some of the same innovation to the Mac platform. Multi-touch technology, for example could be a key feature of Mac OS 10.7."

However, Piper believes that Apple will not be focusing on Mac OS X, but rather the iPhone.

"Bottom line: WWDC will likely be in-line with expectations, and a non-event for the stock," Munster wrote, "but the new iPhone will likely drive unit sales beyond Street expectations, providing a positive catalyst for shares of AAPL in the coming months."

iTunes Store reaches 70% market share in digital music sales, 28% overall

NPD has released new market data today, showing Apple's iTunes Store with a strong control in market share in both overall and digital music sales. The report claims that Apple now has a 28% market share in overall music sales, and an amazing 70% in digital music sales. The number is up from last year's 69%. The next-in-line competitor is Amazon, which holds only 12%.

Wal-mart and Amazon are now tied at 12% each for control over second for digital music sales.

Apple testing second next-generation iPhone similar to iPhone 3GS in case something goes wrong?

DigiTimes is reporting on an interesting Q&A session with one of their analysts, which reveals that Apple is holding a reserved next-generation iPhone, which resembles the iPhone 3GS in many ways, in case something goes wrong, unpredictably, with the planned next iPhone.

The leaked iPhone 4G had a tag that said "N90," which is the internal development codename for the iPhone 4G, and very few people outside the company knew about it prior to the leak.

On a side note, Apple initiated the iPhone 4G project at the end of 2008. According to our sources, Apple actually has another product codenamed N91 for the project, which offers less change from previous iPhones compared with the N90. It's a parallel product to back up the N90 in case there are major delays due to significant modifications in casing, display resolution, digital camera support and so forth.

Not only is there two devices floating around the Apple campus, but there might be a third. In the third beta of the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK, an iPhone found carry the internal model number "N89," was found in the code. The current iPhone 3GS has the model number "N88."

The interview also claims that the manufacturer of the Verizon iPhone, if announced, will be produced by Pegatron, instead of Apple's normal manufacturing company, Foxconn. The report also mentions that the device will not enter mass production until at least the second half of this year, but most likely 2011.

Pegatron will indeed assemble an iPhone, but the manufacturing cooperation is still at the EVT (engineer verification test) stage. There are two more stages - DVT (design verification test) and PVT (process verification test) - before mass production. Though there were reports that shipments for this particular device will begin in the second half, we believe 2011 is more likely.

Finally, the report mentioned that Apple was looking into the possibility of using OLED screens in the next-generation iPhone, but eventually decided not to because of performance and cost issues.

According to our sources, Apple had spoken with Samsung Mobile Display (SMD) about the possibility for AMOLED panels since the development of the iPhone 3GS, but production capacity remains a big issue. SMD only has the capability to fulfill 50-60% of iPhone orders at the moment even it dedicated all AMOLED capacity to Apple.

Apple passes Microsoft as the second largest U.S. company, largest technology company

MacRumors is reporting that Apple has officially passed Microsoft in market cap, to become the second largest company in market cap in the Untied States, only behind Exxon Mobil.

Apple's stock has continued to increase over the past year, while Microsoft has had a steady decline. Apple is seeing a large amount of success in the mobile and music industries, as well as computers.

Report: AT&T tells employees that next iPhone will be launching in June

Boy Genius Report is noting today that AT&T has reportedly told its employees that the next-generation iPhone will be launching in June, and that it could even be coming well before the end of that month.

Title says it all, but you didn't really need a confirmation, did you? The phone will be available for purchase in June, not July, and from what we've heard, it won't even be late Jun

Apple is expected to announce the next iPhone on June 7th during WWDC 2010.

Droid Incredible suffering from AMOLED shortages

According to Engadget, the CEO of Verizon Wireless, Lowell McAdam, confirmed today that the reasons for the Droid Incredible's shipping delays is because of shortages in the Samsung AMOLED displays.

He recently told us that he believed the Droid Incredible could have easily out-sold the Motorola Droid. Unfortunately, the delays have put a major halt on those plans.

Currently, a buyer who is planning on purchasing a Droid Incredible will have to wait until mid June before it will even ship, and it also appears that the Nexus One has had some inventory shortages as well, the Nexus One delays are very closely related to the ones on the Droid Incredible.

It appears that Samsung is taking their AMOLED screens and using them on other devices, like the Galaxy S for example. Doesn't seem quite fair does it?