The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in its infinite wisdom has granted Apple another sweeping set of smartphone patents, the likes of which probably haven't been seen since the great multitouch patent grant of ought 9. They relate the iPhone's interface and the way it displays lists and documents on a mobile device. According to Wired, covering a report by Patently Apple:

It may sound snoozy, but the patent — which covers graphical user interfaces ranging from email to Camera Roll to menu lists to the multi-touch interface in general — looks like a dangerous weapon for Apple as it battles Android handset makers.

Apple's battles with Samsung, Motorola, and HTC have had their ups and downs over the last few years, with wins, loses, injunctions, overturned injunctions, and a lot of general discontent on the part of consumers buying -- or trying to buy -- from all involved.

Apple's late co-founder, Steve Jobs, was on record as saying he considered Android stolen property, promiscuously disseminated, and that he was ready to spend Apple's last dollar going "thermonuclear" on the parties responsible. Tim Cook recently said Apple couldn't be the inventor for the world, and they wanted competitors to compete with their own ideas.

Some have accused Apple of fearing the growth of Android, and being unable to keep up with Google and ODM's pace of innovation. However, Apple maintains an incredible profit-share lead over Android manufacturers, the majority of whom barely break even, if that. Some have pointed to iOS 6 as a sign of Apple slowing down in the software space, though a comparison with Android 4.1 shows a decidedly different focus. In terms of hardware, the iPhone routinely pushes the limits of technology, and stays relevant on the market for years. iPhone 5 will likely prove no exception.

Apple continues to innovate as well as litigate, and for good or ill the USPTO has just granted them a powerful new weapon to wield in the latter.

Should they have been granted? Should Apple use them in patent suits? Is their use justified given Apple's history, and Google's? No doubt we'll argue all of that and more in the comments below, but for right now, they have been, they will be, and Apple almost feels they are.

Source: Patently Apple via Wired

AT&T is launching shared data plans in August and Verizon has had them for some time now. Both carriers follow a similar scheme: a base price plus an additional cost per iPhone and iPad added to the plan. Both Verizon and AT&T also include unlimited voice and text.

So what's the difference? Will any of them actually save you money? If so, which one will save you the most money?

Verizon shared data versus AT&T shared data

Here's a pricing comparison chart for Verizon and AT&T. Both carriers charge a base fee, labeled as the "monthly price", then charge an additional price for each smartphone included in the plan. For Verizon, the smartphone fee is a straightforward $40 per phone, but AT&T has a tiered pricing that decreases as the amount of data goes up. Both AT&T and Verizon charge $10 for each tablet added to the plan.

Comparison of total costs for plans

Now, although the above chart gives an accurate depiction of the prices on each carrier, the first thing you have to do is add up the appropriate numbers to figure out what your family's plan would cost. But let's just do that for you! Here's a chart that compares the prices on Verizon and AT&T for two, three, and four smartphones.

So, for two phones, AT&T and Verizon's prices are exactly the same. However, for three and four phones with 6 or 10 GB, AT&T is $5-$20 cheaper per month. That's a difference in $60-$240 per year!

This chart does not include tablets, so make sure you add an additional $10 for each tablet you anticipate adding to your plan.

LTE availability

In addition to price, you must also consider where each carrier offers coverage and if you're within that area. Here's a side by side comparison of Verizon's and AT&T's coverage maps (left is Verizon, right is AT&T). The iPhone 4S does not support LTE, but we're pretty certain that the iPhone 5 will support LTE, so LTE coverage is definitely something to consider.

Clearly, Verizon has much more LTE availability (green dots vs orange dots.)  If you live in an area where Verizon offers LTE and AT&T does not, your best bet is to probably go with Verizon, providing that their network is pretty solid in that area. If you're not sure, ask your family, friends, and coworkers who have LTE phones on Verizon's network.

If LTE is not available to you on either network, the next thing to look at is 3G (or "4G" -- ugh!) coverage. In general, AT&T HSPA data is much, much faster, but also less reliable than Verizon EVDO rev A data. Verizon voice is typically better than AT&T voice. If AT&T is solid in your area, that's the way to go. If not, or if you live somewhere that only gets EDGE 2G on AT&T (light blue on AT&T's map), Verizon is the way to go.

Most of you, however, will be in one of these last two categories: an LTE available area on both Verizon and AT&T, or, in a 3G, but not LTE available area on both Verizon and AT&T. For those of you in this category, I'm inclined to recommend AT&T, provided that the 3G network is stable in your area. Again, ask your friends, family, and coworkers for their experience.

You can get a closer look at AT&T's coverage map here and Verizon's map here.

Making the choice

So which one are you going to choose? Personally, since I'm already an AT&T subscriber whose grandfathered into an unlimited data plan, I probably will not be making the switch to Verizon. However, if I was a new subscriber, I would be tempted to go Verizon since they have much more LTE coverage. What about you? Which carrier and plan will you choose? And will your answer be different when the iPhone 5 is released?

• AT&T forum
• Verizon forum

For many, their iPhone is a tool frequently used for staying on task and remembering to do things when they need to be done. That's why there isn't any shortage of reminder apps for iPhone in the App Store. Checkmark, Due, and TellMeLater are three of our favorites, but are any of them worth ditching Apple's built-in iOS reminders app for?

And if so, which one?

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: User interface

Checkmark has a design and interface that make you fall in love. Instantly. Yes, it really is that gorgeous. Most importantly, it still manages to be functional at the same time.

From the main screen of Checkmark, you'll see a menu along the bottom that has only two tabs -- Where and When. The Where tab will show a menu of all the places you have set up and programmed into the app. You can tap into any of these places to see the location based reminders you've set up for them.

Tapping the green location icon in the top right will allow you to create another place. Just choose an address, contact, or your current location, pick an icon to represent it, give it a nickname, and you can start adding reminders for that location.

If you don't want to use location based reminders, you can set time based reminders by tapping the When tab. Just choose the plus sign in the upper right to add a new reminder. You can also toggle between current and completed reminders at the top.

From the main Where screen you can also tap at the top left to see a list view of all the location based reminders you have set up within the app. You can scroll through them and tick them off as you'd like. There isn't really much to configure but you do have a few settings within your iPhone settings app that includes location accuracy and reminder options.

Due has been around for quite some time now and has one of the best interfaces of all the reminders apps that we've looked at over the years. It's simple and makes setting a quick and easier. And that's the whole point.

With Due you can set reminders without dealing with a bunch of options first. You don't even have to choose a title for a reminder if you don't want to. That makes creating reminders lightning fast.

Due also adds a Timers feature that allows you to have an alarm mode. Just tap into the Timers menu and choose how far into the future you want the alarm. If you need to let the dog in 20 minutes from now, can do so by creating a timer that will set off an alarm in 20 minutes. The best part is that you can do this in less than 3 taps and a few swipes thanks to the simple layout of Due.

TellMeLater also has a nice interface that proves to be just as functional as it is appealing. Along the bottom you'll notice a few tabs that you can toggle between. These tabs show Pending, Recurring, Past, and all Reminders. To add a new reminder, just tap the green plus sign in the upper right hand corner and enter the details of the reminder. You can also configure e-mail and Twitter notifications, as well as turn on and off local notifications for specific reminders.

TellMeLater's settings panel is straight forward. You can change your default notification sound, turn on and off icon badge counts, and disable all local notifications. There isn't too much else to configure or learn. TellMeLater is useable and understandable from the minute you download it.

Checkmark, Due, and TellMeLater are all fantastic looking apps with excellent interfaces. Checkmark has the edge, however, thanks to the overall package that combines simplicity with functionality.

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Categories and organization

Checkmark is the only app that actually allows you to categorize reminders. Due and TellMeLater only allow you to add reminders to a single list.

All your categories in Checkmark will appear on the main page. It is worth nothing though that only location based reminders can have categories. If you set time based reminders they will all show up under the When tab ordered by date.

Since Checkmark is the only one that allows you to use categories, if that's a feature you want, Checkmark is your only option.

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Recurring reminders and customization

Checkmark only allows you to choose between two types of reminders -- location and time based. You can separate the location based reminders into categories, but beyond that there isn't too much else that you can customize.

The notifications will follow your default notification settings and there isn't too much you can do on a per-notification basis. It'd be nice to see an update that will allow you to turn on or off notifications on an individual basis.

Due has quite a few options when it comes to customizing your reminders. Due allows you to set recurring reminders or even duplicate existing ones. You can tap any reminder you have set up and tap the repeat icon. You can then choose what type of repeat you want. If it what you want isn't listed, you can set a custom repeat schedule. This is nice for items that run on odd schedules and aren't every week, day, or month.

Due also allows you to quickly move notifications to different times. There are default options for 10 minutes later, 1 hour later, and 1 day later. With a simple tap of a button you can update a reminder without having to edit the entire event.

TellMeLater also offers recurring reminders and gives the feature its own tab. This lets you view one time and repeating events separately. TellMeLater also has quick toggles for moving events to a later time and date just like Due. Beyond that, you can choose to add Twitter and e-mail notifications on a per-reminder basis. You can also turn on and off local notifications for individual items.

Checkmark is lacking in this area, but either Due and TellMeLater will give you the option to customize individual reminders quickly and easily. Tie.

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Alerts and notifications

When it comes to alerts and notifications, Checkmark, Due, and TellMeLater will all provide local push notifications for events. All three also allow you to turn them on and off and customize sound settings within their respective options panels.

Due and TellMeLater allow you to actually customize reminders on an individual basis. This way, if you want a reminder for one event but don't want one for another, you can choose to disable them. This functionality is something that Checkmark does not yet offer.

TellMeLater actually takes it one step further and allows you to edit email and Twitter notification settings on an individual basic.

Once again, Checkmark is lacking in this area. Tie between Due and TellMeLater.

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Cross-platform syncing

Checkmark and TellMeLater are both available on iPhone and iPod touch, and iPad. Due, however, is available on iPhone and iPod touch, iPad, and the Mac.

Checkmark has a Mac version of their app in development but it's not available just yet. So if cross-platform syncing is what you want, Due is what you'll want to get.

Due for Mac - $9.99 - Download Now

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Cost

While a great reminders app may be worth its weight in gold to some users, cost is still something to consider. While none of these apps will break the bank, here's a breakdown of what it'll run you:

Due is currently priced at $4.99 and is a universal download for iPhone and iPad. If you're interested in Due because of the cross-platform syncing, be prepared to put out another $9.99 for the Mac counterpart as well.

TellMeLater and Checkmark are both currently available for $0.99 and are both universal downloads for iPhone and iPad as well. Checkmark's $0.99 price tag is an introductory price and we aren't sure what the official price will be just yet, so if you're leaning towards Checkmark, make sure you snag it before the price goes up.

Checkmark vs. Due vs. TellMeLater: Conclusion

Checkmark, Due, and TellMeLater are all great reminder apps and any of the three will help you get things done. This is one of those cases where the iPhone just has so many great apps in the category, the ultimate decision comes down to individual use case and personal taste.

If you want more features than Checkmark at a lower price than Due, and neither location based reminders nor Mac app sync are deal-breakers for you, TellMeLater will get the job done.

If you want a reminders app with a gorgeous interface and easy to use features all wrapped into one, Checkmark is hands down the best option and the only one that offers location based reminders.

If you're looking for the absolute fastest reminders app, and one that'll keep you up to date on both iOS and OS X, and you don't need location based reminders, get Due.

Our favorite reminders app for iPhone... is a tie! Both Checkmark and Due are amazing. Use the one that best fits your needs.

Checkmark - $0.99 - Download Now

Due - $4.99 - Download Now

TellMeLater - $0.99 - Download Now

4 days down and 2 to go for incredible accessory prizes, and a bonus chance to win it all! Can you find, follow, and retweet all the Twitter Treasures?

The OtterBox Defender Series Case for iPad is the full plate armor of iPad protection. It's built with a high-impact inner polycarbonate shell that includes a built-in foam interior that provides additional shock absorption and scratch protection. The rugged silicone skin absorbs the impact from bumps and shocks while the textured exterior provides for added grip. The built-in screen protector prevents scratches, smudges and fingerprints from getting on your high-resolution screen. In other words -- it's badass. And the iMore Accessory Store has one ready and waiting to give to you for FREE -- if you can win our Twitter Treasure Hunt!

We've already revealed the first 4 treasures... have you found them? Here's how to enter:

1. Follow @imore, @reneritchie, @GeorgiaTiPb, @llofte, @iMuggle, @chrisoldroyd, @bla1ze, @simonsage on Twitter.
2. Watch our Twitter feeds.
3. At some point today, 1 (one) of us will tweet the Treasure Hunt accessory of the day (that's the Otterbox Defender for iPad today). When that happens, retweet it!
4. Successfully retweet each and every treasure hunt accessory, and you're entered to win.

And if you want to enter our grand-prize and win all 7 (seven) Treasure Hunt accessories, simply retweet this and you're entered:

• $500+ in prizes! RT+follow to enter! @imore @reneritchie @GeorgiaTiPb @llofte @imuggle @chrisoldroyd @bla1ze @simonsage http://t.co/HIPuGEOT

Are you ready? Are you set? The iMore twitter treasure hunt is ON!

Plume for iPhone scours your Twitter timeline for all the links shared by all the people you follow, and then builds a list of just those links so you can quickly, easily enjoy them. We tend to follow the people that interest us, who tend to share the type of links that interest us, but finding those links amid a stream of food porn, tech talk, political discourse, and assorted randomness isn't always easy, and it's never efficient.

Plume strips all that out and builds a list that's links and nothing but the links, allowing you to get the best of both worlds -- a socially curated selection of content without the social noise that typically comes with it.

Since a Twitter timeline isn't organized, you can also create Feathers, which lets you select one or more individual Twitter accounts and extract only their links -- just @iMore's for example, or just a small collection of breaking news sites. You can even create Feathers for accounts you aren't following.

If you find a link you particularly enjoy, you view it in Mobilizer, send it to Safari, copy it, share it via email, send it to Instapaper, or tweet it right back to Twitter. You can even reply, retweet, and favorite right from within Plume.

Twitter links are displayed in a simple yet elegant list that looks like a regular Twitter timeline, including the avatar of the tweeter (though they don't look to be in Retina). However, they contain only the title of the linked-to page. No muss, no fuss, no cruft.

Setup is quick an easy, pulling the Twitter accounts you've already set up on your iPhone in Settings. If you haven't set something up yet, like Features, Plume will suggest you do (though in tiny, hyperlink style format that's begging for better treatment.)

The buttons are overly large at times, or have an embossed style that looks out of place on iOS. Performance, however, is near-instantaneous, and scrolling is silky smooth, even in really long lists. You can flick away with nary a hint of stutter.

Pros

• Turns Twitter into a social link recommendation powerhouse
• Includes basic Twitter functionality to act on the links you like
• Lightning fast

Cons

• Button design makes them stick out

Conclusion

I'm a huge fan of purpose-built Twitter apps, from the old school Bird House and Reportage, to the new school Quip. Plume is right up there with them -- almost certainly designed to scratch the itch of a developer, and released as an app to benefit all of us with the exact same itch.

That's what Plume does for those of us for whom Twitter has supplanted RSS as the principle way we get our online news, and that makes it invaluable.

$2.99 - Download now

Today only: Save $17 on the Seidio SURFACE Reveal Case w/ kickstand for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4

The Seidio SURFACE Reveal Case is designed to offer an extremely thin, yet protective solution for keeping your iPhone safe from drops. At only 0.12cm, this case is perfect for keeping in your pocket and doesn't attract lint like many other cases.  There's also a built-in magnetic kickstand on the back which allows for convenient viewing of media.

Comes in black, blue, red, amethyst and white. Grab yours while supplies last!

LIST PRICE: $34.95          TODAY'S PRICE: $17.95

Following the recent App Store in-app purchase hack that worked as a man-in-the-middle attack to spoof iTunes, rip off vendors, and potentially harvest user data, developer Marco Tabini has launched a new, free Beeblex service to better the secure the process for everyone. Except for the hackers, of course. And that's the point.

Beeblex works by providing developers with a small library that can be easily integrated within their apps and, in a matter of minutes, be used to validate IAP receipts to determine their validity. The algorithm used to perform the validation uses asymmetric encryption to protect all data, and is designed to deter man-in-the-middle attacks and certificate spoofing. In addition, Beeblex keeps track of receipt identification tokens and reports duplicates to the app, helping reduce the incidence of unauthorized receipt reuse.

The upside is more secure transactions, and -- free. The only potential downside is downtime on Beeblex's end, though they've built mechanisms into their SDK to defer transactions in case of any loss of service, be it on their end or simply because a user loses data connection.

It's not, and is not being advertised as, a bulletproof solution, but it can and will make the apps using it a harder and perhaps less attractive target for hackers.

More information: Beeblex

The iPhone began with the early 2000-era Safari Pad project at Apple, which explored full screen, multitouch devices, and eventually ended up being packaged into a phone in 2007, and a tablet in 2010. Now, "thanks" to Samsung's court depositions of Apple Senior Vice President of Design, Jonathan Ive, we can have an actual look at what one of those early tablet prototypes looked like. NetworkWorld did the digging, and quotes Ive talking about what's referred to as the 035 mockup.

My recollection of first seeing it is very hazy, but it was, I'm guessing, sometime between 2002 and 2004, some but it was I remember seeing this and perhaps models similar to this when we were first exploring tablet designs that ultimately became the iPad.

The deposition is under seal, but part of it was recently made public. The photos seem to have been discovered separately but published at the same time. They show pretty much what you'd expect to see -- a rounded rectangle, though apparently made of plastic and not the glass and aluminum the iPhone and iPad were ultimately, originally released with. (And the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS returned to later.)

Thicker, cruder, but still Apple logo adorned and unmistakably the early design ancestor of the thinner, lighter, faster, Retina packed iPad we know and use today.

Patent and trade dress lawsuits are often silly, wasteful, and consumer-hostile, but if there's on thin edge of a silver lining, it's that otherwise hidden away historical material gets put into the public record when it otherwise might not.

That this is part of the ongoing Apple vs. Samsung is sad, but that we get to read and see some of the earliest iPad information and prototypes is pretty damn cool.

Check out more excerpts from the deposition, and more photos of the prototype via the link below.

Source: NetworkWorld

The Elevation Dock is the dock that Apple should have made in the first place, and it's amazing they still haven't made it.

After freeing my iPhone from its little cardboard prison, I set out in search of a dock. It was a frustrating and futile quest, with numerous contenders falling far short of my apparently unattainable goals. What does a dock need to do? At a bare minimum, it needs to charge the device, be unobtrusive on my desk, and stay put when I pick up the phone. I know, I was really aiming high with that last one. The problem with practically every iPhone dock out there has to do with the Apple Dock Connector: it's simply a tight connection when built to Apple's standards, and that means most docks, even the heavier ones, don't have enough heft to stay down when you pick up your phone.

Consigned to having to charge by cable rather than waste money on a dock that'd give me fits, I fell into a deep depression, haunted by the white iPhone dock cables I had strewn about the house. Then, one day in mid-December my dreams were answered. An upstart Oregon company by the name of Elevation Lab was kicking ass on Kickstarter with their proposal for the iPhone dock to beat all other iPhone docks: the Elevation Dock.

We're not kidding when we say that the Elevation Dock is the dock Apple should have made the first time around. And the second and third and fourth times. Elevation Lab offered two models of the Elevation Dock, one for just power, the other adding a shielded audio line-out and a USB power adapter to the mix. Considering that we're fans of wireless audio like Bluetooth and AirPlay and have somewhere between four and five dozen USB power adapters scattered around the house, we didn't feel the need to spring for fancier model.

The Elevation Dock comes in a simple box obviously inspired by Apple. While the folks at Elevation Labs might be good with the CNC machine, they're not so great with the packaging design - our boxes were pretty beaten up by the hefty product they were supposed to carry securely by the time they got to our door after a cross-continent trip. Regardless, we didn't jump on the Kickstarter train because of the packaging.
Inside that packaging was the machined aluminum Elevation Dock itself with a little foot-long USB cable sticking out the back, a Micro-USB-to-USB six-foot cable, and a small hex key.

The dock stands out among the other entrants in the iPhone dock arena. It's a solid chunk of machined,  glass bead-blasted, and anodized aluminum - the same process employed by Apple in the construction of everything from the MacBook Pro to the iPad to the Mac Mini. In the Elevation Dock's case the edges are just as precisely milled (the outsides are sharp and the edges around the phone itself slightly cambered), though the bead blasting resulted in a finish that's slightly more textured than what Apple pumps out. Then again, this is a small start-up operation in Oregon and not Foxconn's massive factories over in China.

Machined beautifully it is, but there are two things that make the Elevation Dock stand out usability-wise against the competition. The first is a proprietary 'low friction' version of the Apple Dock Connector that allows your iPhone to easily slip on and off, versus the tighter fit offered by practically every other dock. The second comes by virtue of the machined aluminum construction - where Apple uses it to provide a sturdy shell and machines out as much unneeded aluminum as possible, Elevation Lab only machined out as much aluminum as was needed to fit the components, leaving the rest as a big chunk of metal that easily outweighs other popular contenders. Those two combined make for a dock that stays right on the desk when you pull your iPhone out.

The phone cavity of the Elevation Dock was designed to be extra accommodating for the iPhone, giving about a quarter of an inch clearance on the sides and back, and about half that up front. The idea was not just to create an iPhone dock that works well as a dock, Elevation Lab also created an iPhone dock that works well with cased iPhones. The dock connector is elevated about a quarter of an inch over the base, providing room for even chunky cases like the Otterboxes of the world.

At the back of the phone cavity is a rubber pad that can be pulled out and flipped around to fit various depths of cases. The thicker side is good for an uncased iPhone, the thinner for skin-style cases, and if you've got a big protective case you can just leave it out for maximum depth. The bottom of the phone cavity has two holes machined through the bottom of the dock to project sound out from the iPhone's speaker, though to be honest we suspect more sound is just reflected up out of the cavity than is blasted out through the narrow space provided by the rubber pad's on the dock's bottom.

One of the hallmarks of the Elevation Dock's Kickstarter campaign was their communication with their 12,521 backers (who pledged a record-breaking $1,464,706 to the project). In response to backer requests, the Elevation Lab team redesigned the dock to accommodate a removable Micro-USB connection instead of an integrated fixed-length cable. To avoid the unsightly appearance of a cable plugged into the back of the dock, they put in a removable panel held on by two screws (this is where that hex key comes in).

Once removed you're presented with a small red circuit board with a Micro-USB port. The port is a tight fit, but it's not something we'd expect you to be changing on a regular basis. Responding to customer concerns, Elevation Lab started including a little slip of paper to remind you to be gentle when removing the cable - pull straight out, not up and out, to avoid damaging the port. Once you've swapped the cable, just slap the bottom panel back on, screw it down, and you're back to a clean design with just the cable sticking out the back and a narrow precision seam denoting the break between the two pieces.

Now, all of this has been about the Elevation Dock with the tried-and-true Apple Dock Connector that's been in action since 2001. The iPhone 5 is expected come with a smaller dock connector (published first here on iMore) that would obviously not be compatible with the current 30-pin connector. So what's an Elevation Dock owner to do? Wait, for Elevation Lab has your back. Once we know what the new dock connector is going to look like, Elevation Lab's planning to make a low friction version that can be swapped out with the one currently in the dock (or an adapter, though for obvious reasons we'd prefer the former). They smartly designed the current dock connector and circuit board to just be held in by a set of small hex screws, so replacement shouldn't be an issue even for tech novices.

The Elevation Dock is the dock that Apple should have been making all along. It's attractive, heavy, a breeze to use, and expertly designed. The folks at Elevation Lab clearly care about what their customers think, given the changes made in response to their feedback. In the end the Elevation Dock is what we've wanted in an iPhone dock for some time: it's simple, yet versatile. It's not designed to be showy or minimalist or anything other than work. It does the job with Apple-level simplicity. And to think we thought we'd never fall in love with a dock like this.

The good

• Low-friction dock connector for easy docking
• Solid metal heft
• Beautiful understated design
• Fits bulky cases

The bad

• USB power adapter not included with base model
• Not yet available at retail

The conclusion

The Elevation Dock is the dock that Apple should have made in the first place, and it's amazing they still haven't made it. The solid machined aluminum base and low-friction connector make for a dock that stays down when you pick up, unlike many other entrants in the dock category. The only problem right now is availability; unless you were one of the 12,000 who backed the project on Kickstarter, you're going to be waiting for the Elevation Dock to hit retail - something we hope happens quickly.

Now that multiple devices, and multiple device households, have become more common, several carriers around the world have announced various types of shared plans in order to help customers simplify their billing and save some money. Although not too much money. And nowhere near as simply as their marketing typically suggests.

The problem is, instead of flat data chargers, carriers are adding per-device charges. Those charges can add significantly to the ostensibly reasonable data buckets, so even if families still end up saving money, it's not as much money as it appears up front.

Of course, carriers run on ARPU (average revenue per user) and while the humans behind them probably do want to cut families a break on cellular bills, the suits they're wearing compel them not to do it in a way that damages that revenue. But it shoudn't compel them to do it in a complex, ultimately customer-hostile way.

Carriers enjoy a legal (and poorly regulated) oligopoly that allows and even encourages them to abuse the customer relationship over the short term, in an effort to get the most money possible before times change and they inevitably become what they should be, what they fear most -- dumb pipes.

Hence, shared plans which are no different than your DSL or cable internet provider charging you for every iPhone, iPod, iPad, laptop, desktop and game system on your Wi-Fi network. It's no different than your local power company charging you for every fridge, dishwasher, microwave, TV, and gadget stuck into a plug.

And it's no different than ordering an extra large pizza, paying $20 for the pie, and then having to pay $10 extra for every person eating it.

People like to talk about Apple's reality distortion field, but really, they have nothing on carriers. There's an expectation of fairness in any consumer relationship. No one enjoys feeling like they're being bamboozled, hoodwinked, or otherwise taken advantage of. At the heart of any good financial dealing, customers like to feel they paid a fair price for a fair service. The simpler and more straightforward the dealing is structured, the better the chance the customer will come away happy. Carriers have traditionally been on the wrong side of consumer-friendly placing, but that can and should change.

Shared data plans should have one cost associated with them and one cost alone -- data.

Charge for the data, a small one-time activation or administration fee per device to cover any overhead, and that's it. That's all. Tell me a price for 100GB and let me pay it, and then leave me and my family to share it between ourselves, and our devices, as we see fit.

Anything else is bullshit.

AT&T this morning announced new shared data plans for iPhone, iPad, and other devices. The new plans launch in August, and will be available in addition to existing, individual plans. David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility said in a statement included in the announcement:

Today we think of people's smartphones and tablets sharing a bucket of data. But in the future we'll see health care monitors, connected cars, security systems and other devices in the home all connected to the mobile Internet. Our Mobile Share plans are simple, easy and a great value for individuals or families with multiple mobile Internet devices."

Depending on what you currently pay for data, and how many devices you have in your household, it could indeed be a better value than traditional per-device plans. However, the new plans are still far from really simple -- rather than a flat rate for a bucket of data, once you've picked the size of your data bucket, you then have to pay an additional fee per device. The bigger your data bucket, the lower your per smartphone fee, but dumbphones, computers, and tablets each have a static per-device fee. Phew.

Here's how AT&T breaks them down:

So let's say you have a family of 4 with 2 iPhone, 2 iPads, 2 messenger phones for the kids, and a data stick for a MacBook, and you're light data users, here's your math (turns Calculator.app sideways...):

• $120 for 10GB + ($30 x 2 smartphones) + ($30 x 2 dumbphones) + ($20 x 1 laptop) + ($10 x 2 tablets) = $320 a month

If you're a single geek with an iPhone, Android phone, iPad, you'll tether off your other devices, and you're a heavy data user, here's your math:

• $200 for 20GB + ($30 x 2 smartphones) + ($10 x 1 tablets) = $270 a month.

Again, not simple, but also again, it could add up to considerable savings over current, separate plans.

Here's another key bit:

Current customers are not required to switch to the new plans, but can choose to do so without a contract extension. There are no changes to AT&T's device upgrade policy, which means customers eligible to upgrade to AT&T's best device price are not required to switch plans. The new plans will also be available for business customers.

So AT&T won't force anyone off their existing plan and onto a shared plan, nor will they strip anyone's legacy "unlimited" plan.

Full press release below available via AT&T, below. Anyone planning on making the switch to a shared plan? If so, how much do you figure it will save you?

Source: AT&T

Thousands of Chinese job seekers lined up outside Foxconn's Chengdu plant where a huge summer recruitment drive is taking place. Foxconn is apparently looking to take on a large number of new employee's for the summer months not only at its Chengdu plant but also at the Zhengzhou plant too. The information comes from a report by MIC Gadget.

Heavy rains have battered Chengdu over the past few days, but this won't stop young jobseekers lining up for Foxconn summer jobs at the Foxconn plant in Chengdu. Thousands of people were lining up, and they were armed with rain gear and umbrellas, standing out in the rain just for a chance to audition.

Many Chinese jobseekers want those jobs at Foxconn. Apparently, the Foxconn plant in Chengdu is hiring now for summer jobs – and according to our sources, the plant is hiring a large number of summer workers, which may still have openings. What's more, the young jobseekers are required to submit a registration fee of 150 Chinese yuan (about $24) before he/she could apply for the summer job. And there's a requirement for applying the job, you need to have good eyesight.

It is thought that the recruitment in Chengdu is for the production of the rumored iPad mini while the extra employees in Zhengzhou will be for the next generation iPhone 5. If both of these product are due to be launched in October, it would make sense that they were being produced very soon, if not already. When Apple launches a new device, it always hits store shelves within a few weeks; to meet the huge demand, Apple needs a huge stockpile of devices prior to that date.

One thing is for sure, it is going to be a very exciting last quarter of the year; especially if we do get to see an iPad mini as well as the iPhone 5. If you only have the budget for one device, which one would you get?

Source: MIC gadget

Rumor has it, come this fall AT&T just might charge extra for FaceTime over cellular when the feature launches with iOS 6. Is that fair?

AT&T has a business to run and if they can get a few more dollars per user, or keep a little extra traffic off their much-maligned network, could that be win/win for them? Do you believe in paying per service so you get the best service?

How about if AT&T makes FaceTime 'Net-non-neutral and, if you pay, guarantees your packets get served first and you get the best, most crystal clear video possible?Or if paying more meant an extra 1GB or so of FaceTime data? Would that make a difference to your decision?

Or do you firmly believe that you already pay AT&T, and pay them well, for your data and you should darn well be able to do what you please with it? Especially if your capped already, and paying extra already for tethering, should AT&T be allowed to triple dip in your data pool?

As always, vote in our poll up top and then give me the details in the comments below. iMore nation, how do you feel about the idea of paying extra for your cellular FaceTime?

Today on iMore we're talking about AT&T potentially charging extra for FaceTime over "4G", iPhone 3GS getting thrown a VIP Inbox bone, and the iPhone 5 losing a display layer. This is iMore Today!

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Behind the scenes

So we've pretty much decided on the schedule for iMore Today going forward. Monday already has the excellent Monday Brief with Ashley Esqueda, which brings you all the week's news from all of Mobile Nations, and Wednesday has the full 60min. iMore Show podcast, with yours truly, Georgia, and Seth Clifford, so that leaves Tuesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday clear for iMore Today (depends if I want to go little Leno or all out Carson with the schedule.)

Confession: Yesterday's pilot took me 4 hours to script, shoot, edit, and post, which is untenable going forward (I have too much else to do, and get too little sleep as it is.) Today's second chance took me 2 hours, which is a big improvement but not big enough. I really want to get it down to 1 hour start to finish. I think that makes it worthwhile, time wise. Unless and until we get our fancy studio and editing droids, I'm going to return to the KISS school of internet video. Thursday's will be even simpler.

As always, everything we do, we do for you, our amazing iMore community, so speak up and let me know your thoughts. What do you want from iMore Today?