Italian site iSpazio has posted up a couple images they received from tipster who claimed they’re shots from Apple’s development web server showing off pages that feature the next-generation iPhone (presumably what will go up post-WWDC keynote).
Of note, they highlight the Voice Memos app from iPhone 3.0 and — wait for it — a front facing camera, presumably for the oft-rumored Mobile iChat. As always, there’s no way to tell if these are real or fake.
The second image (after the jump), which features tethering, however, perplexingly shows off the iPhone 2.x, NOT 3.0 home screen layout. Roh-roh Raggy. That one has us immediately calling shenanigans…
Unsubstantiated rumor? Check. First time source? Check. Friend who wants to remain nameless? Check. That’s it then it’s crazy iPhone screenshot time!
The above come from Kwame Jones via Ars Technica and while I’m perfectly willing to believe Apple would extend their on-device music and podcast (including video podcast) download service to include movies and TV shows, and that we’d get early warning by way of leaked screenshots, I just can’t bring myself to believe this part of the story:
This revelation, (again at least to me) comes by way of an advertisement in the new ad supported version of the app Twitterfon released on 5/15/09. Three ads, stumbled upon by a geeky friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of the powerful arms of the Apple legal department, scrolling across the top of the app were for ‘iTunes Movies’, ‘iTunes TV’ and ‘iTunes Movie Rentals’.
Could Apple accidentally post content pre-official release? Sure, happens to everyone. But to advertise it through a network placement pre-release? Not since Steve Jobs walked the MobileMe hallways with a flamethrower, I’d wager.
If the service is for real, AT&T would no doubt impose the usual 10MB cap on 3G downloads, though Wi-Fi would work. 3G streaming, like with SlingPlayer Mobile, might just bring the network down like the towers of paper antenna it’s thus far proven to be.
Ifs, ands, and buts, aside, would you want on-device downloads for your TV and movies?
Perennial Apple guestimator, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, is back in the headlines (see above) with his prognostications about an Apple iTablet, which he sees hitting market in 2010 at a price point between $500 and $700 (i.e. between the top level iPod touch and bottom level MacBook).
Apple Insider sums up the specs, which are likewise ranged: screen between 7 and 10 inches, OS between iPhone and Mac. In one interesting aside, Munster wonders if Apple would allow both a higher screen resolution into the App Store to leverage more pixels, but also let several iPhone 320×480 apps run on screen at the same time (like Mac apps do in their windowing environment). Wireless carrier subsidies, like the iPhone enjoys from AT&T are also speculated.
Our favorite line?
“In other words, we expect the end result of the expected product to be launched later but with more dramatic differentiation than the Street is expecting.”
PhoneArena (via Engagdget) was sent a tip that Best Buy has 3 mysterious new product SKU’s listed in their system as “PROJECT CHARLIE”. Why is this important and what does it have to do with iPhones?
ZOMG! We’re 3 weeks before WWDC here people! Everything is iPhone!
Okay, in all fairness, Best Buy is one of the very few big iPhone retailers (aside from Apple, AT&T, and Walmart) and even if they have no direct info from Apple, they could be prepping themselves for a similar launch as last year (iPhone 3G in 8GB, 16GB Black, and 16GB white).
MacRumors has been keeping tabs on Chinese forum Weiphone, and says — in addition to the screen shot above — the following specs have been leaked about the next generation iPhone, widely believed to be announced in just under a month at Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC):
Model number MB717LL
600MHz CPU Speed (up from 400MHz)
256MB RAM (up from 128MB)
Digital Compass and FM
3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus
32GB size
No major changes in battery, screen and external casing.
Do we believe it? Some parts seem in line with other rumors we’ve been hearing, but who knows? (Other than Steve Jobs and his closest minions, of course). No doubt, we’ll be seeing more and more of these as WWDC approaches. So, for our purposes, we’ll just ask if this resembles the next gen iPhone you want?
Dieter rates this rumor at 10%. He may be generous. Never-the-less, noted Silicon spysite Valley Wag is reporting that:
A source who’s plugged into the Valley’s deal scene and has been recruited by Apple for a senior position says Apple and Twitter are in serious negotiations, with the goal of unveiling a deal by June 8, when Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference launches in San Jose.
Valleywag thinks Apple may want to uber-cool web savvy of the Twitter crew for their own. Dieter had another idea: what if they’re looking to spice up a BlackBerry Messenger (MMB)-style service to compete with RIM?
Of course BBM is completely proprietary to BlackBerrys and BlackBerry Connect, while Twitter is pretty much as open a messaging platform as can be, still Apple has been known to weave amazingly slick proprietary versions of software that they, or others, leave as open at its source. (CalDAV, CardDAV, etc.)
Don’t think it will happen. But can we imagine what, if anything, Apple would do with Twitter if they did acquire it? Could they do worse than Google’s done with Jaiku so far?
What struck me, however, was how Verizon, AT&T, and Apple benefit from the rumors themselves rather than the actual devices and/or their eventual carriers, if any.
Apple is, according to a separate rumor, negotiating with AT&T to increase the length of their iPhone exclusivity agreement. AT&T’s last earning report showed just how important the iPhone was to their revenues, especially their new customer acquisition and premium service charges. This puts them at a distinct disadvantage with Apple, who could theoretically — if inconveniently — re-engineer the iPhone to work on any of the big 4 US carriers (CDMA for Verizon or Sprint, different GSM bands for T-Mobile). Rumors that Verizon is already talking to Apple, then, pushes AT&T over edge of disadvantage cliff. Obviously this is of great benefit to Apple.
Verizon had what could only be termed a lackluster launch of their so-called iPhone killer, the BlackBerry Storm. With AT&T likely getting yet another mainstream hero phone this year in the form of the 3rd generation iPhone. Sprint, the other CDMA carrier, is getting the less mainstream, but still geek-anticipated Palm Pre as their hot summer hero phone. Where does that leave Verizon? The BlackBerry Tour (”Niagara”) and various HTC Touch series Windows Phones which will — eventually — be upgradable to the profoundly incremental Windows Mobile 6.5. Great gear, perhaps, but not hero phones on the same level as the iPhone or even Palm Pre (or last year’s Android G1 launch on T-Mobile). Rumors that Verizon may (soon) get an iPhone of sorts, or iPad, however, give the perception of a hero phone coming to the network. This is a huge benefit to Verizon, and might even keep some users from switching to AT&T (or Sprint) this summer to get a real device.
Inversely, AT&T benefits not one bit from these rumors. They hurt AT&T’s negotiations with Apple and they may cost them some users who would have defected from Verizon.
We discussed this briefly last Wednesday on the iPhone Live! podcast, and no doubt others have made the same observation this week after reading the series of rumors (yes, even the one about the iPhone Lite actually being the Microsoft iPhone-Killer Pink). However, looking past the devices, it does seem like the rumors in and of themselves carry a hefty benefit for both Apple and Verizon.
Until the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks roll out in a couple years, that might be the closest we really get to seeing Apple and Verizon together.
Confession: World of Warcraft came on the scene a little late to fireball my demographic center. Sure, I saw that William Shatner is a Shaman and Ozzy’s got a new Prince of Darkness to worry about, but other than hearing friends were going to try it and then… never seeing them again, I’ve just filed it away in the same drawer as Ultimate Online and Everquest… until I saw Touch Arcade’s story today.
The game is running in the Vollee client, an application from a mobile company whose main purpose is to develop software to allow mobile 3G phones to play CPU intensive PC applications over the network.
MMO…OMG! So, for those of you more tuned into the troll-powers-that-be, is WoW something you want on your iPhone? And is this the version of WoW you want?
iTablet and iNetbook chatter has been growing almost faster than any other Apple rumor lately. While we have no reason to believe Apple will join the race-to-the-bottom, razor-thin netbook market proper, strings in iPhone 3.0 firmware revealing an iProduct to make us think something is coming. Eventually.
Meanwhile, Software Advice has posted up a nice summary of why such a device, especially if it’s an iTablet, would be a compelling offering for verticals like healthcare.
Could the next iPhone be headed in the direction of some other smartphones by having AT&T bloatware thrust upon it? Would Apple even allow AT&T to restrict or replace 3rd party apps with their own carrier branded, white-label built-in options that perform similar functions at premium service prices?
Skype and Ustream are already not allowed on 3G, only WiFi. We’ve also heard rumors that AT&T was working on a U-Verse application for the iPhone. Features such as programming shows to record, using the iPhone as a wireless remote, ability to allow iPhone voicemails to be managed and controlled through the U-verse interface, etc… On top of all of those features it may be possible they want to add some sort of SlingPlayer-like capabilities such as streaming channels directly to your iPhone. Granted, you would have to be a subscriber of their U-Verse service but never-the-less, could it be a sign of things to come as carriers desperately try to avoid becoming “dumb pipes“?
AT&T’s Chief Technology Officer John Donovan had the following to say:
“We’re looking at the whole landscape, of what people use, and what’s out there in the home”
So what do you, our readers, think about all of this ? Is it possible that AT&T is trying to steal some control back from Apple? Trying to get their same-old bloatware onto our iPhones?
