Tech 2.0 for Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Selling more than 5 million of any consumer product in three days would be a big deal. But with all the hype surrounding the Apple iPhone 5, even those numbers are considered a bit of a disappointment. The company says it moved 5 million new iPhones in the three days since it launched. That's a record for any phone. But it beats last year's iPhone 4s launch only by a little. And with analysts throwing around numbers ranging from 6 to 6.5 million, the launch is seen as less than stellar. Part of the problem is that Apple didn't have enough phones to go around. Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White says the phone was sold out at 80 to 85 percent of the U.S. Apple stores contacted Sunday evening, with most of the remaining models for Sprint, not for Verizon and AT&T, the nation's two largest carriers.

Forget about jailbreaking -- this is a case of a company letting its own phone out from behind bars. Verizon says it won't stop its version of the iPhone 5 from being used on AT&T's network. It turns out the Verizon version of the latest Apple smartphone will work on the AT&T network and that of many other phone companies, as well as on Verizon. It's the first time a Verizon phone has sold a product that works on competing U.S. networks without needing to be unlocked.

While many seem to think the NFL believes just about anyone can be a pro football referee, few people feel they can be a real NFL kicker. But now there's an app for those whose goal it is to kick a field goal. The game "NFL Kicker 13" is app is an electronic version of flick football, in which players kick a paper or coin through uprights created by an opponents' finger. The game is gussied up for the both Apple and Android devices -- and is a lot of fun. You get to kick the ball through the uprights, and even have to deal with some pretty stiff winds -- stiffer than you'd typically find at any real NFL game. The game by Full Fat features all 32 NFL teams for your smartphone of choice.