maybe this is why singtel is sending all their iphones to maxis...to clear stock.. as where got singaporean so good to us...

Rumours: free iPhone from O2 this summer


The rumormill has been churning away about a new iPhone this summer. UK iPhone carrier O2 may even offer the iPhone 3G for free in May in order to clear out inventory before new models arrive in June or July. As we get closer to the summer, we’re getting closer to the one-year anniversary of the iPhone 3G. We’ve heard some rumblings of a new iPhone landing this summer, with “evidence” mounting as each week passes. One rumor that appeared this week comes from Mobile Today, which is reporting that O2 may cut iPhone 3G prices in May before the launch of a new model.

Austrian iPhone carrier T-Mobile dropped its iPhone prices in January, perhaps to get rid of inventory, so a similar move by O2 is entirely plausible. Currently, the 16GB iPhone is available for free to customers paying £75 per month, and the 8GB model is free to customers paying £45 per month or more. The rumor suggests that the iPhone 3G (probably the 8GB model) will become free for users paying £35 per month as well. At that price, I’m sure O2 would move a few extra units. Mobile Today also says that O2 competitor Orange may also want to sell the next iPhone in the UK, but it’s unclear exactly what the next iteration or iterations of the iPhone will look like. It’s possible that we’ll hear more hints about upcoming iPhones at the iPhone OS 3.0 event next Tuesday, but given Apple’s love of secrecy, I wouldn’t exactly count on it.


http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/O2_lowers_iPh...ew_handset.html

O2 drops price on 3G iPhone ahead of new Apple device this summer


[O2 drops price on 3G iPhone ahead of new Apple device this summer]

Stocks cleared as new Apple iPhone set for July release

O2 is poised to tweak prices on the 3G iPhone in May, ahead of what is believed to be a new Apple mobile phone in June or, most likely, July, Mobile can exclusively reveal.

The 3G iPhone (pictured) will be free on its £35 and £45 per month tariffs from May. The 16GB version is currently only free on the £75 per month contract, while the 8GB handset is free only on the £75 and £45 per month deals.

Customers currently spend between £59 and £159 for an iPhone on the £35 and £45 monthly tariffs.

O2 is believed to be keen to clear its inventory of the 3G iPhones ahead of the new device.

Details of the new Apple handset planned for June or July are not known, but there has been considerable speculation that it will be a mid-range ‘Nano-style’ device, which will be cheaper by compromising either on memory, camera or screen size.

Sources claim Orange is in talks with Apple to make its next mobile phone available on the Orange network as well as O2 in the UK.

O2 has notched up one million iPhone sales in the UK, and previously stated that its deal with Apple is ‘multi year and multi device’. The operator has exclusively stocked the original 2G iPhone and the more recent 3G iPhone.

Orange currently sells the iPhone in 27 countries, including France. The network clashed in the French courts over its exclusivity, which was opposed on the grounds of being anti-competitive, and is still being challenged.

This post has been edited by andyz: Mar 14 2009, 09:17 AM

Kevin Rose On iPhone 3.0: Cut/Paste, Features Equal Palm Pre
By Jack Loftus, 12:44 PM on Sun Mar 15 2009, 62,209 views

Digg's Kevin Rose is again peddling his Apple rumors, this time in regards to the upcoming 3.0 preview scheduled for this Tuesday. He was dead on last time around—can he do it again?

Now the good stuff. We've had two separate tipsters ping us with the rumors today, which Rose talked about last night during the live Diggnation show at SXSW in Austin.

The breakdown of unconfirmed rumors goes like this:

- Cut and paste in 3.0
- Users magnify or double tap a word to bring up cut and paste
- Pinch "boundaries" to select word(s); Rose called them "copy boundaries"
- Then you get option to cut, paste or copy

Also, the 3.0 update will have enough new features and additions to bring it up to the Palm Pre levels. Whatever Palm Pre has shown us so far, apparently, the iPhone will have too when 3.0 becomes official. That point remains a bit hazy right now, so anyone who was at Diggnation last night who can help elaborate a bit more would be awesome in my book.

Lastly, there will NOT be video, nor will there be MMS. Boo. This last point seems to contradict BGR's MMS rumor from the other day. [Thanks, Kyle and Abdul!]


http://i.gizmodo.com/5170262/kevin-rose-di...-equal-palm-pre

This post has been edited by andyz: Mar 16 2009, 10:34 AM

Apple to show off new iPhone software

SEATTLE - Apple Inc. is planning to take the wraps off a new version of software for its iPhone Tuesday, and while the company — as usual — has given few hints, rumors of new features have surfaced online.

The company is holding a "sneak peek" event for journalists at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters to introduce the third generation of the iPhone software, plus the tools programmers outside Apple use to build applications for the device.

The current iPhone model, Apple's second, launched last summer and promised faster connection to the Internet.

Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Bros., wrote in a research note last Friday that he believes the company could add speech recognition and text-to-speech functions that would make the iPhone easier to use on the go.

Wu also mentioned the possibility of a new version of Apple's Safari Web browser for the iPhone and improvements to the iTunes App Store, which sells add-on programs for the device.

Some bloggers have posted rumors that Apple will add a copy-and-paste function, fixing a common frustration among users. Others speculate the company will add multimedia messaging, which lets people snap a photo and send it just like they would a text message.

Also on the list: the ability to power a laptop's Internet connectivity by tethering it to the iPhone, and a premium store to sell $20-and-up applications.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29735963/

Click here:
iPhone 3.0 beta OS walkthrough video

The biggest point to get out of this video is that the copy part of copy and paste works fine, but the paste part is tricky. It's not incredibly clear (right now, in the beta) where you should double tap to enable it. It seems like you need to be doing this inside existing text. The phone refused to paste into a blank spot below actual text.

oh the music for the video is not exactly nsfw ..

This post has been edited by andyz: Mar 19 2009, 09:36 AM

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/03...deo_camera.html

Source: Apple's next-gen iPhone has video camera


Apple this year will finally introduce video recording capabilities on at least one of its upcoming iPhone models, AppleInsider has been told.

An iPhone with a video cam

Details are few and far between, but the information comes from a person who's proven extremely reliable when predicting changes to the Cupertino-based company's hardware offerings.

At this time, there's no information to suggest that video recording support will be available through anything other than a upgraded rear-facing camera that will, of course, also take still photos at a higher resolution.

The addition, however, is reportedly just one of several hardware related tweaks that will surface in iPhone revisions due sometime between late spring and early fall. Another, that same person says, will be a significant boost to gaming hardware (likely via Imagination's new multi-core PowerVR chips).

Video recording support has stood as one of the most glaring omissions from the iPhone since its inception two years ago, but the understanding is that Apple wants to get the feature "right."

Supporting evidence

Possibly supporting these most recent claims is a screenshot from the beta of iPhone Software 3.0 published by Engadget earlier this week. It shows a MobileMe panel for uploading images conspicuously titled "Publish Video."

While the gadget publication speculates that this may be nothing more than an interesting typo, AppleInsider was informed of Apple's plans to include video support on the next-generation iPhone hardware shortly before Tuesday's introduction of the 3.0 software, and therefore believes the reference is significant and further evidence to this end.

Apple


Supporting video on 3G networks

Word of Apple's mobile video plans arrives alongside claims that the upcoming iPhone revisions will support faster Internet speeds -- a likely precursor to facilitating transmissions of video files over third-generation mobile networks.

For its part, exclusive U.S. iPhone service provider AT&T confirmed during a communications conference last May that it had a HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) 3G network up and running in the labs at speeds of 7.2 megabits per second, or approximately twice the theoretical throughput of its existing network.

At the same conference, the carrier's mobile chief Ralph de la Vega said AT&T planned to transition to HSPA release 7 sometime in 2009, which would deliver even faster speeds "exceeding 20 megabits per second."

He said the upgrade would require few if any hardware modifications to the company's infrastructure and would instead be a smooth transition achieved largely through a software upgrade to its electronics.

Software support

Should Apple's video plans for the next-gen iPhone remain intact, it's believed the capability would see support through a new "Movies" iPhone app that would provide rudimentary editing support akin to the audio trimming capabilities of the company's upcoming Voice Memos iPhone application.

The same application would presumably allow users to email their movie clips to friends and family members, or send them via MMS messages.

Video as a high end feature

Though largely speculative at best, it's possible that Apple could market video recording capabilities as a premium feature available only through a high-end model.

ArsTechnica on Thursday discovered references to four unknown multi-touch handheld products in resource files included with this week's iPhone Software 3.0 beta, including "iPhone 3,1." The reference joins discoveries earlier this year of an "iPhone 2,1" product in the resources of iPhone Software 2.0.

Neither reference is tied to a shipping product, and both identifiers suggest iPhone models with distinguishing hardware features, meaning two distinct models could be in the cards.

For example, the original iPhone identifies itself as iPhone 1,1, while the current iPhone 3G lists as iPhone 1,2, as the architectural changes between two models were relatively minor.

As with similar practices for Macs, Apple's use of 2,1 and 3,1 imply major and distinct changes. For instance, the second-generation iPod touch is listed as iPod 2,1 and includes faster internal hardware than the first-generation model called iPod 1,1.

http://theappleblog.com/2009/04/15/ingredi...hone-published/

Rumour:

Ingredients List for Apple’s New iPhone Published


Normally DigiTimes is content to just let the information leak out in a slow but steady stream leading up to the WWDC, but this time the Taiwanese news and rumors site has completely given up the goat in one fell swoop, instead of pacing themselves. They’ve published a list of various part makers for the upcoming iPhone revision from Apple, in a convenient, easy-to-digest table form no less. They’ve done everything but build the thing, basically.

As was previously reported, Samsung and Toshiba will be supplying the massive volumes of NAND flash required for the “iPhone 3.0”, and OmniVision will provide the 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor for the new iPhone camera. Missing from the list of components is that key ingredient, the processor(s?). The components are meant to be assembled into an initial order of 5 million iPhones and shipped by May 2009, which would give Apple ample buffer time to get things ready for WWDC on June 7.

DigiTimes may not have a perfect track record when it comes to Apple rumors, but at this point the amount of evidence piled up on the side of a new iPhone is pretty much insurmountable. In fact, the nature of the list revealed yesterday by DigiTimes seems to suggest that Apple is not unaware that supplier details are being leaked, and probably supports some evidence being spread around in order to build consumer anticipation for the new device. The key omission of information regarding the most hotly anticipated hardware component, the CPU, which some speculate could be dual-core, and the rumored GPU indicates to me that Apple is very much in control of what information is and isn’t made available for public consumption.


The List link

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-co...mpatible-597287

New iPhone apps must be 3.0 compatible


New iPhone applications will be rejected unless they are ready for Apple's forthcoming iPhone 3.0 firmware upgrade, developers have been informed.

An email from Apple has told devs that they face having their wares refused entry to the Apple App Store unless they are ready for the next iteration of the phone's software which arrives in the summer.

The company also warned owners of existing applications that 3.0 incompatible apps would be removed from the store after the firmware arrives.

"Beginning today, all submissions to the App Store will be reviewed on the latest beta of iPhone OS 3.0," read the email bulletin.

Not approved

"If your app submission is not compatible with iPhone OS 3.0, it will not be approved. Existing apps in the App Store should already run on iPhone OS 3.0 without modification, but you should test your existing apps with iPhone OS 3.0 to ensure there are no compatibility issues.

"After iPhone OS 3.0 becomes available to customers, any app that is incompatible with iPhone OS 3.0 may be removed from the App Store."

Meanwhile, pictures have surfaced over on the Boy Genius Report site that appear to suggest that a magnetometer could be included in the widely expected next hardware version of the iPhone.

Rumours abound as to what upgrades will arrive in the next iPhone, including slide out keyboards, video cameras and the inclusion of a compass feature would certainly aid the promise of turn-by-turn navigation.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/12/new-iph...32gb-3-2mp-cam/

New iPhone specs leaked -- 600MHz CPU, 32GB, 3.2MP cam?


Take this for what it is -- a totally unverified rumor from a Chinese forum -- but a set of specs for a next-gen iPhone have leaked out along with this screenshot, and they're not entirely far-fetched. According to the alleged leak, iPhone model MB717LL 9 ("iPhone2,1" perhaps?) will have a 600MHz processor (up from the current 400MHz unit), 256MB of RAM (from the current 128MB), 32GB of storage, a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, as well as a digital compass and FM radio, all while retaining the same battery, basic shape, and screen size. Do we believe it? Well, if we were to conservatively guess at specs for a next-gen Apple phone that's pretty much what we'd come up with -- with the exception of FM -- so we're not shaking our heads too hard. Plus we've definitely seen evidence that a compass will figure into the equation, and there's endless whispers that the camera will see an upgrade. Still, only Steve and the gang know for sure, and we're (probably) not finding out till they're ready -- WWDC, are you here yet?



This post has been edited by andyz: May 12 2009, 12:49 PM

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/...ity-boost-sales

Will the New iPhone Come in Different Flavors--Like the iPod--to Boost Sales?

The newest iPhone may be split into multiple models to boost sales, according to two new sources. But rather than creating new hardware for each, Apple may split the iPhone's personality by releasing iPhones containing different software.

Apple iPhoneRumors that the iPhone would emerge in different formats stretch back over a year, with a focus on an iPhone Nano. Such a phone would keep the essential iPhone features, but in a smaller chassis and selling for a lower price.

But now a few hints have come directly from Apple management, and they genuinely point toward a fragmentation of iPhone versions. The first comes from a meeting between analysts from Oppenheimer and Apple execs last week. During the discussion, Apple revealed routes it was exploring for expanding the iPhone's market share: More functionality, lower prices, geographic growth and market segmentation with different models. This information was then presented by Yair Reiner, an analyst at Oppenheimer, to clients at the end of last week.

All of these suggestions make perfect sense, and with a single offering on sale, Apple's exploration of the smartphone market is clearly in its early stages. The iPhone's high unit price is also a significant barrier to selling more. But Reiner later spoke to RegHardware and let a few more details slip. Apparently that key phrase "segmenting the market" would be concentrated not on hardware but on software instead. The core hardware of the phone would remain essentially the same between models, but enhanced software functionality would go into some versions, and simpler software into others.

This makes a different kind of sense: Keeping the core hardware the same simplifies production, and keeps costs lower. Accessory makers get to make common peripherals, and Apple's core software for developers would work on all the devices. Plus this jives with Apple's official quashing of the iPhone Nano hardware rumors a few weeks back.

But how would the software differentiation work? It's hard to imagine Apple shipping different firmware for each model since that would be overly complex. Can we imagine iPhones with different built-in functions, supported by software--one with a better camera, or one capable of video calling? It's daft to run too far with the musings of a single industry analyst. But these rumors seem to come from pretty deep inside Apple, and that lends them a degree of credibility. We hopefully haven't got long to find out if they're right.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/05/21/the-n...-speed-mr-sulu/

The Next iPhone: Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu


The iPhone is still hands-down one of the best 5 tech purchases I’ve made over the past decade — actually, it’s probably the best. I use it every day to do a variety of things that I still find incredible that I’m able to do in something so portable. That said, over the past few months, I’ve been getting frustrated at the speed of the device. Some of the applications built for it, notably the games, are simply resource hogs. And that’s made applications like FreeMemory (which, yes, frees your phone’s memory), a necessity. But a much greater pain reliever is on the way if Daring Fireball’s John Gruber is correct (and he usually is on such things). A new, much faster iPhone.

The new iPhone will feature a processor that will be more than 1.5 times faster than the current iPhone, according Gruber citing information from informed sources. While at first glance, that may not seem like a huge jump up, Gruber compares the speed bump to what it was like to upgrade an old 486 PC to a Pentium variety. In today’s world of computer upgrades, you’re usually upgrading from a processor that is already fast enough for most tasks, to one that is slightly faster — it’s the RAM, video cards and Bus speeds that seem to matter just as much. But back in the day those jumps processor specs alone were huge. And as someone who vividly remembers upgrading a 486 SX 33 to a Pentium, this potential iPhone jump greatly excites me.

And that’s not all the new iPhone will feature. You can also expect a doubling of the iPhone’s capacity to 16 GB and 32 GB. And the RAM should be doubled as well to 256 MB, though Gruber is less sure about that. While the device will largely look the same, it will gain a better camera that features auto-focus and yes, video capturing. These video capabilities will be highlighted on the new device, as it will include software to manipulate video as well, which goes along with earlier rumors. All of this has been rumored in the past.

picture-124It always seemed a little lame to me that the iPhone 3G featured the same 400 MHz processor that the original iPhone did. In fact, the second generation iPod touch actually received a processor spec bump, while the iPhone did not. This new iPhone should feature a 600 MHz processor.

Unfortunately, with this new horsepower, Gruber doesn’t expect the battery life of the device to get any better — let’s just hope it doesn’t get worse. And we should still see this new version in two colors: White and black — while the same price points are maintained: $199 for the 16 GB, $299 for 32 GB. This is no word on the rumored to be improved 3G speeds, using a new HSDPA chip.

This new iPhone is expected to be unveiled at the WWDC event on June 8 (we’ll be there, covering it live). But the device would launch in July — same routine as last year. There’s still no word on what this new iPhone will be called. It’s the 3rd iteration, but “iPhone 3″ wouldn’t make a lot of sense given that the 2nd iteration was the “iPhone 3G.” “iPhone Video” or some such is certainly possible, but I’m still betting on Apple keeping it simple and going with the plain, old “iPhone.”

This post has been edited by andyz: May 23 2009, 12:48 PM

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/lea...rm-32gb-iphone/

Leaks All But Confirm 32GB iPhone



A surprise it isn’t, but it’s nice to know that at the very least the iPhone is about to get a storage boost, doubling its internal flash memory to 32GB. Up until the euthanization of the 160GB iPod Classic, Apple could always be relied upon to increase drive size in iPods.

The rumors/leaks come from two independent sources, and both are the results of either incompetent slip-ups or a genius-level marketing strategy. First, T-Mobile Austria posted a placeholder on its site listing a “iPhone 32GB” starting at €0 (that’s $0, for the mathematically challenged), and the blog Area Mobile was sharp enough to grab a screen shot.

Next up, Rogers. The much “loved” Canadian carrier has posted a list of upcoming handsets according to the Boy “Genius” Report. Here’s the relevant line: “# iPhone — ETA: unknown (July/August), outright: not allowed, 3-year: TBD.” That’s right folk: three years. This doesn’t point to a 32GB model, but it at least offers some confirmation of an early Summer launch.

Finally, Vodafone Australia has issued an end-of-life notice for the 32GB iPhone. This could, of course, just means that the 16GB iPhone 3G is about to be replaced by a newer 16GB iPhone, but we agree with MacTalk.au that it looks like there will be a bigger model along soon.

And you know what else this means? The iPod Touch has always had double the capacity of the largest iPhone, which probably means a ridiculously large 64GB model is on the way.

http://gizmodo.com/5271696/next+generation...nese-wholesaler

Wholesaler China Ontrade.com has posted parts from the next-generation iPhone 3G 2009: The LCD screen and the middle internal bezel. They even have pictures comparing the new parts to the old ones:



The wholesaler says the following in their site:

This is great honor for China Ontrade (HK) chinaontrade.com to be the 1st started to supply iphone 3gen 2009 parts directly from factory

It looks like the web site and the new parts are legit, but who knows. They also sell every single spare iPhone 3G part you can imagine—as well as original factory parts for Blackberry, Nokia, LG, HTC, MacBooks, and even Nintendo. They claim the new iPhone 3G 2009 parts will ship "within 5 to 12 working days."

As expected, there is no OLED screen in sight. Unless they have another product using the OLED, which I highly doubt. [Chinaontrade via iPhone-Ticker]

Apple Iphone 3GS Review