It’s Official: Motorola XOOM LTE Upgrade Coming In September.

The elusive LTE hardware upgrade for the Motorola XOOM finally — finally — has a ballpark release date. Mark your calendars for September. The specific date in September isn’t yet known, though we’d call for the most die-hard XOOM fans to just take the entire month off to be on the safe side. Because let’s face it, as soon as you grip the newly LTE-ified Motorola XOOM you’ll forget the most basic of human tasks such as eating, sleeping, and…bathroom use. So work of any kind will be damn near impossible.

With all that said, word is an email from Verizon/Motorola is due to start circulating to current XOOM owners today telling them of the upcoming hardware switcheroo. While the upgrade is way overdue — originally scheduled for May — we’re just happy to finally see Motorola’ doing instead of spewing out more empty promises and statements. Excited yet?

Stay tuned as we hunt for a more specific date.

1.4.2 TweetBot Update Brings Push Notifications To All!

Feeling a bit bummed you’ve been unable to nab a spot in the TweetBot open beta for Push Notifications? Wallow in self pity no more. The latest 1.4.2 update hit the App Store late yesterday, finally bringing with it Push Notifications for all. Also of note — badge icons for notifications are now also supported. Rounding out the list, what would a fancy new update be without a bug fix or two tossed in for good measure?

If you haven’t already tried out TweetBot, we implore you to do so. It’s easily our favorite iOS Twitter app here at GS HQ that is well worth the $2.99 asking price. Give it a shot and let us know what you think.

Alleged iPhone 5 Case Design Document Outs Larger Display And Curved Back.

We’ve seen a lot of iPhone 5 rumors over the last several months. While some are more believable than others, until we see something tangible it’s all pure speculation and optimism. Hell, even with something tangible fakes can easily be used as stand-ins, misleading the public and bursting our excited tech bubbles.

But these new alleged iPhone 5 case design documents sent to UK tech site, Mobile Fun, look pretty legit. As we can see in the image above, the homescreen follows previous rumors which claimed the iPhone 5 screen would be larger and possibly extended edge-to-edge. Add to that removal of the standard home button in favor of a new touch-sensitive (gesture supporting?) area directly below the display. Also readily apparent based off of the case drawings is a return to a curved back.

Finally, from what we can see the volume buttons get shifted to the opposite side of the phone and placed much further down, with the mute switch getting bumped up a tad.

We’d certainly love to see a curved iPhone casing return. In our opinion it’s more comfortable to hold. What do you think?

Verizon Wireless Announces New And Expanded LTE Markets Going Live August 18th.

Verizon has taken today to announce — via individual press releases no less…thanks, VZW — even more cities and communities that will soon be able to partake of their next-gen LTE network beginning August 18th. On top of that, Verizon also announced several communities gaining expanded LTE coverage:

• Altoona, and Johnstown, Pennsylvania

• Bakersfield, California

• Cincinnati, Ohio (Expanded)

• Ft. Collins, Colorado

• Ithaca, New York

• MetroWest, Massachusetts (Expanded)

• Nyack, West Nyack, Orangeburg, Pearl River And Spring Valley, New Jersey (Expanded)

• Provo/Orem, Utah

• Worcester, Massachusetts

If you manage to get that little “4G/LTE” icon on your phone/hotspot/tablet before the August 18th go-live date, be sure to let us know!

Backwards Politics: UK Sex Offenders Receive Lesser Punishment Than Accused Pirates/Infringers.

In a sickening example of backwards politics, UK sex offenders can apparently escape severe punishments according to a new ruling. The preceding judge who issued said ruling states:

A blanket prohibition on computer use or internet access is impermissible. It is disproportionate because it restricts the defendant in the use of what is nowadays an essential part of everyday living for a large proportion of the public, as well as a requirement of much employment. Before the creation of the internet, if a defendant kept books of pictures of child pornography it would not have occurred to anyone to ban him from possession of all printed material. The internet is a modern equivalent.

Meanwhile, accused — and not always proven — file sharers and so called “infringers” face various punishments including lengthy jail time, blanket internet bans, and grossly over-exaggerated fines. How this ruling could potentially affect other similar cases remains to be seen.

Thoughts?

Anonymous Encourages World Populous To Destroy Norway Shooter’s Manifesto, Legacy.

It goes without saying the horrific events carried out by Norwegian citizen Anders Behring Breivik are atrocious and tragic beyond words. The man himself is a piece of garbage motivated by fanatical beliefs. With that said, we find Anonymous’ plea to “destroy his legacy” as he hoped to leave by his 1500-page “Manifesto” as part of their new “Operation Manifest” something worth considering.

Anonymous encourages people to:

1. Find the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik: ’2083 – A European Declaration of Independence’
2. Change it, add stupid stuff, remove parts, shop his picture, do what you like to.
3. Republish it everywhere and up vote releases from other people, declare that the faked ones are original.
4. Let Anders become a joke, such that nobody will take him serious anymore.
5. Spread this message around the internet and real life, translate it.
6. Have a moment for the victims of his cruel attacks.

Did Apple Just Leak 3G Capable iPods?? [Update]

Update

Apple has seen the error of their ways and updated their iTunes page. It now says iPod and shows the WiFi signal strength as… Honest mistake or chicanery? Pictures of the newly edited site after the break

We’ve been hearing of the iPod 3G (if you will) for some time now. It only makes sense – with it’s younger much taller cousin the iPad having the cellular data capabilities. With all of that said, this current rumor might have just been given enough fuel to make it to space. If you swipe your way over to Apple’s iTunes page and take a look at the iPod standing next to the iPad and MacBook Air, you’ll see a 3G icon sitting to the right of full signal strength. There is no AT&T or Verizon logo, but most of those are missing from the iPhone pictures as well.

Did Apple’s website munchkins just blow it? Did they mean to put an iPhone 4 there, and just forgot? The image is also buried within their iPod Touch page, smaller, but you can see the icon there.