Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Wednesday:
New Verizon iPhone Coming?: According to Reuters, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) financial chief Francis Shammo told an investor conference said that during the “mid-summer time frame” Verizon would no longer offer unlimited data plans for smartphone and tablet users. The company will switch to a usage-based pricing system. Shammo said the only reason that Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4 came out on Verizon’s network with an unlimited data plan was that the company “didn’t want to put up a barrier” in front of new customers. Shammo also said that Verizon shares will take a hit whenever a new phone is released, a comment that Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin believes, when combined with Apple’s tendency to release new iPhone models during the summer, points to the summer release of a new iPhone on Verizon’s network.
Apple Fires Back on App Store Trademark: The proverbial slapfight with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) over Apple’s trademark of the name “App Store” continued on Tuesday. Microsoft filed an objection with the federal patent office in January, saying that “App Store” was too generic a term — describing a digital storefront selling software for mobile devices — to be trademarked. A report from TechFlash says Apple has now argued that “Windows” is an equally generic term that was trademarked. “Microsoft, missing the forest for the trees, does not base its motion on a comprehensive evaluation of how the relevant public understands the term APP STORE as a whole,” reads Apple’s statement. The patent office is expected to decide on the issue soon.
iPad 2’s Pipeline Needs: A vice president at research firm NPD Group, Stephen Baker wrote on his company’s blog that Apple needs to explore new retail opportunities for the iPad 2 being announced Wednesday to guarantee the device’s continued growth. Baker believes that expansion into business client-focused retailers like PC Connection and Insight is important to continue Apple’s overall growth in the business sector. He also wrote, however, that he believes Apple needs to position the iPad 2 in even more consumer outlets, such as home care retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) and Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS).
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here.
