We’re getting emails and a bunch of members of our Verizon iPhone Forum are posting that their Verizon iPhone order status has recently been updated to “your order has been shipped.”

Now Apple has been known to ship early in the past only for holds to be placed on the orders at the last minute. Then again some AT&T iPhone orders did arrive a day early last summer, so who knows?

Did your Verizon iPhone order already ship? Let us know in the comments and help us keep track in the Verizon iPhone Forum!

Verizon iPhone orders already being shipped? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

If you purchase your iPhones or iPads from Best Buy, you may be interested in checking out their new Buy Back program. In a letter sent out to current Best Buy Reward Zone customers, they’ll be announcing the new program during the Super Bowl this coming Sunday (third quarter to be exact).

It appears Best Buy will tell you exactly how much they’ll give you for your gadget when you purchase it. When you are ready to trade in your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (or any other gadget for that matter), you’ll get a Best Buy gift card instantly for the fixed buy back amount. It’s a nice little gesture to loyal customers. Here is part of the e-mail sent to customers:

Buy Back is essentially “future-proofing” your technology. You purchase the technology you want today, and we’ll buy it back at a set price when you’re ready to upgrade to something new. You’ll know upfront what your gear will be worth, and you can conveniently redeem your Buy Back at our stores and immediately receive a Best Buy Gift Card.

It remains to be seen how much they’ll offer you for certain gadgets. My guess is whatever it is, you’ll still make out better selling your previous generation gadgets on eBay or Craigslist. It’s still a nice option for customers who don’t want to deal with the hassle of selling off old gadgets themselves.

Is this something you guys would utilize or do you think they’ll offer amounts that won’t really be worth it?

Best Buy offering to “future proof” your tech gadgets is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Verizon Wireless is to start throttling data speeds and optimizing content for smartphones like the Verizon iPhone from today according to a PDF memo on its website. The throttling will only come into affect for new customers who subscribe to a data plan or feature from February 3, 2011, however the optimization will affect all data users new and old.

Verizon Wireless strives to provide customers the best experience when using our network, a shared resource among tens of millions of customers. To help achieve this, if you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5% of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand.

Verizon claims to be taking these steps to ensure that the remaining 95% of its data customers are not affected by the 5% that use a large amount of data each month. The optimization part of the process, will include caching less data by compressing images and video which reduces the overall quality of the experience.

We are implementing optimization and transcoding technologies in our network to transmit data files in a more efficient manner to allow available network capacity to benefit the greatest number of users. These techniques include caching less data, using less capacity, and sizing the video more appropriately for the device. The optimization process is agnostic to the content itself and to the website that provides it. While we invest much effort to avoid changing text, image, and video files in the compression process and while any change to the file is likely to be indiscernible, the optimization process may minimally impact the appearance of the file as displayed on your device.

It has not taken Verizon very long to start worrying about the impact the iPhone may have on its network. What do you think about Verizon’s throttling and optimization methods? Let us know in the comments!

[Verizon PDF via BGR]

Verizon to start throttling data speeds for new subscribers and optimizing content for all is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Worried that Apple’s iAd’s is getting too nosy about your personal information and wondering how to opt-out of sharing it with the advertising network? On the plus side personalized ads usually better reflect your interest and can be less annoying but if you’re hyper-concerned about your privacy you may just want to cut it off. We’ll show you how after the break.

[Apple knowledge base, thanks Dev!)

iAds uses aggregated, anonymized personal data to help serve ads it thinks will be more relevant to your personal interests. Google’s AdMob and, frankly, every other online advertising system does the same. If that gives you the heebie-jeebies, however, Apple at least gives you a way to opt-out (advertising isn’t their main business, go figure?). They’ll also let you opt back in.

How to opt-out of iAds

1. On your iPhone, iPad, and/or iPod touch (yes, you have to do this individually for each and every device), go to http://oo.apple.com.
2. If/when you see the message “You have successfully opted out”, you’re done.
3. Repeat with any and all of your other devices.

How to opt-in to iAds

1. Once again on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (and yes, once again you have to do this individually for each device), go to http://oo.apple.com
2. You’ll see a message saying you’ve already opted out but you’ll also be given a link to opt back in. Tap on the link (it’s a tiny text link, not iOS optimized at all — sigh!)
3. You should be opted back in at this point (we keep getting an error but it seems like we’re opted back in.)

The fine print

It’s important to remember you’ll still see ads they just won’t be personalized based on your device’s information and your usage patterns any more. Also, you’ll only be opted-out of Apple’s iAd network and you’ll still get Google, Microsoft, and independent ad networks tracking you unless/until they provide and you make use of their own opt-out systems. Minority Report indeed!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you’d like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it’s especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we’ll even give ya a reward…)

Daily Tip: How to opt-out of (and back in to) personalized iAds is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Yes, it is newsworthy to note that, according to the feedback we’re getting, Verizon iPhone pre-orders — which went live just before 3am EST last night — seem to have gone pretty smoothly. No massive server crashes, no pandaemonium on the internet, no #fail cover story on The Daily. Given how, with the AT&T iPhone 4 pre-orders last summer, the Apple Online Store crumbled, AT&T accounts got compromised, AT&T pre-orders sold out, and TiPb readers celebrated their survival.

Of course that was just the first night. In the hours and days that followed Apple sold out as well, AT&T suspended orders, we tried to figure out who actually got a confirmed order (Apple said 600,000 people), then the fun began with some shipping notices going out, others appearing to be cancelled (likely due to order problems resulting in duplicates, triplicates, and more). But ship they ultimately did and some folks even got their iPhone 4 early.

Whether the Verizon iPhone pre-orders get processed more smoothly or we get the same kind of drama remains to be seen (we’re tracking it over in our Verizon iPhone Forum, so go join in!)

We also still have the big launch day coming up on February 10 for everyone who couldn’t pre-order, and likely the famous overnight Apple Store line-ups to go with it!

So what do you think, did the pre-order conditions lighten the load, was demand less in general, or was the system simply improved since last summer?

UPDATE: Looks like Verizon couldn’t handle iPhone 4 either — or at least the pre-orders — as we’re now hearing from a bunch of folks for whom the servers simply stopped responding. It doesn’t seem to be widespread as others are getting through just fine still. We’re guessing whatever problem is occurring, Verizon is working on it. So if you get an error just keep trying and let us know how it goes in the comments!

Updated: Verizon iPhone pre-orders go relatively smoothly is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Today is Verizon iPhone pre-order day… so are you getting one? If you’re an existing Verizon customer eligible to upgrade you’re only a few clicks away.

If you’re still not certain make sure you’ve checked out our iPhone Buyers Guide and read the AT&T vs. Verizon pros and cons

Once you’ve made up your mind let us know what you’ve decided in the comments below, especially if you get one! (And then head on over to our Verizon iPhone Forum where we’re keeping an eye on the pre-order process and delivery estimates!)

3am EST is the time! Apple.com and Verizon.com are the places!

TiPb asks: Are you pre-ordering the Verizon iPhone today? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• CoverMe: Compare cell coverage maps between AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint using your current or designated location. [Free - iTunes link]

• Articles: Update brings numerous new features including text search and AirPrint compatibility. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Camtastic: Transforms your iPhone into a full-featured digital camera – complete with Scene Modes, Film Styles, geotagging, multi-shot burst shooting, self-timer settings, balance meter, and more! [$1.99 - iTunes link]

• Puckerz!: Arcade action game for iPhone where players take control of a Puck and launch it around a destructible environment to collect as many orbs as they can before the time runs out. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Boom Boat: A new oil crisis has crippled the world economy. Oil gushers are appearing on ocean floors around the globe. Your goal, as Boom Boat, is to bomb those gushers until the oil stops pouring out into the sea. Equipped with bombs, barrels, concrete and more it is imperative that those gushers are destroyed by any means necessary. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Thursday, February 3 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Early reviews of the Verizon iPhone 4 have hit the web and the short answer is pretty much what we all expected — AT&T can be faster for data and handles simultaneous voice and data, but Verizon sounds better and has more reception in more places. For the long answers, follow on after the break!

• BusinessWeek: My early conclusion is, [the Verizon iPhone provides a better experience than the version that runs on AT&T]. I've been using the Verizon iPhone, available today for pre-order and in stores on Feb. 10, for about a week in various locales in Northern California, and it has yet to drop or fail to connect a call. That's a sharp contrast with my AT&T iPhone, which continues to lose calls regularly.
• Daring Fireball: It's the same phone. The only differences are (a) a brief period of Verizon exclusivity for the Wi-Fi hotspot feature, and (b) the network. And Verizon's network is better.
• Engadget: While it isn’t all rainbows and flowers (the data speed issues or the voice / data considerations could be a dealbreaker for some), it does kind of feel like Apple and Verizon did the impossible: they made the best smartphone in America just a little bit better.
• Laptop Mag: It was worth the wait. The iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless delivers the reliable data and voice coverage AT&T has failed to provide, making this device a dependable partner for work and play.
• Macworld: For all but the most discriminating user, the new Verizon version of the iPhone 4 is the same iPhone 4 we've known for the past seven months. If you're thinking of buying an iPhone and are unsure about which carrier to choose, you'd be well advised to talk to friends about coverage and dead spots near you, and to compare rate plans. If Verizon's network serves you better than AT&T's, you can finally make the move (though you may have to pay a fee to get out of your contract—that's something would-be AT&T switchers should check before committing to Verizon).
• New York Times: And to answer everyone's question, the Verizon iPhone is nearly the same as AT&T's iPhone 4 — but it doesn't drop calls. For several million Americans, that makes it the holy grail.
• PCMag: Overall, I liked the iPhone with AT&T, and I like it even more with Verizon. I expect many other consumers will feel the same. Sorry, AT&T.
• Slashgear: Whether that's future-proof enough will depend on individual subscribers, but it's clear that the CDMA iPhone addresses an issue very much of the present. Out in the real world, away from the rumors and speculation, the Verizon iPhone 4 performed as you'd want it to: consistent network service to match the consistent software experience.
• TechCrunch: For me, as someone who has spent three and a half years fed up with AT&T, the Verizon iPhone is absolutely, 100 percent worth it. I've already cancelled my AT&T contract (by way of Google Voice, actually) and I cannot forsee a future where I ever go back. There's long been a slogan that goes along with many Apple products — "it just works". It's also the best way to sum up this review. The iPhone 4 on Verizon: it just works.
• USA Today: The iPhone 4 is arguably the smartest smartphone. Verizon Wireless is arguably the most solid network in lots of places. Bringing the two together forms a wireless Dream Team that should more than thrill fans of both companies.
• Wall Street Journal: In my tests, the new Verizon version of the iPhone did much better at voice calling than the AT&T version, and offers some attractive benefits, like unlimited data and a wireless hot-spot capability. But if you really care about data speed, or travel overseas, and AT&T service is tolerable in your area, you may want to stick with AT&T.
• Wired: If you have the liberty to choose between AT&T and Verizon to buy an iPhone, your best choice depends on what you value. If you enjoy making phone calls, the Verizon iPhone is the obvious winner. Or if you're an AT&T iPhone customer and your reception is just pathetic wherever you live, then by all means, pay the price and jump ship to Verizon. With all that said, if you use your iPhone more often as a general computing device rather than a phone, then the AT&T iPhone's faster transfer rates should serve your needs.

Pre-ordering starts at 3am EST.

Verizon iPhone early review roundup is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Could iOS 4.3 be coming in two weeks, right after the Verizon-sponsored free trial of The Daily runs out and subscriptions kick in? John Gruber of Daring Fireball thinks so.

I originally thought Apple might even announced iOS 4.3 today… until iOS 4.3 beta 3 hit yesterday. I thought they’d require it for in-app subscriptions… until The Daily was released today. Then I thought in-app subscriptions might simply be a back-end change on Apple’s part, no new firmware required for devices. Gruber, however, rightly points out that The Daily isn’t using in-app subscriptions just yet and won’t be for another two weeks (Verizon is sponsoring it for free until then). Is that enough time for Apple to release an iOS 4.3 GM seed next week and an iOS 4.3 final release the week after?

Could be. Could still be February 10th to coincide with the Verizon iPhone launch or sometime in March/April along with iPad 2. What’s your best guess?

UPDATE: Both David Pogue of The New York Times and Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal seemed to hint iOS 4.3 would indeed drop the week of the 13th in their Verizon iPhone reviews as well.

UPDATE 2: Pogue has removed the date info from his review. Correcting an erroneous assumption or removing a leak? Hmmmm….

[Daring Fireball]

UPDATED: Could iOS 4.3 be coming in two weeks? (Feb 13?) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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