Ok, we will admit that we have been trying to avoid reporting on this story as it seems to be lacking in real weight, but it’s about the 3G iPhone and we are helpless to resist so bear with us, we promise to be brief.
AppleInsider has been reporting about a web page leak on AT&T’s website concerning a mysterious option for an ‘iPhone Black’ in the drop down menu for ‘Model’. Given all the recent tongue wagging about the 3G iPhone having a glossy, potentially black finish, the appearance of this option on AT&T’s site has inflamed an already very excitable crowd of rumour traffickers.
Since the whole thing has blown up on the interwebs, an AT&T spokesperson got in touch with Gizmodo, who also picked up the story, commenting that the ‘iPhone Black’ dropdown reference on the AT&T Wireless website is just a temporary placeholder in leu of a “scheduled catalog update,” to distinguish existing iPhone models.
Though the mysterious ‘iPhone Black’ product description may not contain any robust clue about the physical characteristics of the new device, it is conceivable that this catalogue update could include the 3G iPhone (at least that’s what we are hoping). Not long now people…
Remember the days when iPods were white? At the time, this seemed sleek, modernist and futuristical, but since Apple replaced them with a black model that’s even more sleek, modernist and futuristical, the lustre of white gadgets has paled somewhat. If white gadgets can pale. Well, you know what I mean.
Anyway, the point is that the latest round of allegedly-leaked spy photos of the 3G iPhone appear to indicate a return to whiteness. However, the credibility of these pics can be gauged by the fact that they turned up on Chinese iPhone forums - a country where there’s no lack of a.) Photoshop experts and b.) companies willing to make iPhone mock-ups to titillate Western Apple fanboys. What do you think? Would a white iPhone be appealing, or should Apple stick with black? Or even another colour?
Reports online suggest O2 has sold out of both 8GB and 16GB iPhones, although when I went to O2’s online shop to check that out, they were still letting you add the 16GB model to your basket. And it’s also still available from Apple’s website too, which rather puts the kibosh on the idea of, er, it having sold out.Still, O2 HAS run out of the 8GB model, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the recent price cut has seen stocks of the 16GB model plummet too, despite many punters hanging on for the upcoming 3G edition. Personally, I can’t imagine who’d want a first-gen iPhone now, when they could wait a month or so and get the newer version.Unless you want to keep the first model in box-fresh condition then show it off on the Antiques Roadshow in 2068, of course…
There’s been widespread speculation that Apple will unveil the 3G iPhone at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. But if you want further proof that the all-new iPhone is on the way next month, check this story on Boy Genius Report.It publishes a leaked email from US operator AT&T to employees advising them not to take any time off between 15th June and 12th July this year, due to “an exciting Summer Promotional Launch” that will cause “heavier than normal customer traffic in our stores”. AT&T did the same thing last year, and that was the original iPhone on-sale date.15th June is the Sunday following the WWDC event (which runs from the 9th to the 13th). Apple likes Friday launches, but Friday 13th might be seen as inauspicious, so it’s all pointing to Friday 20th June, with AT&T staffing up in the days beforehand to cope with (they hope) queues around the block. Possibly.
Hold onto your handsets everyone. Assuming these photos intercepted by AppleInsider are not photoshopped and are not pictures of cheap iPhone knock offs, it looks as though some of the specs that we heard about from iLounge may in fact be legit.
The glossy plastic shell is very evident in these pictures, as is the tapered rear and extra sensor on the front. Also matching iLounge’s claims is the modified microphone and speaker grills at the bottom of the device. It is quite possible that these are images of 3rd party outer shell casings, or as we mentioned, fan mock ups, but there is a slight chance they could be the real deal, especially seeing as China is where the devices are currently being manufactured.
We are not gambling sorts, but if we had to put money on it, we’d say that the final 3G iPhone hardware will not look terribly different from this. Roll on June 9th.
Ok we have held off for long enough, we are practically drowning in 3G iPhone rumours just now so it’s time to round them up in one bumper post.
Before we even start thinking about the device’s new innards, there’s all this talk of a revised form factor to take into consideration. Earlier in the week, Engadget, claimed to have had contact with a top secret source who had a chance to check the new iPhone out.
Apparently the most obvious difference in appearance is that the metallic back has been replaced by a glossy black plastic shell while the volume buttons are now said to be chrome. It is also supposedly a little less angular and slightly thicker than the first iPhone, though overall it is said to be roughly the same size as the original unit. It is also said to include a flush, as opposed to a recessed, headphone jack and the battery is still not removable.
Continue reading ‘2nd gen iPhone rumour round-up - 3G, GPS, iChat camera, boosted graphics chip, new colours…’
One of our favourite VoIP applications, fring, has just announced a pre-release version of its mobile VoIP software for the iPhone - hip hip hooray.
With the SDK now thoroughly out in the wild stirring up all sorts of development interest, a slew of mobile VoIP applications are sure to follow soon. Most of those however will not have the industry experience behind them that fring does, having spent the last couple of years commanding a very dedicated and growing userbase.
We like the fact that fring has made such an effort to continually update it’s software alongside technological hardware developments, so it’s no surprise to see that the company is quick off the mark with an iPhone version. The pre-release version has been developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology and the thinking behind launching so soon with a pre release build is to get feedback from the community.
So if you are an iPhone user who up until now has had a mobile VoIP shaped hole in your life, today is your day. Hit the jump to see a video of the application in action on Apple’s must have handset.
Continue reading ‘fring arrives on iPhone’
For some iPhone owners, the only way it’d have an impact on their fitness levels is if they had to chase after a mugger who’s just nicked it. However, others are more sporty - and it’s they who’ll be celebrating the news that Nike plans to release its Nike+ fitness tracker application for iPhone and iPod Touch.
It’s already available for iPod as part of a partnership between Nike and Apple - it’s basically a gizmo that slots into your iPod and tracks how far you’ve run using an accelerometer, so you can analyse it when you get home. Like an extra-smart iPedometer, in other words.
Anyway, Stuff.tv has been at Nike HQ and confirms that the app will come out for iPhone and iPod Touch later this year. They reckon it’ll use the Wi-Fi in both devices to allow data to be uploaded to users’ training logs on the fly when you get home, rather than waiting till you’ve synched with your PC.
Hear that sound? It’s the sound of millions of iPhone owners’ brains clacking as they consider whether they’ll get away with giving their handset to their other half as a present, in order to upgrade to the new 3G model when it comes out. It’s a delicate one: a secondhand iPhone comes some way behind diamonds innit.
Anyway, the rumours about the exact date and nature of the 3G iPhone launch are mounting, with TG Daily reporting that it’ll be announced at Apple’s WWDC 2008 conference in June, priced at $399 for an 8GB model, $499 for a 16GB model, and maybe even $599 for a 32GB model. I’d be inclined to think they won’t bother with an 8GB version, though.
Oh, and it’ll apparently be 2.5mm thinner than the first-generation iPhone, with a buffed-up casing and a tweaked accelerometer, but the battery still won’t be removable. For shame. Although we’ve heard inaccurate iPhone battery predictions before - remember all those people claiming the first iPhone would have two of ‘em? - so there’s still hope.
Nokia’s long rumoured iPhone-beater was revealed during a presentation at the Evans Data Developer Relations Conference in California.
The phone will - as expected - have a touchscreen interface, but Nokia were keeping quiet about the other features.
In theory, it should be relatively simple to build a better iPhone. If you consider the component parts, the iPhone is a pretty mediocre phone with an exceptionally shiny screen and a novel input method. In theory, you should be able to get a better camera, make the OS user-modifiable and you could steal Apple’s lunch money.
In theory.
Unfortunately, as LG has discovered, just because you have a technically superior phone in many respects, you wont necessarily be able to reproduce that combination of slick interface and brand power that has made the iPhone a winner.
Still, it’s clear that Nokia are going to give this the old school try. When asked if Noia could match Apple’s 4 million shipped units, Nokia Forum VP Tom Libretto calmly replied that “We’ve done that since we’ve had dinner on Friday.”
Going by the faintly ludicrous codename ‘Tube’, the new handset certainly looks extremely iPhone-like. Time will tell if it can capture the imagination of the pubic in the way that it’s rival has.
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