Want to go to WWDC 2010? You Might Want To Clear These Dates

Kudos to MacNN for a little bit of technology gumshoe-ing to discover what looks likely to be the dates for WWDC 2010. You see, Apple hasn't announced the dates for 2010's developer conference yet, but June/July is a safe bet, in general. However, some investigating reveals an events labelled simply as "Corporate event" is scheduled for June 28- July 2. "Corporate event" has been used in the past to block the WWDC dates on the Moscone Center calendar until Apple announces the event.

Of particular interest, if this conference followed the patterns of previous ones, the keynote could occur on June 29th, As MacNN points out, this is exactly three years to the day of the original iPhone release. Just a fun date to celebrate, or an indicator of the expiration of AT&T's exclusivity on the iPhone? Keep an eye on those T-Mobile/Verizon/Sprint execs' calendars!

Five Reasons Apple Should Buy Sprint

Each month we take a look at Apple fantasy mergers: Mergers intended to be funny, or sometimes serious, but almost always unlikely to happen. Today though, it's a merger/acquisition that would actually make a lot of sense: Sprint. Sprint? Here's Five reasons why this makes sense:

1. Apple would control the whole "widget." What does Apple like above all else? Control over how their products are marketed and viewed. What better way to do that with the iPhone and future devices than to own the network too. The cell phone service provider space could use the same kind of shakeup the iPhone brought to the hardware manufacturers.

2. It's a bargain. Relative to the other networks, Sprint would represent a decent buy. And while their coverage might be lacking in current generations, the 4G space looks like it could be a different story.

3. Revenue, revenue, revenue. Sure, the $300 subsidy from AT&T on each phone is nice, but how about the net revenue from every U.S. customer over the course of their contract? It remains to be seen how becoming a U.S. provider could affect relationships with carriers in other parts of the world.

4. A rising tide lifts all ships. Imagine the new opportunities across Apple's products, from MobileMe to MacBooks if Apple could integrate wireless service into more devices, and use a networked streamlined for data rather than voice.

5. Make AT&T call your bluff. Admittedly, this one doesn't require buying Sprint, but merely talking about it. If Apple let it be known that they weren't afraid to go into the cell provider business themselves, maybe AT&T would make more attractive concessions not just for Apple, but also iPhone customers. Things like last week's contract wording "mistake" could be a thing of the past.