Verizon Wireless experienced a data outage from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. EST, Wednesday morning, March 3. Verizon blamed the outage on defective software at one of its datacenters supporting east coast customers. Customers reportedly were unable to send or receive text, email, or access their applications. Phone service was available but slow.

Despite their recent network glitch, Verizon Wireless has consistently scored on top the list of cell phone providers. Verizon employs 90 test teams that drive millions of miles across the country testing their network.

What sets them apart from their competitors is the wide variety of phones, roadside assistance, and they do not round up minutes. This means that if your call is clocked at 1:57, you are only clocked for 1:57. Their phone service is the most direct as customers also have the option to chat live with a customer service representative, post a forum, or email questions from their website.

Verizon’s RIM Blackberry 8830 is the first smartphone with global roaming capability, which means you can travel the world with voice and data coverage without having to change phones.

A deal has been struck between the existing members of the Beatles, along with the widows of John Lennon and George Harrison, and the internet holding company Metatron Inc. What this means for fans of the Fab Four is that there will be five new Beatles-related video applications that will be available for download in the iPhone, iTouch, and iPad platforms later this spring.

Amongst the titles are "The Journey", which is a look at the band's beginnings; "Big Beat Box", a documentary about the rise of Beatlemania; and a five-part documentary on the history of the band called "The Long & Winding Road." The apps also feature rare footage of John Lennon at work and play, as well as a documentary about George Harrison.

Joe Riehl, Metatron's CEO, said:

"Beatles titles are some of the most popular media available and we are thrilled to be able to release these titles."

It was bound to happen at some point.

Have you ever wanted to match your nail color to your laptop? Well now you can. Dell has teamed up with world renowned nail lacquer experts OPI to design a new line-up of fashionable yet functional laptop computers. Through their unique partnership, Dell began featuring 26 high-style fashion shades along with their already available color and artwork offerings available as options in the Dell Design Studio.

One of Dell's most popular options for consumer laptops is the choice of color, and by teaming up with OPI they're making even more fun designs available. Beginning in December 2009 in the United States, Dell started offering OPI 20 classic colors plus six Holiday Collection colors including "Dear Santa", "Merry Midnight" and "Smitten with Mittens." The seasonal choices will vary and OPI will also periodically revise its color offerings based on what's most popular. Currently, for the spring season Dell is offering OPI's "Hong Kong" collection.

Now that Apple has finally unveiled their tablet computer, the iPad, more attention is being drawn to all the other tablets that are coming out this year. Yesterday we revealed how Asus is working on a tablet, and now we have word that MSI will be releasing their own 10-inch tablet in the second half of 2009.

MSI's Tegra-powered device was first shown off at the CES show a couple weeks ago in Las Vegas. It got pretty good reviews then, but there's one issue they may need to readjust in light of the iPad announcement. MSI priced their tablet at $500. Apple's iPad starts at $499. I can hardly see people paying $500 for an MSI tablet when they could spend the same amount and get the much cooler (at least in name and brand recognition) Apple iPad.

DigiTimes reports that MSI will be launching their tablet in the second half of 2009. Specs are said to be "flexible", and that the company will "launch different models based on market demand". Translation: if everyone balks at the price, they'll change it and release an even cheaper model.

Not only has Apple come under fire for naming their new tablet device the "iPad", inciting chuckles and references to feminine products, it now appears as though they may have a legal issue on their hands. It looks like as they did with the iPhone, Apple is seeking to use a name that existed before. Fujitsu first laid claim to the name with their Windows CE-based iPad in 2002.

According to the New York Times, Fujitsu's application to trademark the iPad name stalled due to an earlier filing by Mag-Tech, and information technology security company in Seal Beach, CA, for a handheld computer encrypting device. According to the US Patent and Trademark OFfice, Fujitsu's application was listed as abandoned in early 2009, but the company had revived their application in June 2009.

Just one month later, Apple used a proxy to apply for an international trademark for the iPad. Since then, Apple has filed a number of requests with the Patent Office for more time to oppose Fujitsu's application. Apple now has until February 28 to say whether it will oppose Fujitsu's claims to the iPad name.

Europe and other international markets are likely to be waiting a bit longer than the United States to get their hands on the hottest new device from Apple -- the iPad. As expected, the iPads won't ship in other markets the at the same time it does in the U.S.

In addition, Apple has confirmed that iBooks will not be available at launch in any country other than the U.S., which suggests that Apple is working on licensing deals with other book publishers in each country.

Pricing on the iPad internationally is another unknown at this point. The company said:

"International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date."

The entry level Apple iPad will priced at $499 for a 16 GB model. The price goes up $100 for a 32 GB model and 64 GB model will be priced at $699.

The 3G iPad models cost an extra $130 each for each model. Apple has teamed up with AT&T for 3G on the device with 250 MB of data a month, will cost $14.99 per month.For unlimited data, its $29.99 a month.

“When we set out to develop the iPad, we not only had specific technical goals and user interface goals, but an aggressive price goal, because we want to put this in the hands of a lot of people,” Steve Jobs said at the product launch.

While the world eagerly awaits the announcement of Apple's long-rumored tablet computer, an executive at Asus let it slip that his company has also been working on a tablet device. If the Apple tablet is a success, it is unevitable that a number of non-Apple knock-offs will soon follow, and if that is the case, Asus will be ahead of the game.

Asus exec Eric Chen has finally confirmed the tablet when asked about the company's tablet plans:

"Yes, sure. We have the Eee Pad."

In terms of details, Chen didn't offer much. He simply stated that it will have an ARM CPU and a 3G connection, and revealing that Asus is paying particular attention to the user interface, citing the iPhone as an example.

When talking about Asus' other plans, he also dropped the term Eee Book when talking about the company's future plans. It appears that that was the first time that the term has been used in an official capacity, and no one's really sure what device he is referring to.

So if you hate Apple or think their products are too pricey, hang tight for a bit, Asus will have their answer coming soon. I have a hunch that Asus' tablet will run on Android, another attempt by Google to take a shot at Apple.

When it comes to computers, Alan Kay knows just about everything. After all, he invented notebook computers. His opinion holds so much weight that Steve Jobs even asked him what he thought about the iPhone when it was launched several years ago. What Kay told Jobs may now be playing out.

Kay said:

“When the Mac first came out, Newsweek asked me what I [thought] of it. I said: Well, it’s the first personal computer worth criticizing. So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world.”

Jobs actually owes a lot of his success to Kay, the man who invented the notebook concept and had a hand in designing the graphical user interface that Jobs fell in love with during a visit to Xerox PARC and then used on the Macintosh computer.

When interviewed by GigaOM last year, while rumors of an Apple tablet were still swirling, Kay predicted success for the tablet. He also commented:

“I bet a thousand dollars that they had a five-by-eight-inch version for the last couple years in house.”

It will be interesting to see if the iSlate will, in fact, "rule the world."

Someone with apparently inside information on the Apple tablet computer to be officially unveiled today is spilling the beans on the tablet. It apparently looks like a giant iPhone, and has a 10-inch screen. As for the rumors concerning pricing and availability, the source also told Engadget a few revealing tidbits.

The tablet will reportedly cost $800 with a contract from AT&T, and $1000 without a contract when the device becomes available for purchase in March. It will also reportedly be coming to Verizon.