Apple plans to release an iPhone this year that will work on CDMA -- the type of wireless network that carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel use -- effectively ending AT&T's monopoly on the popular device in the U.S., sources tell Yukari Iwatani Kane Ting-I Tsai and Niraj Sheth.

The move could open up a significant new market for Apple. In 2009, iPhone sales globally rose 83% to 25.1 million, far outpacing the 20% to 25% growth in smart phones sales overall, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. data. Apple is also said to be planning a new version of its current iPhone for release this summer.

As is usual, Apple has nothing to say about the reports. An AT&T spokesman cites long-time errant speculation about CDMA iPhones and adds, "we haven't seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur." Read the whole story...

Casual-dining chains such as Houlihan's, Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen and BJ's Restaurants are trying to lure dollar-pinched diners with small plates of items that typically are cheaper than appetizers and are meant to be passed around the table, Bruce Horovitz.

"This is how the next generation" -- meaning Millennials - "is eating," says Houlihan's CEO Bob Hartnett. His chain, for example, is offering 23 small-plate items in response to the demand. The best seller so far is a plate of mini-burgers for $3.50. "If we don't give it to them, they'll find someone else who will," say Hartnett.

The National Restaurant Association reports that 57% of casual-dining restaurants reported a same-store, year-over-year decline in sales January, following a 49% drop in December. Read the whole story...

Pepsi is using actress Eva Longoria Parker to spread the words "Yo Sumo" -- Spanish for "I count" -- in a campaign to encourage Hispanics to not only be tallied in the 2010 census but also to share their experiences in shaping the country, Laurel Wentz reports. Longoria will direct and produce a documentary based on stories posted to the Pepsiyosumo Web site.

"We felt the Hispanic consumer needs to go beyond simply being counted, and count," says Martha Bermudez, Pepsi's senior marketing manager, multicultural marketing.

Pepsi and Dieste, Pepsi's Hispanic agency, are working with NBC Universal's Telemundo and its youth-oriented cable channel Mun2 and the Telemundo.com site to spread the word. A Dieste spot features quick cuts of young Hispanics talking about being counted, with both English and Spanish voiceovers. Another partner, Mexican T-shirt businessman Edoardo Chavarin, has designed a Pepsi "Yo Sumo" T-shirt. Read the whole story...

James F. Kelly, director of brand experience for PriceWaterhouseCoopers, writes that the way that a company parts ways with its employees can have a potent and lasting effect not only on the former employee but also on the employees who remain -- as well as the brand itself.

People who leave often wind up working for a competitor, industry organization, or client, he points out. "You'll want to be on the best possible terms with those folks, no matter what their future holds. Remember, too, that more than one happy alumnus has delivered business to a former employer," he writes.

A strong exit process can reinforce the strengths of your brand, Kelly maintains, and he offers suggestions such as holding a mini career fair by inviting companies in your industry to meet exiting employees; making a space with resources like Internet access and resume assistance available to departing staff, and organizing volunteer opportunities that can help ex-employees focus on something positive and network at the same time. Read the whole story...

A jury in Wilmington, Del., rejected Callaway Golf's $246-million claim that Titleist had infringed its patents for golf balls because the design and construction did not represent a new concept or innovation when they were issued in 2001 and 2003, Nathan Olivarez-Giles reports.

Callaway had patented the use of multiple layers of different materials inside its golf balls. Titleist said the design was an obvious approach to construction and maintained that its own design was developed independently. Callaway said it would appeal.

"We are extremely pleased with the court's decision, and we hope that this finally brings this long-standing dispute to a close," said Joe Nauman, an evp of Titleist parent Acushnet Co., a unit of Fortune Brands Inc. Read the whole story...

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