Apple's App Store today reached 25 billion downloads since its inception in 2008, and along with the milestone comes the end of the company's "25 Billion App Countdown" promotion launched just over two weeks ago .

Despite some questionable rumors of price hikes earlier this week, 9to5Mac reports that reliable tipster Mr. X has revealed that the new iPad 3 will carry the same prices as the iPad 2 and also come in the same storage configurations at 16GB/32GB/64GB. We’ve gotten word that iPad pricing is going to be the same across the board as the current iPad 2 models which should be no big surprise given Apple’s history – they rarely raise prices

Business Insider points to a report [ Google translation ] from French newspaper Le Figaro noting that Virgin will be vacating its landmark retail store on Champs-Élysées in Paris and that Apple is one of the primary candidates rumored to be interested in taking the spot. Interior of Virgin Megastore on Champs-Élysées (Source: Flickr/Ju_li_a ) The entire Virgin store checks in at roughly 75,000 square feet, with nearly 50,000 square feet of it dedicated to the sales floor.

AT&T is retooling its throttling policy with regards to users with unlimited data plans, originally implemented last year. Instead of throttling customers on a case-by-case basis , users are going to be slowed after a fixed amount of data usage each month. 3G/HSPA+ users with unlimited data plans will be slowed after 3GB of data usage, while 4G/LTE users will be slowed after 5GB each month

Late yesterday, we posted a remarkable photo of the glass staircase inside Apple's new Amsterdam retail store that is set to open to the public on Saturday. Press previews of the new store took place this morning, and a number of sources have now posted photo sets of the interior of the store. One More Thing has an extensive gallery [ Google translation ] showing off the rather ornate interior details Apple has utilized in the historic building

Apple today updated its Apple Store app [ App Store ] for iOS to version 2.1, adding several new features and making the app available in the Netherlands for the first time to support the Amsterdam store opening this week. Among the most notable additions to the app is a new "Account" section where users can update their billing information and addresses as well as shipping addresses right from the app.

Apple's stock has hit yet another psychological milestone today, pressing through to reach $500 billion in market capitalization. Apple passed the milestone in after-hours trading yesterday, but has just now passed it in regular trading as the trading day opens.

DigiTimes reports that Apple is considering launching a 14-inch MacBook Air model, a move that would appear to be targeting Asian markets where the size is popular with consumers. Apple is reportedly considering launching a 14-inch MacBook Air and may start mass production in the near future to fully enter the Asia PC market, according to sources from the upstream supply chain

Earlier this month, privacy issues related to the uploading of users' address books to developers' servers were cast into the limelight as Congress requested details from Apple on how private information is handled and protected. While Apple quickly responded to note that it would be addressing the issue by requiring explicit permission to be granted by users for apps to access their address book data, it has been a relatively open secret for some time that developers can gain access to a broad array of what might be considered private information, including photos, calendars, and other content. The New York Times today is taking a closer look at the topic of photos and videos, noting how easy it is for developers to quietly gain access to such content when given permission to collect location information.

CNBC has just issued a Tweet claiming its sources have indicated that Apple will indeed be launching a quad-core iPad 3 next with 4G LTE cellular data capabilities next week. Interestingly, the tweet claims that the unveiling will take place in New York, a departure from the company's typical major announcements that have taken place either in San Francisco or at the company's headquarters in Cupertino.