Join us LIVE tonight at 8pm ET, 5pm PT (1am BST) for all the week’s iPhone news, how-tos, and app and accessory reviews!

http://www.tipb.com/live/

And yes, we’ll be talking AT&T’s new data rates, what that means for iPhone (and for BlackBerry, are they back in the game?), Steve Jobs at D8, and more!

Chat with you soon!

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

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

Yes we have more white next-generation iPhone casing images that have leaked out and this time they come to us from Powerbook Medic. The site claims they received the casing from one of their parts suppliers.

We first saw evidence of a all white iPhone when images of the faceplate surfaced and then shortly there after the those were followed up by images of what appeared to be a fully assembled all-white iPhone. While a video of a all white iPhone in action would be nice, we suppose we can exercise some patience and wait until June 7th when Steve shows us both – black and white devices…

The source link below seems to be down as of this writing but we have one more image after the break!

[Powerbook Medic]

More white iPhone HD/iPhone 4G casing images leak out is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

According to one of BRG’s “highly placed” sources, Verizon Wireless is currently testing CDMA-compatible iPads. Their source even went one step further and mentioned LTE with another possible iPad model though that could not be confirmed.

So with all of the Verizon rumors flying around as of late it looks as if we will see both the iPad and iPhone in the hands of Big Red faithful sooner or later.

Is anyone out there regretting picking up a AT&T compatible iPad right about now?

[BGR]

Verizon rumored to be testing CDMA iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

The good news is, existing iPhone users with the $30 unlimited data plan can keep that plan even if upgrading to the next generation iPhone HD/iPhone 4G this summer — unless you want to tether, at which point you’ll need to switch to one of the new AT&T tiered pricing data plans for smartphones.

If you’re trying to decide whether or not you should make the switch, the first question that comes to mind is “how much data am I using now?” You can find out very easily from AT&T’s website and TiPb is here to show you how.

1. Login to to www.wireless.att.com
2. Select “Bill & Payments” from the “My Account” tab
3. Click “Billing Reports” from the column on the left
4. Choose “Data Usage Trend” as the report type and the bill periods of interest.
5. Click “Submit”

You will then be shown a nice bar graph of your data usage by the MB. Unfortunately, data isn’t available before November 2009, but this is still very helpful information when deciding on a data plan.

You can also check your usage with AT&T’s myWireless iPhone application [free - iTunes link], but it will only show data usage in your current cycle. This will be especially helpful after you’ve chosen a plan and you want to keep track of how much of your data you’ve used.

It looks like I’m generally under 200 MB and I’m highly considering the $15 plan. How much data do you use? Do you want to tether? Will you switch?

AT&T users can keep unlimited data plans even when upgrading to iPhone HD/iPhone 4G… unless they want tethering. And how to check your data usage. is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

iPhone continues to have huge customer satisfaction and low return numbers, poses threat to competitors if it moves beyond AT&T’s network to Verizon and others

ChangeWave has released their latest survey results, this time asking 1,009 new smartphone buyers (including iPhone buyers) why they chose the phone they did, how satisfied they were with their new phone, and some general opinions positive and negative about their new phone.

The results in a sentence:

The results show the continuing threat the iPhone poses to the rest of the industry.

The results in a lot of stats:

iPhone had the highest satisfaction of any smartphone at 77%, with Motorola second at 64% and HTC 3rd at 51%. Samsung was last at 35%.

iPhone also had the lowest likelihood of return, with only 7%. Motorola was next with 12%, then HTC with 15%, and Palm was last with 36%.

When asked if non-AT&T users would still have bought their current (Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile) smartphone if the iPhone were on their carrier, 39% said they would, 32% said they would have gone with an iPhone instead, and 29% weren’t sure.

More graphs after the break!

[ChangeWave]

iPhone keeps new users happy, a continued threat to rest of smartphone industry – ChangeWave is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Sam Fisher is back in Splinter Cell Conviction for iPhone and iPod Touch. Having played the original way back when on the Xbox, it was interesting see how the game has matured years later on the iPhone. The game has morphed into more of a run n’ gun type of game. Yes, you still have to try to be stealthy, but not like the games of old. If you feel like it, just walk right in and start shooting. I actually like this as it gives you a choice in play style; covert or action.

Sam is out for revenge to find out who has killed his daughter; basically, he doesn’t care who or what gets in his way to uncover the truth. The game spans 13 levels in 8 different locations and with this mobile iteration of the franchise you get some new gameplay mechanics. First, you are given icons next to cover you can run to. Simply tap the in screen action icon and Sam will run and cover to that location. You can do this successively assuming there is an “icon” to run to.

Next, you get a nifty after shadow that appears on screen to indicate where the enemy thinks you are, or your last known location to them. This adds a fantastic play mechanic that is horribly underutilized. It would have been great to throw small objects or something and cause the enemy to head towards that location. Instead it is used only when you are detected and enemies will head to that area.

You are also given the ability, albeit only in certain situations, to target multiple enemies to take them out with a single button press. Regretfully, you can’t use this any time you want, only in certain situations. This is the biggest downside to Splinter Cell Conviction, its restrictiveness. The game plays well, look gorgeous and is fun, but is hampered by the inability to use some of these cool play mechanics on the users terms. It is this flaw that prevents this title from being the near perfect game it so wants to be.

Should you get Splinter Cell Conviction? Good question. If you are a casual gamer looking for a little stealth action, then yes, you can’t go wrong. If you are a hardcore gamer, the limitations might prove a little frustrating. For me, I like it and will continue to play it, but I will always be wishing I has complete control over Sam. Check the video and screens after the break!

[$9.99- iTunes Link]

Pros

• Fantastic graphics
• Smooth frame rate
• Excellent control
• Innovative gameplay (i.e. Sam’s last location shadows
• Auto-sneak by enemy
• Select multiple targets
• Level replay
• Unique on-rails level for iPhone

Cons

• Extremely linear
• Close quarters combat can be challenging to accurately target enemies
• Game is not difficult, even on highest setting
• Aiming can sometimes be “sloppy”

Splinter Cell Conviction for iPhone- app review 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’s new $15/200MB, $25/2GB tiered, data-capped pricing plans are a huge change for the US mobile industry, and something BlackBerry maker RIM thinks will drive consumers away from high-bandwidth, open internet devices like iPhone and Android and towards low-bandwidth, proxied devices like BlackBerry. Our good buddy CrackBerry Kevin sums it up this “happy day for RIM” as follows:

Effectively, BlackBerry users have been subsidizing iPhone users bandwidth demands over the past few years. Now finally, with a dataplan like this, RIM can start to really boast and market the benefits of BlackBerry efficiency. Previously, the “looming data crunch” argument seemed a bit like an excuse for RIM to cover up some of the areas where it was lagging behind the competition. But with RIM fixing up it’s gaps, for example with the new WebKit browser which will be fast AND use 3x less data than the competition for rendering the same page as we were told by AT&T Mobility’s President and CEO back at CTIA 2010, RIM will be able to deliver customers with a great all around smartphone user experience that costs less to use on a monthly basis as compared to some of the more data heavy devices. The “average” BlackBerry user (which may not be you if you’re reading CrackBerry on a daily basis!) should be able to get away with AT&T’s $15/mo. plan.

Personally, as much as I think the BlackBerry Bold 9700 is the ultimate messaging device, my carrier (Rogers) has always had tiered pricing and I choose to pay $30/m for 6GB on an iPhone instead of saving some cash by getting less data and a BlackBerry. For me it’s not about cost but about value. I personally find more value in what I can do with more data on an iPhone.

But what do you think? Is price — or total cost of ownership (TCO) — enough to make BlackBerrys a more compelling deal for consumers than iPhones under this new data reality? (Assuming all US carriers switch to this model, sooner, later, or when 4G is universal).

How about new users and first time smartphone users? Are they more likely to go BlackBerry now than iPhone?

Are AT&T’s new data rates going to drive users away from iPhone, towards BlackBerry? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Since introducing iPhone OS 4 beta, Apple has kept a rigorous every-second-Tuesday update schedule through beta 4… until yesterday. Yesterday, the next Tuesday in line for a release, came and went with nary a beta 5 in sight.

Could be late, or it could be with WWDC 2010 less than a week away Apple is holding off to release the iPhone OS 4 GM (gold master) seed at the show? (Like they did last year for iPhone 3.0).

If you’re stuck waiting, we’ve updated our iPhone OS 4 preview and feature walkthrough, so check that out and let us know what we’re missing, and what you’re still expecting!

iPhone OS 4 beta 5 doesn’t show, does that mean GM seed might soon be a go? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

What do you think of AT&T’s new iPhone data rates? Let us know in the pole above, and let us know how much data you’re currently using in the comments, and whether you think you’d save or lose out under the new plan.

Also, let us know if this is enough to make you consider leaving AT&T, and/or if you’re worried Verizon and the other carriers will follow suit with data caps and tiers.

What do you think of AT&T’s new iPhone data rates? – poll is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

As part of their attempt to reboot the matrix of US data rates today, AT&T also altered those “groundbreaking” iPad data plan rates Steve Jobs announced back in February. Existing customers can keep their existing plans, but new customers will get less for less:

For new iPad customers, the $25 per month 2 GB plan will replace the existing $29.99 unlimited plan. iPad customers will continue to pre-pay for their wireless data plan and no contract is required. Existing iPad customers who have the $29.99 per month unlimited plan can keep that plan or switch to the new $25 per month plan with 2 GB of data.

Anyone going to save the $5 and make the switch?

[AT&T]

AT&T changes iPad data plans, now less for less is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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