On Sunday Skype launched the latest iteration of its iPhone app, which now allows users to make VoIP calls over a 3G connection. As of last night, the application had been downloaded nearly 5 million times, a number that has surely been passed by this point.

There is some bad news with the good, though. Skype has said they may start charging users for Skype-to-Skype calls made over 3G as early as next year. Skype has always been free for in-client calling. There are still no specifics on pricing, though Russ Shaw, Skype’s mobile GM, said he wanted to stay competitive. “We’re not going to want to price ourselves out of the market,” he said. “I can’t ignore the fact that consumers (currently) use us for free.”

You know, Mr. Shaw, even $.03 a minute is more than free. You probably won’t find many people who will be happy about the change.

The iPhone OS 4 announcement was monumental. It’s bringing the long-awaited ability to multitask along with some customization options, organization options, and new search and content management features all over the operating system. It’s a fantastic update, but not everyone will be reaping the full benefits. In fact, the majority of the iPhone user base won’t get to all those new goodies.

Apple has only approved the 3GS for a full OS 4 feature rollout. The original iPhone won’t get OS 4, period. The 3G will only get parts. Though it’s probably still worth it to make the upgrade, you’ll be missing the multi-tasking, the custom home screen backgrounds, and potentially some of the other processor intensive features. It’s not that big a surprise (though the wallpaper thing did catch me off guard) – the 3G has some trouble with the current OS – but it still sucks.

It points to a problem that has longed plagued Apple customers – the update cycle. For Apple as a company it’s worked quite well. What better way to stick it to your fanboy friends than getting the newest version of that thing they’ve been hyping to you for six months. Hell hath no fury like a fanboy bested.

This weekend brought an interesting surprise for anyone attempting to purchase themselves a nifty, new, Wi-Fi iPad. It’s sold out. You can still buy it, of course, but the ship date isn’t April 3rd anymore. It’s April 12th. In-store pickup has been removed as a shipping method as well.

This is a big deal for Apple’s new device. I’m still standing behind the statement that no one really knows what it does. Yes, the promise of apps and the advent of a color ereader are nice, but $500 is a lot for that promise. Will it be that much better than a laptop? We’ll have to see.

Most estimates put the sold-out round of iPads around 500,000. That’s a crapload of units, especially considering that none of them have 3G. I know some people aren’t expecting big 3G sales, but I’d bet the nerds of the world will pick up a 3G unit for the just-in-case insurance. There’s really not a compelling reason to not get one and plenty of reasons for it. Remember, there are no contracts, so you can grab a month of service whenever you need it.

Source: 9to5 Mac

Verizon had to respond to the AT&T lawsuit at some point, but I didn’t think the response would be so catty. And boy is it catty. Verizon lawyers have dropped all the legalese in order to get a few more digs at AT&T and its crappy network.

The response opens like this: “AT&T did not file this lawsuit because Verizon’s “There’s A Map For That” advertisements are untrue; AT&T sued because Verizon’s ads are true and the truth hurts.” So it’s gonna be like that then? And that’s just what the lawyers are saying. Imagine how much worse things could get over the airwaves.

As Engadget points out, the rest of the response reads more like a press release than a legal document. Here’s another tidbit:

In the final analysis, AT&T seeks emergency relief because Verizon’s side-by-side, apples-to-apples comparison of its own 3G coverage with AT&T’s confirms what the marketplace has been saying for months: AT&T failed to invest adequately in the necessary infrastructure to expand its 3G coverage to support its growth in smartphone business, and the usefulness of its service to smartphone users has suffered accordingly.

Me-ow. This one’s definitely not over.

AT&T might have done well to keep quiet about Verizon’s “map for that” ads. Since bringing a lawsuit concerning the original commercial, Verizon has launched three more ads, all bearing the same message: AT&T’s network sucks. It’s not that the message is anything new, but AT&T has made it clear that network quality is a pressure point, and now Verizon’s going to squeeze.

The new ads will likely air all through the holidays since they’re all about Christmas. In one the iPhone ends up on the island of misfit toys, not fitting in until it shows its new friends the AT&T 3G coverage map. That one works on two levels, digging at AT&T and reminding Apple that Verizon still really wants the iPhone.

The second ad turns the naughty gift from coal into AT&T’s network, and the third features a man having a Blue Christmas (yes, the song runs in the background) until he walks home to find a festive red package sitting on his front porch.

The last two ads sound like the usual competition bashing you see in any industry, but that the commercials have so much truth behind them makes them devastatingly effective. Talk to anyone with an iPhone and you’ll hear about AT&T’s crap network. Apparently no one has mentioned to Big Blue that fixing their network would solve all kinds of problems, the least of which is this new ad campaign.