It’s already the middle of January! And the Valentine’s Day paraphernalia are already on sale! Let’s slow it down, consumer world. We want to enjoy 2011.

 

  • Verizon made a huge announcement this past Tuesday. The iPhone 4 will be available on the network as early as next month. Though it’ll have the same features as the AT&T version, the Verizon iPhone has some minor differences: connection to the CDMA network, works as a mobile hot spot, and minor changes in the design to fix reception problems. Are you going to buy an iPhone 4? Will you be switching over? Some say the impact won’t be too large.

 

  • Recall all those PSAs about not texting while driving? Well, if you really can’t wait to read your texts or e-mails while driving, download the DriveSafe.ly app on to your mobile device. It is a mobile application that reads text messages and e-mail aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching their phones. It won Mashable’s “Best Mobile App” award this past weekend.

 

  • Are you one of those tech-savvy people who check-in every time you step into a store? Studies show that consumers are becoming more and more tech-savvy and retailer stores are adapting to these changes in consumer behaviors. A few examples include: creating a mobile or web app to help sell merchandise outside of the store, using Facebook or Twitter to inform consumers of any in-store news, create personalized shopping experiences online and in-store, create online communities of loyal shoppers, and more.

 

  • Groupon continues to grow after rejecting Google’s $6 billion offer. They have just completed a $950 million round of financing and plan to use the funds gathered to expand the brand. That’s a lot of moolah.

 

  • Were you excited about that iPad-only newspaper launching soon? Tough luck, the launch of the iPad newspaper, “The Daily” has been pushed back several weeks. Apparently Apple needed more time to “fine tune its new subscription service for publications sold through iTunes.” Each issue will be $0.99 per issue and sold exclusively for the iPad. So that’s where newspaper are headed…

 

  • Lastly, save a life through Facebook. Amber Alerts are now circulating on the Facebook network. The new program, supported by various police officers, was made available the day before the 15th anniversary of the abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman. With 53 AMBER Alert pages for each of the states in the US, law enforcements believe that the mass amount of people on the social network will significantly help find missing children.

 

Well that rounds up this week’s most interesting social media news. Until next week!