Apple

The furor over a Verizon Wireless compatible iPhone refuses to calm down. None other than the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported today that a CDMA-capable iPhone is indeed under development by Apple and will see release in the US this year. The Verizon iPhone will be one of two new models introduced during Apple's annual iPhone product line refresh this summer.

Apple (AAPL) and Verizon (VZ) jumped one percent after the news release, while AT&T shares (T) lost almost the same amount. AT&T is currently the exclusive carrier for Apple's iPhone in the US. Speculation and rumors have swirled around a Verizon version of the iPhone for months, if not years now.

If the latest AdMob Mobile Metrics Report can be believed, roughly half of smartphones worldwide are running iPhone OS. The runner up this February is Android, with 24 percent. Symbian is in third place with 18 percent.

Although this is a serious achievement for Apple, the story gets more interesting when comparing the data to the same time period last year. iPhone has boosted its share by 17% over February 2009, while Symbian OS dropped a dramatic 25 percent.

Reports from third-party vendors indicate that Apple intends to remove all screen protection products from the Apple store starting in May. Any screen product sold alone or with a case will effectively be banned for any product including iPhones, iPods, iPads and Mac notebooks.

The change in inventory involves any and all screen film products including those marketed for protection or simply decorative use, and could affect the Apple online store as well as retail outlets. Speculation is rampant as to the cause of the change in policy.

Apple announced today the Wi-Fi only iPad is scheduled for release in the US on Saturday, April 3. The company is accepting pre-orders for all models (including 3G versions) starting on Friday, March 12. Shipping of 3G models in the US and iPad availability in other countries is planned for late April.

The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will appear as a free download on the App Store in the US on April 3. Apple has developed 12 new iPad-optimized apps that will be included on the iPad out of the box.

There could be long lines for the iPad launch after all if reports of a delay in production are accurate. Analyst Peter Misek from Canaccord Adams says production problems at Hon Hai Precision mean that Apple could have only 300,000 units ready at launch.

The company was planning to have one million units ready for sale in March, along with another 800,000 available in April. The limited numbers might result in Apple delaying the iPad release date or even limiting initial sales to the US only.