People are really looking forward to what Apple has in store for cloud based music playing after the Lala acquisition, but it’s the music labels who’re holding Apple back from pursuing such killer features. Apple hasn’t been able to get the top four labels to sign on the dotted line, and CNET’s Greg Sandoval has this to say about the whole ordeal:

While it’s hard to say what Boy Genius’ source meant by “soon” it’s worth noting that Apple has yet to obtain necessary licenses from the top four recording companies, according to multiple music industry insiders. They added that Apple has indeed engaged in discussions with the music labels but the record execs haven’t even seen all of the details yet.

So, unless Apple is ready to go to war over this, don’t expect an iTunes cloud service–at least one offering music–anytime soon. Music insiders say that while that the whole sector would welcome an iTunes cloud service, negotiating the licenses will likely take months.

Though hopefully this won’t prevent Apple from rolling out their other various syncing features in the meantime, I imagine Apple would want to roll out all of their cloud features at the same time.

[CNET via MacRumors]

AdMob wasn’t supposed to stick around for long after Apple updated their Developer Agreement, but they’re still pretty fervent in the iTunes App Store. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is still approving applications sporting AdMob. CNET reports,

… two developers told the Journal that their AdMob-equipped ads were recently approved by Apple, meaning the company either forgot to enforce the restriction (unlikely) or has decided to back off that clause as federal regulators take a closer look at Apple’s mobile-applications business.

AdMob and Apple declined to comment, but trust me when I say you’ll know when Apple has pulled the trigger against their advertising adversaries.

[Wall Street Journal via CNET]

If you haven’t noticed, the new retina display is pretty cool. Despite all the packed pixel goodness, tests were to be done, and the results have been published. Out of all the major competitors in the market, who has the best display? PC Mag wanted to find out, so they ran a bunch of smartphones through their laser chambers until they were satisifed with the results. The iPhone wins, but isn’t the best in every category.

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With so many iPhone handsets in the world, it’s still the most convenient device to get your Internet on when you’re in a cab, in the airport, in an airplane, at grandma’s, etc. But those measly Android and iPod touch devices? They’re not being used as much as the iPad. From rock bottom, more people have come to adopt the iPad as their instant on Internet device of choice.

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Finally, it happened. Apple has just issued an official press release about the iPhone 4 “problems”. It turns out, the iPhone 4 comes with a “totally wrong” formula for calculating the signal strength - it displays more bars than it should. The good news is, this will be fixed with a software update soon.

Still, it seems like you’ll have to keep holding the phone without touching “the spot”. If you’re in a low signal area, the reception issues will still happen, but iOS will display the signal drop more accurately.

Check out the full press release below.

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I’ve been holding back the past few days because many of you readers don’t like Verizon news. When Bloomberg broke wind and everyone went crazy with the news, I decided not to report it. But you’re going to have grin and bear it again, because it’s getting incredibly loud out there.

Yes, Bloomberg reported a Verizon iPhone coming in January. Lots of headlines were passed around, and even those close with Verizon were questioning whether it’s really happening. But at this point I want to make something clear, and recent rumors have reaffirmed my position: Apple is already sitting on a CDMA iPhone. They have been sometime now. All Verizon has to do is pull the trigger.

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Tapulous, developers of many iPhone apps such as the Tap Tap Revenge series and Twinkle, has been acquired by Disney - TechCrunch reports. Founded in 2008 in California, the company received $1.8 M in funding over the years, and collected many hits in the App Store - which made it one of the most succesfull mobile development companies ever.

Congratulations, Tapulous. Now please give us some awesome games, and stop messing with Bieber.