BoyGeniusReports has posted a small blurb today saying that AT&T has confirmed to its store managers that the Apple iPhone 4G will launch in June.

The site even says that the phone will be ready in early June, meaning the launch could be imminent in the next two weeks.

New to the 4G are a front-facing camera for video conferencing, a better standard camera (including larger lens and flash), a Micro-SIM slot (just like the iPad), 960x640 resolution, a second mic, metallic exterior (not plastic) and split side buttons for volume.

The form factor is very different as well. The back is flat and not rounded, slightly smaller screen, a more "square" design all around with less wasted space, a larger battery, and smaller internal components.

Wal-Mart announced this week that it is slashing the price of the iPhone 3GS in half, with the 16GB 3GS model going on sale for $97 USD with two-year contract. The smartphone currently costs $199 through Apple. The move has led many to believe that Wal-Mart is clearing out remaining stock in anticipation of the new iPhone launch.

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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a study this week which shows that 30 million Americans have experienced "bill shock" after seeing their monthly mobile phone bill.

"Bill shock" means seeing an unexpected increase in the bill, even if the subscriber has not changed their plan.

3000 people were surveyed by Princeton Survey Research Associates for the FCC, and 2400 had mobile phones. Of those 2400, 17 percent said at least one time in the last year the experienced "bill shock."

The FCC says 17 percent of all mobile phone users in the U.S. adds up to 30 million Americans that have experienced the unexpected increase in their bill.

84 percent of those that had experienced the increase say their carrier did not warn them at all that they were on the verge of exceeding some portion of their plan, be it minutes, texts, or data bandwidth. 35 percent said their bill increased by $50, while 23 percent said the fee was $100 or higher.

The results are part of the FCC's ongoing investigation into "bill shock."

The CTIA, which represents the wireless industry says the real "bill shock" is the excessive taxes and levies that come as part of every bill.

"If the FCC is interested in controlling 'shock' on consumer bills, they should address the most egregious part of consumers' bills, which is the almost 16 percent rate of taxes and fees imposed by federal, state and local governments on wireless consumers," says CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent.

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According to "trusted" sources speaking to Edge-Online, Microsoft's upcoming Project Natal motion control camera system will launch with a price tag of $150, much higher than expected by most in the industry.

The system will also launch on October 26th, says the site, in line with expectations of an October release.

Additionally, Microsoft will bundle the camera with an Xbox 360 Arcade console for $300 USD.

European and UK rates would be based "on a number of factors," including the current exchange rate at the time of release, so those prices remain unclear for the time being.

Rival Sony is releasing its PlayStation Move motion control system later this year, bundled with a game, for $100 USD.

Perhaps more notably, Natal (which will be given its official name in June at the E3 event) will cost just $30 less than the Nintendo Wii, which has motion control out of the box and a huge catalog of games.

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Facebook, facing increasing criticism over its new privacy settings, has announced it will be rolling out new simplified settings for users over the next week.

The criticism mainly stemmed from the site making all of a user's basic information available to the public, with no opt-out. The new update will allow users to reduce what is shown to the public.

Additionally, USAToday reports that the new settings will add "an opt-out feature for a myriad of non-Facebook applications."

Says CEO Mark Zuckerberg: "A lot of people are upset with us. One of the big takeaways is: Don't mess with the privacy stuff for a really long time."

Facebook has over 450 million users, and recently became the most trafficked site in the United States, surpassing even the mighty Google.

Last week, rival social networking site MySpace simplified their own privacy settings. Said MySpace Co-President Mike Jones: "Given all the noise in the industry, we want to get out and state a clear position so that our users understand that we take privacy very seriously."

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Apple has surpassed Microsoft for largest tech company in the world, by market cap, with its stock finishing the day with a market value of $222.1 billion.

Exxon Mobil remains the largest U.S. stock, with a value of $278.6 billion. Microsoft fell to third, with a market cap of $219.2 billion, as of the close of the market today.

Apple saw revenue and profit soar in the Q2 2010, with iPhone sales surging across the world. The quarterly results did not even include the iPad tablet, which has sold over 1 million units since its launch in April.

"Apple really checks all the boxes when you look at the tech sector," adds Ryan Jacob, a fund manager at Jacob Internet Fund in Los Angeles. "Do they have the opportunity to gain share in their markets? What are the prospects for margins? It's hard to find a company that you can have more confidence in than Apple."

Microsoft and Apple, pioneers of personal computing, have seen a divergence in recent years, with Microsoft having trouble moving away from its mainstay businesses while Apple continues to try to become leaders in new markets, just like it did with the iPod earlier in the decade, the iPhone in the later part of the decade, and the iPad now in 2010.

The latest milestone is a strong reminder of what Apple had become just thirteen years ago in 1997, a company on the brink of bankruptcy and no leadership, and what it has transformed into today.

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According to sources close to the talks, it appears the U.S. Justice Department has been looking into whether Apple "unfairly dominates" the digital music market with its popular iTunes store.

The sources say the Justice Department has been contacting music labels and other digital music providers, asking broad questions about the nature of the market in general, and Apple's role in it.

The new inquiries may have been stemmed by accusations in March that Apple was using its giant market share lead to prevent rival Amazon MP3 from debuting new songs exclusively before they hit iTunes a day or two later.

The iTunes store currently has about 70 percent market share, with Amazon trailing at around 9 percent.

Global music sales have fallen from $26.5 billion at the start of the decade to just $17 billion last year, even as digital music sales have exploded.

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AT&T has announced today the launch of an AT&T Wi-Fi Hotzone in Times Square, the company's latest effort to ease congestion on their 3G data networks in high-population areas.

The Wi-Fi service was installed on 46th street and 7th avenue and will service a large portion of Times Square.

The Hotzone is free to all of AT&T's subscribers, as long as they have a device that can connect to wireless. This includes smartphones and laptops with 3G LaptopConnect modems.

AT&T has received almost constant criticism for dropped calls and choppy 3G service in New York City and other high-population areas, especially from iPhone users that are notoriously bandwidth hungry.

Says John Donovan, AT&T's CTO (via press release): "Whether they're emailing photos and videos to friends back home, downloading a restaurant review, or ordering discount Broadway tickets online, people in Times Square want the mobile broadband connection that lets them get the most done in the least amount of time. With this pilot AT&T Wi-Fi hotzone, we're examining new ways to combine our Wi-Fi and 3G networks to help ensure that AT&T customers in Times Square always have a fast mobile broadband connection to do what matters most to them. It's another example of how AT&T is exploring the ideal blend of technologies to maximize the mobile experience for our customers in New York City."

The carrier says it has seen 5000 percent data traffic growth since 2007, and has since added 20,000 Hotzones in the U.S.

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Davenport & Company analyst Drake Johnstone has made a bold prediction this week, saying that AT&T would lose up to 40 percent of its iPhone subscribers if the carrier was to lose its exclusivity pact on the iPhone and the smartphone moved to Verizon.

Says Johnstone in a client note: "Over the past several years, AT&T indicated that 40 percent of its new iPhone customers came from other carriers. We estimate that AT&T has 15 million iPhone customers (as of Q-1 10) and believe that AT&T could lose as many as 6 million, or 40 percent, of its iPhone customers when Verizon begins selling the iPhone in 2011."

Because of these expectations, the analyst says: "We are reducing AT&T's 2011 wireless subscriber additions from 6 million to 2 million (most of these new additions may be lower value connected devices such as eReaders instead of higher value long-term wireless customers), since we believe that Verizon could obtain Apple's approval to sell and provide wireless service for the iPhone as early as mid-2011."

While the numbers seem sensationalist, they could be a possibility. AT&T does have some measures in place to prevent such an "exodus," however. The company just raised its ETF (early termination fees) to $350 for smartphones, meaning leaving for another carrier could be a pricey transaction. Additionally, family-talk and business-discounted plans are hard to switch to new carriers with, and AT&T says about 80 percent of its customers have those types of plans.

Finally, there are still plenty of consumers out there that prefer the ease of a SIM card to CDMA activations.

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Sony has announced that the PlayStation Store is now the first console marketplace to offer original content from HBO, the premium cable channel.

Owners of the PlayStation 3 and the PSP handheld can now purchase individual episodes or full seasons of their favorite HBO shows, right to their consoles, through the PSN.

As of today, the first two seasons of "True Blood" are available, the first season of "Eastbound and Down," the first three seasons of "Big Love" and the first two seasons of "Entourage."

Additionally, catalog shows such as "The Sopranos," "Sex and the City," "The Wire," "Rome," "Da Ali G Show," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and "Flight of the Conchords," are available, although not all seasons are available of each show.

Each episode costs $3 USD, with season prices varying.

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