Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is aggressively developing near-field communication (NFC) mobile services. Near-field communications is a technology that Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has been working on with Android phones for quite some time now. New Android devices will come equipped with NFC services bundled in. It is rumored that the iPhone 5 will have NFC bundled upon its release as well.

Looks like Verizon Wireless has just one-upped AT&T in terms of data pricing. Verizon Wireless will be offering iPhone buyers unlimited data plans for $30 per month. AT&T charges $30 per month for a 2GB plan. “I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” stated Verizon COO Lowel McAdam in an investor meeting. If Verizon did not offer an unlimited plan, there would be a barrier to switch over from AT&T. However this offer will only be temporary so if you really want an unlimited plan, you may want to consider doing that ASAP.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has launched a Twitter account for the App Store. This account will be used to promote featured applications. You can follow the Twitter account at @AppStore. Apple promises to feature new apps and announce exclusive offers. I agree with 9to5Mac when they say, “hopefully Apple takes full advantage of their new account and uses it to promote great apps that don’t normally get much attention. Maybe they will even tweet out some of the new apps that get approved.”

If you take the total number of news stories, social media mentions, and tweets about companies over 3 months and rate each based on impact, you will see some interesting numbers. New York based media measurements company General Sentiment put together an infographic to show the impact value of the top 20 global brands. Apple is the #1 brand leader for the third quarter in a row as they have hit $4.5 billion worth of “media value” in 2010. However Apple has dramatically dropped from the last quarter. Microsoft and Yahoo! actually saw a gain. Click on the image to enlarge it.

The Barnes & Noble Nook device has been selling by the millions, but the Nook 3G has been struggling. According to a source with Engadget, the Nook 3G will continue to sell until the stock is exhausted. And the book retail company has been encouraging retail partners not to send out any more bulk orders. The reason for the discontinuation is rumored to be because of a lack of supply not because of the lack of bulk sales.

Professional social networking company LinkedIn has announced a new service that was constructed in their Labs division that showcases how your connections look in an interactive visual representation called InMaps. The map is color-coded to represent different affiliations or groups from previous employees, classmates, or industries that you have worked in. Bigger names represent who you are most connected to. Check out the video demo above.

The white iPhone 4 is appearing in AT&T’s online system according to a leaked screenshot. AT&T’s online system is showing two versions of the white iPhone 4, which are the 16GB and 32GB versions. The white versions are expected to appear in either February or March.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) CEO Eric Schmidt is rumored to be pursuing a career in hosting a TV show. Schmidt said that he is planning to step down in April as co-founder Larry Page plans to take over the role. Schmidt has been talking to CNN Parker Spitzer executive producer Liza McGuirk on developing a show for himself. McGuirk and Schmidt connected for the first time on the TV show “Fareed Zakaria GPS.” McGuirk was an executive producer of the Fareed show and Schmidt was a regular guest. “Eric wants to be a talk-show host. He’s been working with Liza to develop a show, but he has not yet been picked up by any network,” stated a New York Post source.