According to HotHardware, the AT&T iPhone exclusivity will be ending this Wednesday, during Apple’s event. However, this “inside source” has not stated which network the iPhone will be going to and when.

Some people believe that Verizon Wireless is the next carrier of the iPhone, since it is expected to be one of the possible 3G carriers of the rumored Tablet to be announced the same day.

Rumors since the beginning of the iPhone have said early 2010 is when the exclusive contract between Apple and AT&T ends.

Apple will be holding the event this Wednesday, January 27th. Stick with Tech Bulletin for continuing coverage.

Business Week is reporting that Apple and Microsoft have been in talks over the past few weeks about brining Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, to the iPhone as the default search engine. The position is currently held by Google, but through recent events between Apple and Google, Apple might be pushing away from Google. Google is also the default search engine on Apple’s desktop version of Safari.

Also, recent reports show that Apple is planning to remove the Google Maps application from the iPhone OS. It is unlikely that Apple would leave out a map application in OS 4.0, possibly substituting it with Bing Maps or their own map application made by Placebase, a company that Apple bought not too long ago.

So a few days ago my Apple in-ear headphones started breaking. I couldn’t stand to watch them just get worn out so I put them to rest and set them back in the box and up on the shelf. But then I realized that I need a new sturdier pair of headphones. So I headed up to the nearest Best Buy to take a look at what was available. I looked and looked debating if I really wanted another pair of in-ear or did I want some nice big over-the-ear headphones. Then I seen them. A beautiful black finish with a trim of red. They had them on a preview stand. The sound was so crisp and clear that I had to get them. I picked up the box and paid for them, and I’ve barely taken them off since then.

The design itself is just amazing. They have a great metal bracing and a very nice feeling rubberized inside that feels great when you listen to them. There is also no pain after wearing them a long time. The ear pieces are very comfortable and have a great cushiony feel when they rest up on your ears. The cable that plugs the headphones into the device is actually removable, so you can carry the headset without having to wrap the cable around it all the time. There is also a remote and mic on the cable that works great on my iPhone 3GS. The remote and mic also seem to have a much better build quality then Apple’s remote and mic as well.

These are one of the nicest sounding headphones that I have ever used. I can hear things in the music that I never knew existed. The bass is amazing. I love listening to some bass during a hard rock song. With these I have no problem doing that. I can hear little things like a chime or cowbell in the song, that I had no idea was actually there. These are also great with any genre of music. I have tried them out with rock, rap, pop, country, even classical, and the list goes on. The volume is another thing that is amazing. I can hear the music from all the way across the room when they are only at half volume. Listening to them at full volume creates your own world. You can not hear a thing other than the music once they are at full volume.

Overall these headphones are just phenomenal. I cannot believe that I took this long to buy these. If you are looking for a great pair of headphones and are willing to spend a little more money for quality, I would definitely recommend the Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Edition. They will cost you $179.99 at just about anywhere. At Best Buy you can buy a 2 year warranty for $29.99 which I highly recommend you do, because if you are going to use them a lot, the warranty will cover wear and tear, and will replace the pair for free for the full two years. If you are in the need for a new pair of headphones, I highly recommend you take a look at the Beats by Dr. Dre Solo Edition.

According to Boy Genius Report, they received some evidence of iPhone OS 4.0 in the wild from their “trusty Apple connects”.

Here are some iPhone OS 4.0 features according to Boy Genius Report:

• There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
• “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.
• Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
• The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

Apple is expected to announce or talk about iPhone OS 4.0 at their event next Wednesday.

Microsoft released a Bing application for the iPod touch and iPhone today.

The application opens with Bing’s daily image, complete with facts about what they’re displaying, which is rather nice feature. You can opt to search for images, movies, maps, businesses, news, directions, or just plain ol’ search, depending on what you’re after; the maps feature works well, with the location part of it working quickly and accurately.

Bing on the App Store here.

A new report from OTR Global indicates that Apple is planning on manufacturing new hybrid iPhones that will support both Verizon’s CDMA2000 network as well as the UMTS 3G network. Only the UMTS network is supported by the current version of the iPhone and is used by AT&T and much of the rest of the world.

Qualcomm’s new hybrid CDMA/WCDMA chip offers the potential for a single, global iPhone that users can take to any major carrier, solving the network fractionalization problem. It also solves other issues that had served as roadblocks, including the issue of user confusion that would result from Apple selling separate CDMA and GSM/UMTS versions of the iPhone.

The reason behind building in such support would seem primarily to extend the iPhone’s compatibility with Verizon in the U.S. The move is expected to take place by the 3rd quarter of 2010. Conveniently, AT&T’s exclusivity contract with Apple is believed to expire in mid 2010.

Boy Genius Report posts a brief note noting that it has heard from two separate sources that AT&T/Apple is considering launching a $99 iPhone 3GS in time for Christmas.

We’ve heard now from two sources that AT&T, and we guess Apple, are contemplating launching an 8GB iPhone 3GS at the $99 price point before Christmas. One source said this was AT&T’s way of combating the DROID madness.

No further details, such as whether Apple would simply replace the 8 GB iPhone 3G currently offered at that price point or retain the iPhone 3G model at an even lower price point, were given.

Fortune today named Apple CEO Steve Jobs “CEO of the Decade”, highlighting his role in the remaking of multiple industries and propelling Apple to continued success despite difficult economic conditions. As part of the feature, Fortune profiles Jobs and offers an interactive timeline of major Apple events over the past ten years. Also featured in the profile are a set of rare photos of Jobs over the years, a rundown of the “Top 10″ moments in Jobs’ career, and a series of testimonials from eight significant personalities in Jobs’ industries describing what makes him unique.

How’s this for a gripping corporate story line: Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley.

Superlatives have attached themselves to Jobs since he was a young man. Now that he’s 54, merely listing his achievements is sufficient explanation of why he’s Fortune’s CEO of the Decade (though the superlatives continue). In the past 10 years alone he has radically and lucratively reordered three markets — music, movies, and mobile telephones — and his impact on his original industry, computing, has only grown.

Apple today announced their financialresults for the fourth fiscal quarter (third calendar quarter) of 2009. Apple posted revenue of $9.87 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. Gross margin was 36.6 percent. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter’s revenue. The numbers represent the most profitable quarter in Apple’s history and include record-breaking Mac and iPhone quarterly sales.

Apple shipped 3.05 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a unit increase of 17 percent over the year-ago quarter. The company also sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing 8 percent unit decline over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone unit sales reached 7.4 million, up 7 percent from the year-ago quarter.

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