Apple's iPhone 3G apparently created a summertime switch itch: 30 percent of all the smartphone's buyers bailed on their existing carriers in order to purchase the device, according to an NPD Group report released Monday.

AT&T has been the iPhone 3G's exclusive carrier in the U.S. since the smartphone was released in June.

According to the report, which covers June through August, 47 percent of those switching to AT&T to get the iPhone 3G came from Verizon Wireless, 24 percent from T-Mobile, and 19 percent from Sprint.

"While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G (have) proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network," Ross Rubin, NPD director of industry analysis

Giga Omni Media, the blog network that encompasses flagship GigaOm and six others (including NewTeeVee and Earth2Tech), has raised $4.5 million in a round led by Alloy Ventures.

"The shift of audiences and ad dollars to online media from more traditional mediums has been significant on many levels, not least of which has been how it's created opportunities for new models such as ours," founder Om Malik wrote in a blog post announcing the funding. "What hasn't changed is a desire on the part of business and technology audiences for in-depth, insightful coverage, which is what we are committed to providing."

Raising money now is also a buffer against the rough economy, as all signs point to a drop in digital ad spending. "The whiplash-inducing bad winds that are plaguin

Netflix lowered its fourth quarter revenue and subscriber guidance on Monday, noting the economic climate may be taking its toll on its movie rental business.

Shares of Netflix plummeted 13 percent in intra-day trading to as low as $25.19 per share.

In sizing up the fourth quarter, which began this month, Netflix is forecasting a weaker than anticipated quarter based on how it existed the third quarter.

The number of subscribers is expected to be in the 8.95 million to 9.25 million range at the end of the year, compared with the company's earlier forecast of 9.1 million to 9.7 million.

Revenue, as a result, is expected to come in at a lower range between $353 million to $359 million, compared to its earlier forecast of $357 million to $367 million.

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