iLounge

By Charles Starrett

Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
News Category: Mix

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in addition to looking at Apple over possible antitrust concerns regarding its decision to ban cross-platform applications from the App Store, may also be investigating the company’s iAd mobile advertising platform. The Wall Street Journal reports that the regulator has contacted both wireless advertising executives and developers to gauge whether the company’s ban on transmitting certain technical iPhone data to third parties will give it an unfair advantage in serving targeted advertising.

London hotel The Berkeley has announced that it is providing guests in select suites with a personal iPad to use for the length of their stay. According to the hotel, the iPads will be pre-load with a variety of hand-picked apps for use by the guests, including a range of games, videos, and comic books for children; rates for the selected suites begin a £1,300 per night, or roughly $1,670. [via TUAW]

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the ongoing talks between the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission over which body should handle the inquiry into possible antitrust issues regarding Apple were spurred by a complaint from Adobe. According to the report, Adobe claimed Apple was stifling competition by barring apps made using Flash from the App Store; neither the FTC nor the Justice Department has yet decided whether or not to open an investigation.

GroovyStand is offering a lineup of simple wooden stands for the iPad. Available in brown, natural, or black finishes, the stands are made from hard wood, finished with varnish, and can hold the iPad in either portrait or landscape orientation. GroovyStand’s wooden stands for the iPad sell for $8 in standard groove width or $10 for a wider groove width to accomodate encased iPads.