Could Apple announce a Verizon iPhone as early as next week? According to an anonymous tipster who contacted me directly, yes indeedy.

During this weekend's 2011 CES, he says, Apple will steal some thunder by announcing a product-launch event on Tuesday, January 11. (That's 1/11/11, if you're into numerology.) At that event, the company will finally announce the long-awaited Verizon iPhone. (Cue "Hallelujah" chorus.)

Alas, this is all just hearsay, and while a lot of it seems reasonable--likely, even--there's still no official word from either Apple or Verizon.

My tipster, citing a … Read more

Comcast will allow for in-home streaming of its live and On Demand content to the iPad and Android tablets later this year, the company announced today.

So far, details on the streaming option are slim. Comcast only revealed that users "will be able to watch live news, TV shows, and movies in their homes whenever they want." The company didn't say how it will stream content to those devices nor if it will charge an additional fee for the service. It plans to unveil a few more details at the Citigroup Investor Conference later today.

In addition … Read more

Joby, maker of a distinctive line of knobby-legged flexible tripods for cameras and other devices, has entered the iPad market with two products that serve both as cases and props.

First is a flexi-legged iPod holder called the GorillaMobile Yogi. It attaches with a protective polycarbonate case and can used to simply prop up an iPad in portrait or landscape orientation or, for the more adventurous, attach it to something with the legs. Joby suggests glomming it onto kitchen fixtures to show recipes, but I'd watch out for the flour and flecks of olive oil.

Second is a folding … Read more

Forrester Research has more than doubled its long-term sales forecast for tablets to reflect consumer demand.

About 10.3 million tablets were sold in the U.S. last year, the market researcherestimates. It expects sales to more than double this year to 24.1 million units. From there, sales growth will gradually start to plateau with 35.1 million units, 39.8 million units, and 42.3 million units sold in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. Tablet makers will sell 44 million units in 2015, the researcher predicts.

As recently as June, Forrester was predicting tablet sales to reach … Read more

Google's Android mobile operating system may be surging, but it hasn't overtaken Apple's iOS in the U.S., according to a Nielsen report released today.

Using November data, market research firm Nielsen on Monday ranked Apple's iOS as the No. 1 mobile operating with 28.6 percent of the smartphone operating system market share in the U.S. Coming in at No. 3 is Google's Android with 25.8 percent share of the U.S. market.

What's really interesting is that RIM's BlackBerry operating system, which is the No. 2 ranked mobile operating … Read more

Apple may have some big plans for 2011, but one analyst believes the company may be saving one of its biggest announcements for 2012--a television.

Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray senior research analyst, said in a research note today that he believes Apple will enter the TV set market by the end of next year. If Munster is right, that gives Apple two years to design and manufacture the television.

"While Apple's commitment to the living room remains a 'hobby,' we continue to believe the company will enter the TV market with a full focus, as an all-in-one … Read more

Returning to my inbox after the New Year's break, I found it full of Greeks bearing rifts.

The national press, the tech blogosphere, even normal, ordinary human beings on Twitter are railing against Systemgraph, a support company officially approved by Apple to be its reseller and authorized service provider.

Dimitris Papadimitriadis, a physician in Greece, was apparently having a little trouble with his iMac, so he took it to Systemgraph in order to enjoy its authorized servicing skills. According to the Greek newspaper Proto Thema, Papadimitriadis discovered dark patches on the screen of his machine.

As Papadimitriadis describes the story, … Read more

In the "early bird catches the worm, unless its iPhone has caught a bug" department, Apple's beloved gadget reportedly has a glitch that means if users set a one-time alarm to wake them tomorrow, they may well end up sleeping in.

Engadget and other media outlets are reporting that Twitter lit up today with lots of grumpy comments from people who were cheated out of greeting the New Year in their desired fashion because their iPhone alarm clocks failed to ring.

The bug reportedly could ruin your plans for January 2 as well, if you let it. … Read more

Apple's iPad may soon have a new home: the U.S. House of Representatives.

The floor of the House of Representatives is a technology-free zone. Traditionalists have argued that having tech devices of any kind in the chamber could be highly disruptive, especially with so many members in the House at the same time.

However, recently Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) took his iPad to the Speaker's podium and, in doing so, may have changed the course of history in the House.

In an interview with iPadDailyNews on Thursday, Cuellar explained his thoughts on using the iPad.

"If … Read more