By now we all know that Apple's not a big fan of mobile Flash. A mixture of security fears and resource hungry operations have kept the company from integrating Flash support for the iPhone, iPod Touch and now the iPad.

If one company has its way, however, some parts of the Flash web could be coming to Apple handhelds sooner rather than later. A vendor called BrightCove is suggesting that its HTML5 developer tools could allow the format to support video content that would otherwise have to be posted in Flash. In doing so, the company suggests that developers could finally allow that content to be viewed on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Obviously this would be a welcome change for current owners who could finally run a large portion of web content on their systems. It would also be a nice update for developers, as it could open up the millions of people who currently use Apple hand-helds.

It may not, however, win such a favorable reaction from the wireless carriers. Many have already complained that the iPhone is a data hog, taking up huge portions of the carriers' wireless broadband capacity. Such a step forward in opening up multimedia content to those users could only further the bandwidth crunch.

Think that your car is cool because it has a built-in iPod jack? How about a car that can be controlled by your iPod?

Car geek Dave Phipps has managed to hook up a restored 1969 Pontiac GTO to his iPod touch, allowing him to connect the device with both the car's own electronics and multiple servo motors to control everything in the car from the alarm to the door locks to the convertible roof to even the car's ignition. All thorough the iPod.

Phipps uses a combination of radio-connections on the car and a networking tool called RedEye which lets him turn the car into what is more or less a car-wide Wi-Fi network. This allows Phipps to connect through a normal Wi-Fi connection and control the various motors.

This isn't a simple hack, however. Phipps pulled the car from the scrap heap more than two decades ago and custom wired all of the electronics. At various times, the car was controlled though a key fob, a mobile phone, a bluetooth headset and now an iPod touch.

Sure beats the heck out of a custom stereo connector.

A lot of press has been generated over a recent smartphone survey.

The survey was carried out online by a research firm known as Crowd Science and asked smartphone users questions about what they thought of their devices and whether they would switch to another brand if given the opportunity.

The report had some rather damning stats for RIM, as 39 per cent of those surveyed said that if they could buy a new handset tomorrow, they would choose an iPhone and 34 per cent said Android would be a likely buy.

So, does this mean Blackberry is doomed? Will RIM soon find itself struggling to stay afloat? Probably not. While Apple may be gaining on RIM in the market, there's a lot in this report (and not in it) to suggest that the BlackBerry won't be collapsing any time soon.

First off, the survey is somewhat vague. It says that users were asked to check one of three categories for each platform: definitely or probably would buy the phone; maybe or maybe not; and definitely or probably would not. So, 39 per cent of the BlackBerry users surveyed said that they "definitely or probably would" buy an iPhone if given the choice right this instance. Then again, 31 per cent said that they "definitely or probably would not" buy an iPhone, making it the option most commonly cited in that category by both BlackBerry and Android users. The same data being presented to suggest that BlackBerry users can't wait to jump ship to the iPhone could be used to suggest that the iPhone is most commonly cited as the device BlackBerry users don't want to own. On top of that, the BlackBerry is not even specifically named as an option, instead lumped into the 'other smartphone' category.

But none of that really matters as much as the simple fact that the end user often doesn't get their first choice of smartphones, particularly when it comes to the BlackBerry. Because RIM has such a huge business following, a large portion of its handsets are going to be issued by the company. Users can pine for an iPhone all day and all night, but if BlackBerry is what the IT staff is handing out, that's what you'll get. Even in the consumer space, local carrier strength and service contracts can mean many users stay with their old provider and go with BlackBerry or Android rather than AT&T and the iPhone.

In the end, I don't want to suggest that the iPhone isn't taking users away from RIM, there's more than enough information to show that indeed the BlackBerry is losing ground to Apple. But don't believe the outlandish stats, particularly when they're based on questioning as vague as this.

It appears that Apple is up to its old tricks again and exercising some quality control over the applications available through its App Store.

Hot on the heels of it banning applications it considers to be inappropriate, Apple is now pulling apps with Wi-Fi stumbling features, according to numerous reports.

Apps such as Wifi-Where, yFy, and Sekai Camera work by showing the user where all the nearest hotspots are to him or her, using both online directories and dynamic real-time tracking of local Wi-Fi hotspots.

Three Jacks Software, the company behind Wifi-Where, released a statement on its site sharing the email Apple sent by way of explanation.

Apparently Cupertino told the firm its app had been removed from the App Store because "there are no published APIs that provide the ability to manipulate the wireless connection or the show level of information regarding the wireless connection as demonstrated in the application".

So it seems the message to developers is loud and clear: don't use private APIs in your products or Apple will probably get around to removing them.

As Apple has stated its position on apps which use these so-called private APIs before, the news will be less controversial than Cupertino's last attempts to ban certain apps from its online marketplace.

At the end of February, Apple decided it would clamp down on "overtly sexual apps" after complaints from some parents and female customers. Some argued at the time that the rules were too restrictive and seem to have been only sporadically enforced, for example the FHM and Playboy apps were apparently overlooked.

In typically confusing style Apple has announced the launch dates for its iPad. Well, it had for the US. And only then for the Wi-Fi version. For the Wi-Fi + 3G version the dates remain unknown. But it's the end of April, so that's something.

Oh, but you can pre-order the device. Well, you can pre-order both versions online, but you can only pre-order the Wi-Fi version to pick up in store, as that's the only one with a release date. So you can pre-order the Wi-Fi + 3G version but you don't know when you might have it delivered. Simple.

Not in the US? Don't worry, it's simpler still. Both versions will be available in late April, not exactly sure when, but at some point. But then again, that doesn't mean both will ship at the same time, just that both will be available by then. So the Wi-Fi only version may well be out before the Wi-Fi + 3G model as it's slated for a late March availability on the Apple UK web site.

And surely, the one with 3G is the one you want right?

Apple chief Steve Jobs said, "We're excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product." Well, here's a revolutionary idea, why not make it a lot more magical by just being a lot more straightforward about when the damn thing will be launched, alright Jobsworth?

A recent analyst report contends that Apple may limit or even delay the release of the highly-anticipated iPad.

According to Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Mizek, delays at one of the manufacturing plants Apple uses to produce iPad parts is slowing down production of the device. So much so that Mizek thinks Apple may put off the launch until April and even then just limit the iPad to stores in the United States.

Even when the iPad is released, Mizek predicts that only 300,000 will initially be available while the manufacturers iron out the "bottleneck" in the production process.

Keep in mind that that is only an analyst report, however. Reports can be and often are either partially or completely wrong. Even if the speculation is spot on, the company could deal with other manufacturers, or iron out the issue causing the slowdown, or find out some other way to lessen the damage and still deliver the iPad on time worldwide.

Still, coming in the wake of accusations of employee mistreatment at these same manufacturing facilities, the report is obviously not going to come as a welcome bit of information for Apple.