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International Data Corporation (IDC) released it’s quarterly report on worldwide tablet shipments Tuesday. The report states that the data tracking agency has lowered its expected forecast for growth in the tablet sector, which includes Android, iOS, and Windows tablets.

Tablet shipments are now expected to reach 221.3 million units this year, which is down from the agency’s earlier forecast of 227.4 million units. This new forecast is still 53.5 percent higher than last year’s unit shipment levels, however.

There are tons of mobile hotspots out there, but Karma has done something groundbreaking with The Karma WiFi Hotspot.

With this device, you can now put WiFi in your pocket and stay connected with a lightning-fast 4G connection, anywhere you go. And with this offer from Cult of Mac Deals – an offer that kicks off our Black Friday sales season – you can get The Karma WiFi Hotspot along with 1 GB free data and free shipping for just $69!

EE has been the United Kingdom’s only 4G provider for around nine months now, but at the end of this month, it’ll finally see some competition. O2 has today announced that its own 4G network will launch on August 29, with prices starting at £26 per month. The service will reach three cities initially, with ten more scheduled to be added by the end of the year.

Virgin Mobile has today announced that it will be launching the iPhone 5 on Friday, June 28. The handset will be available on its Beyond Talk plans, which offer unlimited 3G and 4G LTE data and unlimited messaging for $35 per month. Prices for the iPhone 5 itself start at $549.99.

Apple has issued a statement which explains its commitment to customer privacy and how it handles government requests for data following the PRISM scandal. The Cupertino company has reiterated that it did not know about the PRISM program until June 6 when it was first contacted by the media, and that it does not provide government agencies with direct access to its servers.

Having a hard time connecting to the Internet on your Three smartphone this morning? You’re not the only one. The British carrier has confirmed that it is currently suffering a glitch that is affecting data services across the whole of the U.K., but it promises it is working to fix it.

DataMan was one of the first iPhone data trackers when it debuted back in 2010, after AT&T 86ed the utopian guarantee of unlimited data.

This new iteration, DataMan Next, is much prettier, but essentially does the same thing: It tracks your data usage and warns you before you spend money needlessly on data overage charges; it can even predict whether you’ll end up going over your monthly allowance. And today, it’s free.

We’ve already seen hacked carrier updates for iOS devices on AT&T and T-Mobile, and now there’s one for customers on Verizon, too. Like the others, this one promises to increase the 3G and 4G data speeds on your iPhone 5, iPad, and iPad mini — and it doesn’t require a jailbreak.

If you’ve got an iPhone, you’re probably glued to it; if you use an Android device, you probably neglect it, at least comparatively. That’s the obvious conclusion to be drawn by new data that shows that iPhone users spend an additional 26 minutes on their smartphone per day than your average Android owner.

If you weren’t grandfathered into an unlimited 3G data plan, then you probably spend each minute on your cellphone judiciously deciding what to spend your data on before you reach your limit. It sucks for users, and it sucks for content providers who want you to stream more videos and consume more content.

ESPN is trying to make thing better for consumers though by striking a deal with the carriers to subsidize your data plan so you can watch more sports video and analysis on your smartphone without it costing you anything against your data plan.

Look, every once in a while a Mac app comes along that’s so incredibly useful, it becomes one of those rare staple apps no Mac should go without. On this week’s CultCast, we’ll introduce you to the incredibly talented Alfred, and reveal all the time-saving totally amazing feats this little bit of code can perform for you.

Plus! Word on the streets is T-Mobile’s getting the iPhone and their new plans could give the industry a shake down. We’ll tell you the pros and cons of big T’s contract free “uncarrier” plans and explain what makes them different from the pack.

All that and more on this episode of the CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes to download our new episodes or just hit play below.

We’ve known that T-Mobile was doing away with two-year phone contracts for quite some time, but exact details haven’t been revealed until today. Unlike the other big U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint), T-Mobile isn’t doing subsidized, two-year contracts for smartphones anymore. Instead, you pay as you go—and the monthly rates look very good.

If you’re struggling to stay within your smartphone data plan each month, then maybe one of AT&T’s new shared data plans might be better for you. The company is now offering 30GB, 40GB, and 50GB tiers starting at just $300 per month. That’s right, per month. That’s with unlimited calls and texts included. Bargain, right?

Apple’s iCloud service hasn’t been perfect, but it’s performed fairly well since its debut in 2011.

Dropbox’s CEO on the otherhand thinks that Apple’s users really shouldn’t get too invested into the data-synching service, because it will probably hurt them in the long run.

The latest App Report from research firm Appthority has found that free apps downloaded onto iOS devices are more likely to collect your personal data than free apps downloaded on Android, with 60% of the top ten App Store downloads sharing data with advertising and analytics networks.

The report suggests that due to the volume of titles in the App Store, iOS developers are more likely to collect your data and pass it on as an alternative revenue stream.

Mobile ecosystems analyst firm, VisionMobile, today released its fourth Developer Economics report. The 2013 report, sponsored by AT&T, Mozilla, and Nokia, looked at developer opinions, charting out which platforms have the highest mindshare among developers as well as which platforms make their devs the most money.

AT&T has been dancing around its FaceTime restrictions for several months now. Before iOS 6 even went public, it was discovered that the carrier would block FaceTime calls over a cellular connection at its own discretion. AT&T later confirmed that users would have to be on one of its new shared data plans.

Public outcry caused AT&T to then backtrack and extend the feature to anyone with a tiered, traditional data plan and a LTE device. That still didn’t cut it. Now AT&T has updated its policy again, and subscribers with grandfathered unlimited data plans are the only ones still left out in the cold.

If you’re a Verizon customer, you’ll want to be on the lookout for an email or text message from asking if you’d be willing to share your data usage (location, web browsing and mobile application usage data) in return for coupons or “rewards.” This sort of data farming for advertisers is nothing new in today’s world, but always a bit unsettling.

While the iPod touch is a terrific little device, it would be so much better if Apple gave it a data connection. It’s so frustrating when you quickly want to check on a sports score or load up a map and you’re in an area where there’s no Wi-Fi connection. Thanks to FreedomPop, however, you can now pick up a new case for $99 that comes with built-in WiMAX.

It’s been just three weeks since the iPhone 5 started shipping, and Apple’s latest smartphones already accounts for more web traffic than the Samsung Galaxy S III, according to a new report.

It’s thought the handset’s “record-breaking sales numbers” — which have made it the fastest-selling iPhone to date — plus its “new 4G browsing speeds which encourage data usage” are just a couple reasons why the iPhone 5 is so big when it comes to web browsing.

Apple has issued its first software update to the iPhone 5 just over a week after the handset was released — but you’ll only see it if you’re on Verizon. No, the update doesn’t make Maps work. Instead, it “resolves an issue in which, under certain circumstances, iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network.”

How’s your iPhone 5’s data connection where you live? Did you know that if your signal is poor, and your handset is always struggling to get a decent data connection, it could mean that your battery life won’t last as long between charges?

When Apple releases iOS 6 tomorrow, it will finally allow users to make FaceTime calls over 3G and 4G data connections. But AT&T has decided — unlike most other carriers — that it’s going to charge its customers extra to take advantage of the feature. Understandably, this has annoyed a lot of people.

So much so that the Free Press, Public Knowledge, and the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute have warned AT&T that they will be filing a complaint with the FCC against the carrier for violating network neutrality rules.

Cricket has become the iPhone 5’s first prepaid carrier after announcing today that it will be stocking Apple’s latest smartphone in “select Cricket markets” from September 28. That’s a week after the device launches on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, but it’ll be worth the wait if you’re determined to avoid a lengthy contract.

The new iPhone 5 is almost among us, dear friends, and on this episode of the CultCast, we’ll tell you everything we know about it, ponder what Apple will actually be naming it, and tell you how to hang on to that unlimited data plan your carrier wants to move you out of.

Plus, looks like there’s a new HD tablet in town, and this one is looking pretty fern good, partner. We’ll tell you why Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is one tablet that could actually give the iPad a run for its money.

Hit the subscribe button and let’s get this party rollin’!

Show notes ahead!