Two new analysts said Tuesday that the iPad-AT&T deal suggests Apple may extend its exclusive iPhone agreement through 2011, leaving the wireless provider as the sole carrier of the handset in the U.S. this year.

>> Apple seen to extend exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T

In April 2008, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published an Apple patent application revealing the company's research into ways of integrating social aspects into online shopping as part of enhancements to the visitor experience. As des...

>> Apple's Research Into Social Aspects of Online Shopping Gaining Renewed Attention

MediaMemo notes that Warner Music Group has reported seeing slower sales growth via Apple's iTunes Store since the introduction of variable pricing last year.

>> Music Labels See Slower iTunes Sales Growth in Wake of Price Increases

Since Apple granted music labels the flexibility to set individual song prices between $0.69 and $1.29 on the iTunes Music Store, growth of digital music sales has slowed, one music executive revealed Tuesday.

>> iTunes price increases mean slower sales for music labels

Apple on Tuesday released the next major update to its photo editing and management software, with Aperture 3 sporting over 200 new features, including Faces, Places and Brushes for $199 new, or $99 to upgrade.

>> Apple introduces 64-bit Aperture 3 with Faces and Places

Apple on Tuesday released the next major update to its photo editing and management software, with Aperture 3 sporting over 200 new features, including Faces, Places and Brushes for $199 new, or $99 to upgrade.

>> Apple's 64-bit Aperture 3 packs 200 new features, including Faces, Places

>> Apple Releases Aperture 3 With Faces and Places Tagging Features

When I first noticed the Retrevo Pulse headline for its study that examines consumer interest in buying the Apple iPad, my first reaction was eerily in line with the traffic-grabbing headline, Apple iPad Hoopla Fails to Convince Buyers. I'm an unabashed fan of almost every Apple product the company in Cupertino produces, and yet I'm still not convinced the iPad is a worthy addition to my personal Apple lineup.

>> Sorry, You Just Can't Pin Down Apple Consumers

A strong holiday quarter helped to grow Apple's share of the U.S. smartphone market by 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving the iPhone a 25.3 percent share of users, according to a new report.

>> Apple's share of U.S. smartphone market grows to 25% - study

A new job posting on Apple's site suggests that the company is preparing to add still and video camera capabilities to its iPad tablet device in the future. The position is for a quality assurance engineer in the Media Systems division of Apple's br...

>> Apple Job Posting Suggests Video Recording Coming to Future iPad Models

New pictures claimed to be parts for a prototype fourth-generation iPhone show a front panel slightly taller than the current model, along with some other minor internal design tweaks.

>> Purported 4th gen Apple iPhone parts show largely unchanged design

If the market does not respond well to the iPad and its price range of $499 to $829, Apple executives have reportedly said they could be nimble on its cost.

>> Execs say Apple could lower iPad price if market demands it - report

The Wall Street Journal reports on a research note from Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope based on meetings with Apple executives revealing that the company has apparently left the door open to future price cuts on the iPad should customer demand not ...

>> Apple Open to iPad Price Cuts if Demand Lags

Despite a highly publicized public debut, potential customers lost a great deal of interest in Apple's new touchscreen iPad after it was unveiled, a new study has found.

>> Consumers lose interest in iPad after Apple's unveiling - survey

On January 20, a major speech took place: No, it was not the State of the Union address, but Steve Jobs' announcement of the release of the iPad. The iPad has already started to change the landscape of digital publishing: After a short battle, Amazon was forced to capitulate to a new deal with Macmillan, one of the six largest publishers; on Friday, Hachette started to make noise too.

>> Ripping the Wrong Page From Apple's E-Playbook

Apple's new iPad debuts a new VGA-style video output option, a first for the company's mobile device lineup.

>> Inside Apple's iPad: VGA video output

A benchmark report for an unreleased Apple MacBook Pro sporting Intel's upcoming dual-core 2.66GHz Core i7 mobile processor was published online this week, suggesting a refresh to the professional notebook line may be imminent.

>> Unannounced Core i7 Apple MacBook Pro surfaces in benchmarks logs

Apple on Friday evening equipped developers with yet another build of its upcoming maintenance and security update for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard that includes few changes from an earlier build distributed two weeks ago.

>> Apple's new beta of Mac OS X 10.6.3 includes few changes

Apple has seeded a new version of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to developers today. The last seed was released on January 22nd. According to reports, the newest version provides a number of enhancements and bug fixes for QuickTime X, 64-bit Logic, printing and OpenGL.

>> Apple Seeds Mac OS X 10.6.3 (Build 10D548)

More than 60 percent of physicians who participated in a new survey have shown interest in Apple's recently announced iPad, and one in five already intend to purchase one.

>> One in five physicians likely to purchase Apple iPad - study

Apple this week notified iPhone developers that they cannot use the device's GPS data to serve location-aware advertisements to users of App Store software.

>> Apple denying iPhone apps that use location framework for targeted ads

I was a bit distracted from the Apple iPad news due to the marathon Oracle conference last week on its shiny new Sun Microsystems acquisition. However, the more I thought about it, the more these two companies are extremely well-positioned to actually fulfill what other powerful companies tried to do and failed.

>> Apple and Oracle: Will the Real Tech Titans Please Stand Up

Apple booked a quiet dinner reception for fifty executives at the New York Times, but the VIP guest ended up being Steve Jobs.

>> Eccentric but effective Steve Jobs pitches iPad to NYT execs