Join Chad and Rene for all the weeks iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad news… Live! If you have any questions, leave a comment below, hit us up on Twitter @tipb, or better still — join us live in the chat room via http://www.tipb.com/live

REMINDER: You can watch us live on your iPhone with the Ustream Viewer app [Free - iTunes link]. Just wait until the show starts (8pm ET) and search for iPhone. We’ll pop up. Literally.

Chat with you soon!

TiPb Live! Tonight at 8pm ET/5pm PT (1am GMT) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

AT&T has announced that their femtocell-based Microcell service, previously in limited testing, will roll out nation-wide this April:

AT&T 3G MicroCell is available for a one-time cost of $149.99.

[...] In addition, AT&T will offer a companion rate plan option for MicroCell customers – especially customers on Family Talk plans — who want to supplement their existing voice plans. For $19.99 a month, individual or Family Talk customers can make unlimited calls through a 3G MicroCell, without using minutes in their monthly wireless voice plan.

Consumers who select 3G MicroCell calling plans at purchase are also eligible to receive a $100 mail-in-rebate toward the purchase of AT&T 3G MicroCell – effectively making the device about $50. Customers who also purchase a new line of broadband service with AT&T (DSL or U-verse 1.5MB or higher) are also eligible for $50 via mail-in-rebate– effectively making the device about $100. If a customer is eligible for both rebate options, the customer will be able to get the device for $0, after mail-in rebate.

So any iPhone owners with zero bars at home or at work contemplating a shiny new Microcell next month?

AT&T Microcell Goes Nationwide Mid-April is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Adobe has announced that their CS5 suite, the latest version of their industry leading content creation tools like Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, will be launching April 12 (with availability likely to follow at a point that is later).

The big news for iPhone developers is that Flash CS5, as previously reported, will allow ahead-of-time-compiling that should allow for easy (or easier) porting of Flash apps to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

So, if you prefer developing in Flash rather than Xcode and don’t mind the lack of interface builder tools, you can stay in Flash and spit out iPhone binaries. (Just please — please — make them awesome).

Though not specifically iPhone related, Adobe is providing some sneak previews of other CS5 apps, including one I still don’t — nay, can’t — believe is real: content aware fill for Photoshop (embedded below, but watch it on as big a screen as you can.)

Now if they were to add this to an iPad version of a PhotoShop.com app…

YouTube link

Flash CS5 Can Compile iPhone Apps, Launches April 12 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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AppAdvice claims to have gotten a sneak-peak at the iPad iBookstore and says the prices for bestsellers aren’t nearly as high as we expected — in fact they mostly match the $9.99 loss-leading price Amazon pioneered with its Kindle.

1. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang By Chelsea Handler – $9.99
2. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – $9.99
3. The Silent Sea by Clive Cussier & Jack Du Brul – $9.99
4. Missing (under negotiation?)
5. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith – $9.99

27 of the top 32 hit the $9.99 price point. This type of negative price pressure brought on by competition between Apple and Amazon is why Random House is, according to theFinancial Times, staying away from iBooks for now. Though the New York Times says independent distributor Perseus Books Group has signed right up with Apple despite pressure from Amazon.

In talks with publishers, Apple has said it would not let other retailers sell any book for a lower price than the price in its new iBookstore. Several of the larger publishers are seeking to renegotiate agreements with Amazon and other e-book retailers to mirror the deals with Apple.

Given what’s happened with the “race to the bottom” for video game prices on the iPhone, it’s likely going to be tricky to catch that sweet spot between competitive and cannibalistic. I guess we’ll see what happens come iPad launch on April 3.

Apple iBook Bestsellers to be Priced at $9.99? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Tired of your iPhone slipping out of your hand or off of your desk? Looking to add a little color and grip to you iPhone? If so the Case-Mate Vroom for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS [$12.95- TiPb Store Link] is one to consider. For the full review follow me after the break!

In the box you receive the form-fit Case-Mate Vroom (color of your choice including black, red purple and yellow) and a screen protector. It seems that Case-Mate wants to ensure that your iPhone receives plenty of protection it’s great they include a screen protector. The case slips on quite easily while allowing access to all aspects of your iPhone. The sleep button and volume controls are the only components that are covered, but still easy to press; every other part is partially exposed for easy access.

The case design is reminiscent of tire tread, hence the “Vroom” name. This case excels in two areas; grip and accessibility. First let's look at grip. This case has stupendous grip if placed on the dashboard, desk or in the hand. The solid rubber form factor coupled with the "tread" on the case makes for excellent style and usefulness.

Second, if you want to dock your iPhone, the case easily slips off. You don't have to worry about breaking the case trying to take it off (I have come across some cases that are so hard to put on or off I wonder if I will break it with my inhuman strength). So what is the down side? The case easily slip off for some. I have not encountered any problems personally, but if you are looking for a case that is affixed tightly to your phone, this is not it. It certainly protects the phone, but it is meant to be removed without a problem. I even gave the case to my wife for a test run. She placed it in her purse and let it jostle around for a while and the case did not fall off. My concerns were not validated, but still, I think it is something to make note of if you plan on purchasing this case. One other note, since it grips so well, it also grips a lot of lint, especially if you keep it in your pocket. However, since the case is easily removable, you can wash the case off with ease, no problem.

I have to say that this case design is one of my favorites for this style. It does not add a lot of thickness to the case and it looks good especially with the color options available. At such an accessible price, you can get a couple! Check the video and pictures below.

Case-Mate Vroom for iPhone 3G/3GS is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Rogers (and subsidiary Fido) announced today via their RedBoard blog that the initial free tethering promotion for the iPhone would become the official policy going forward — free tethering for everyone. Almost.

Effective immediately, tethering will continue to be included at no additional charge for Rogers and Fido customers who subscribe to data plans of 1 GB and above (excluding those listed below).

“Those listed below” are:

Tethering cannot be used with data plans of less than 1 GB. Also, it cannot be used with the new 1 GB+ One Rate Roaming plans (except Rocket stick plans), Family Shared Data & Voice Plans and Smartphone & Rocket stick shared data plans.

Complaints are already piling up about some of those exclusion in the blog comments, of course.

This policy also applies to BlackBerry, Android (if supported by the OS), and all other smartphones with qualifying data plans.

Since I was posting via iPhone Bluetooth tether from a local coffee shop yesterday, I for one appreciate and will make good use of it. However, our frigid Canadian hearts go out to our US friends who, 9 months later, still haven’t heard word one from AT&T about official iPhone tethering…

[Rogers RedBoard via iLounge]

Rogers and Fido to Keep iPhone Tethering Free (with some Caveats) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Last night on Twitter noted Apple raconteur John Gruber of Daring Fireball posited that “iPad is going to be a bigger deal than iPhone.”

The iPhone has been a big deal because it successfully mainstreamed the existing smartphone category. The iPod touch accounts for roughly 30% of current iPhone OS devices and is the heir to the iPod which successfully mainstreamed the also already existing MP3 player category.

To be a bigger deal, the iPad will have to not only mainstream the computing appliance, but create the category.

Can Apple succeed at that?

Will iPad be a Bigger Deal than iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Developer Marco Arment has posted some preview pictures for the coming soon-as-possible iPad version of his terrific Instapaper Pro app, and provided some interesting commentary into the design and thinking behind the rapid release plan.

If you’re not familiar with Instapaper, it’s a software/services combo that lets you quickly mark interesting articles you come across to “read later” either via a bookmarklet in your browser or via embedded support in other apps like NetNewsWire or Tweetie. You can then go to the Instapaper website or open the Instapaper Free [Free - iTunes link] or Instapaper Pro [$4.99 - iTunes link] app on your iPhone or iPod touch (and soon iPad) and enjoy those articles in a highly read-optimized form. Geek candy, to be sure.

As to the iPad-specific version, Arment says the pixel-doubled iPhone version on the iPad was not acceptable (something we’ve heard before). From there:

Once I nailed down a few definite iPad-friendly features, I realized that I could port all of them to the iPhone version of Instapaper Pro. And if I did that, all of my customers (and I) could use these great new features now.

[...]I'll experiment with more radical interface changes in the future, once I've had time to actually use the iPad for a while and figure out what really works on it, what doesn't, and what the hardware can handle.

And on the time-frame:

I'm doing my best to make the day-one submission deadline. Even if the first version ships with a few edge-case bugs, I'd rather have that on my iPad for a couple of weeks than no Instapaper at all, and many customers have told me that they feel the same way.

If you’re already a user, the great news is that Arment is releasing a universal binary, meaning you won’t have to buy Instapaper Pro again just for the iPad — you get both in one.

Give the whole article a read, it’s a great behind-the-scenes peak at iPad development, and then let us know what you think.

Instapaper Pro for iPad Preview is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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While Apple will almost certainly release a 4th generation iPhone this June or July, it won’t be an iPhone 4G because 4G LTE networks in the US won’t be up and running in significant enough quantities until 2011 or 2012 but Sprint is slowly rolling out a competing 4G WiMax network and has just announced a competing uber-phone to go with it — the Android 2.1 powered, Sense UI shellacked HTC EVO 4G.

Our buddy Phil Nickinson from Android Central is on the ground at CTIA 2010 and bringing us back the full Sprint EVO 4G video and hands on, but suffice it to say, once again HTC is just showing off. The specs are obscene. Total. Gadget. Porn.

First and foremost, the thing is a beast. A 4.3-inch LED touchscreen — same as the HD2 — and the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor. A gigabyte of ROM and 512 of RAM round out what’s under the hood.

Like taking pictures? There’s an 8-megapixel camera and dual flashes — for sheer candle power — to take care of that. Wanna record moving pictures in 720p? No sweat. Plus, there’s a basic 1.3MP camera on the front of the phone — pretty much a first for a U.S. carrier-sanctioned device. Now you just have to have apps that support it.

Of course, if you record in HD, you might as well have HD playback, right? And for that, there’s a mini-HDMI port, so you can go straight from the Evo 4G to an HD television. There’s a cute little kickstand, too, which makes the Evo 4G great for watching movies.

Now Steve Jobs is rumored to have said the iPhone G4 (not iPhone 4G!) will be an A+ upgrade, but what does that mean? Will the lack of 4G networking hurt them? We doubt it. Will less-than-EVO specs?

Apple has repeatedly said they believe software — not hardware — is their key advantage, so will they even try to match specs with HTC or are they hoping iPhone 4.0 (with its rumored multitasking) will be enough to stay ahead of even beefier handsets?

We know Apple has to bring it in 2010, but the bar for that bring might just have been raised again. Take a gander at the new king of iPhone competition (for this month at least) and let us know what you think!

No iPhone 4G this Year, but Android 4G is Almost Here! — The Competition is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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It’s no secret many iPhone users switched over from PalmOS Treo devices (yours truly included!) and now StyleTap has brought a way for you to run all your old PalmOS apps on your Jailbroken iPhone. Says Engadget:

you’ll be able to run Palm OS applications (compatible up to version 5.2), with support for native ARM apps, Audio recording and playback, virtual memory cards, and TCP/IP connectivity, amongst other features.

It was announced back in June of 2008, but better late than never, right? The cost is a not-so-insignificant $49.99 and will only work for as long as you keep your iPhone jailbroken (which means no iPhone 4.0 for you for a while at least!) but if there’s just something you gotta blast from your PalmOS past, check it out.

StyleTap Brings PalmOS to iPhone Jailbreak is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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