The new iPhone 4 is certainly a major hardware upgrade for which a lot of people have been waiting for a long time. Video calls (FaceTime) and LED flash light were one of the most requested features and Apple has done a great job in offering what the consumers had been asking for.

Apple’s new products always tend to push limits and Steve and his team have managed to re-design the new iPhone 4 and make it even thinner, give better battery life and offer more than 100 new features.

If you don’t have an iPhone yet, this is the best time for you experience the mobile revolution started by Apple. iPhone 4 adds so many new hardware features that I think it will even tempt most iPhone 3GS users to upgrade their devices.

Apple will allow iPhone 4 pre-order starting June 15 and it will finally go on sale in US Apple Store on June 24. If you’ve already made the decision and would like to buy the new iPhone 4 we highly recommend pre-ordering it as Apple could experience production delays due to high demand and if you place your order in advance you don’t have to worry about its availability in the stores when it officially launches. You can visit Apple’s notify me web page to set up an email alert for the pre-order.

Is iPhone 4 the phone you had been waiting for? Are you going to buy the new iPhone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

The day has finally arrived. At 10AM PST Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) chief Steve Jobs will go on stage in San Francisco to officially introduce us all to the new iPhone 4G / HD. Months of endless speculation, rumors, gadget blog wars, and police raids have led to this moment. While much of what we expect out of Moscone Center today is a known factor, some of it is not. Let’s quickly examine then what are sure things and what are long shots out of the accumulated rumors:

iPhone 4G / HD – If Las Vegas was laying odds on the WWDC announcement (and they probably are somewhere on the Strip), this would be the safest bet in the house. We will see a new iPhone 4G / HD today, it will have a front facing camera, and it will look like the much leaked form factor we’ve seen since April. It would take an epic amount of chutzpah for the outcome to be any different. But then again, if Steve Jobs is known for anything, it’s epic amounts of chutzpah.

Verizon iPhone 4G – This isn’t the biggest long shot of the day but I think it may be a close second. There’s an outside chance Verizon might get an iPad data plan to call their own but the iPhone stays firmly in AT&T’s grasp. For now at least. I think when the day comes for AT&T and Apple to part, Apple will chose the nuclear option and start selling an unlocked iPhone direct to market. Bold words I know but bookmark this article and come back in two years when the exclusivity contract comes up. Apple is in the hardware business, not the carrier business. They signed with AT&T just to get the product in the market. Now that the iPhone is the preeminent smartphone, Apple would like nothing better than to see it proliferate everywhere.

iTunes.com/iTunes in the Cloud – This probably has the best chance of happening today outside of the iPhone announcement. With pressure to innovate from Google and LaLa’s technology in their back pocket, Apple is ready to make the leap to cloud-based content. There are probably a lot of unhappy content companies out there this morning but I think Steve has probably convinced them it’s better to get 10 cents for a thousand plays than a dollar for a hundred. Streaming has a whole other set of issues around piracy and content but it makes the ones the movie and music industry are currently worried about go away. The consumer gets lower prices, the ability to buy a personal copy at a slightly higher price, and Apple and the content companies retain control. If they don’t do it today, it’s coming. Soon.

Steaming Apple TV – Don’t take that bet, it’s a long shot. Apple will want to get the bugs worked out of the streaming service first before they start offering dedicated hardware. Look for this around Christmas or in January when the next iteration of the iPad gets announced. Yes I said that. Apple seems to be slipping into a two announcement per year cycle; new hardware and gadgets in January, iPhones in June. Look for streaming Apple TV and new iPads then, not today.

Upgraded Mac Minis – In case you missed the memo, this WWDC is about mobile. Mac Minis with HDMI ports may be a stealth upgrade between now and Christmas; probably right after I buy mine next month with my luck.

Free MobileMe – This is a small but interesting possibility. I could see Apple offering a new MobileMe in a freemium model as a supporting add-on to the new iPhone. Most iPhone users who aren’t currently using MobileMe are avoiding it based on price. Google offers almost everything MobileMe does for free. I think this is an easy thing for Apple to do to win back some eyes for their platform and convince those who might otherwise not even look at it to pay for full service.

Like all Apple predictions, some of these are bound to fail. I fully expect that. But the great thing about reading the Apple tea leaves is that even when you miss a prediction, you still win when they bring out some other great product instead.

Follow our WWDC 2010 keynote all-in-one live feed coverage here.

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What’s on your keynote wishlist? Let us know in the comments section.

It seems many current iPhone users in the United States are getting an unexpected gift from AT&T. Both MacRumors and TUAW are reporting AT&T customers have received text messages and notifications on AT&T’s website in regards to early upgrade availability. For an $18 USD charge, a new contract and no early termination fee, iPhone users can upgrade. Of course, there is no indication what the users can upgrade to yet. One could reasonably expect it’s the much speculated iPhone 4G / HD slated for introduction at WWDC 2010 live keynote by Steve Jobs.

Considering the situation AT&T finds itself in, moving up iPhone upgrades was an easy and welcome move by the American telecom company. Ongoing dissatisfaction with their cellular network and recent changes in pricing structures have left many users wondering if staying with the iPhone is worth it. Sprint’s EVO and Verizon’s Droid Incredible Android handsets are benefiting from the discontent with their similar feature sets and networks perceived to be better than AT&T. The ball was really in AT&T’s court in regards to customer retention and satisfaction and it seems like they finally did something in that regards.

It will be interesting to see if the new iPhone 4G / HD, in conjunction with this change in eligibility requirements and their more inexpensive (but capped) data plans, will help out AT&T.

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During the interview at D8 Steve Jobs commented on the lost iPhone 4G debacle and said that he is unwilling to “let it slide”. It is still not clear if the prototype device was stolen or lost and the DA is still investigating the case.

Last month we reported on the possibility of Apple introducing iPhone 4G / HD in white and black color and published photos of white color iPhone parts. Today Powerbook Medic published new photos of the white color iPhone 4G casing and said:

The digitizer resembles the 3G and 3Gs with the exception of a camera hole next to the top speaker. The back case doesn’t resemble anything we’ve seen so far. The photos do confirm these will likely be available in white.

It’s still not confirmed if Apple will finally introduce the new iPhone 4G / HD in two colors however, many news sources have reported on evidence of next gen iPhone in white color.

Will Apple unveil iPhone 4G in black and white color options during WWDC 2010? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As WWDC 2010 gets closer more and more details about Apple’s next iPhone 4G / HD are being uncovered.

Today SuperPhone.cz claimed that they had obtained the next iPhone 4G / HD  screen parts and examined it under a microscope to find out the exact screen resolution. They confirmed that new iPhone 4G / HD features a 960×640 screen resolution and supports an IPS panel. This new screen resolution quadruples the total number of pixels when compared to iPhone 3GS and would make rescaling the apps which you have already purchased an easy task.

These claims certainly seem to be a good proof however, we would still need to wait for the official confirmation on June 7.

Now this is an interesting story. We just quoted Vijay Rakesh of Sterne Agee, who had some pretty compelling numbers on iPad production. Analysis that seems sound and makes sense.

One of the big issues he cited for iPad production was the availability of memory. Flash memory is something that Apple buys in huge quantity for its iPhone, iPod and the iPad. In fact Apple’s memory buy tends to affect the entire tech industry globally.

Rakesh, just after detailing his analysis of iPad production scale for the rest of this year casually throws in a comment on the new iPhone 4G / HD.

He states that he doesn’t expect to see them in any quantity until September.

According to him builds on the new iPhone 4G “are barely starting”. He still expects an unveiling in June. But doesn’t seem to think we’ll be getting them for a while in any quantity. At best it’s going to be a US only launch again, when it does happen.

Is it possible Apple has similar production line problems to those it faced with the iPad? Or are they suffering from a simple lack of Flash memory availability because of the success of the iPad?

Its certainly an interesting and very different claim for iPhone 4G availability than we are hearing from other sources which claim an early June launch.

Do you think we might have to wait until September for the new iPhone 4G? Let us know in the comments.

The ‘lost’ iPhone 4G saga and prototype pictures leak just doesn’t seem to stop. For many this might not be a surprise anymore but this year the anticipation for the new iPhone 4G / HD annoucement has undoubtedly reached a new high and the credit certainly goes to the sensational ‘lost iPhone’ story spurred by Gizmodo.

9to5Mac is reporting that the Italian website (white iPhone 4G fame) iSpazio has published yet another set of new iPhone 4G pictures. These pics show closeups of the ‘unibody’ piece which holds the next iPhone.

The only detail the rumor mill hasn’t been able to confirm is the name of the new iPhone. Will it be iPhone 4G or iPhone HD? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

iPhone 4G Unibody Pictures

We reported just a scant few moments ago that analysts expect the iPhone 3GS to be reduced to $99 in the very near future. Most probably when the iPhone 4G / HD is announced officially at WWDC 2010.

We theorised that this may mean that the iPhone 3G will be phased out, and the low end iPod Touch with it too.

Boy Genius Report has just filed a report saying that it has heard that the iPhone 3G is no longer being shipped to AT&T stores in its 8GB configuration. And that orders for it are no longer being placed. Coincidentally this is also the amount of memory in the base iPod Touch model.

Both the iPhone 3G and the 8GB iPod Touch are not OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible, nor are they the most powerful devices in Apple’s iDevice portfolio. So not well suited to multi-tasking (in Apple’s opinion), a key part of iPhone OS 4.0.

I think its very easy to read into this that there will be sweeping changes to the current Apple iPhone and iPod touch lineup announced at WWDC. And we can expect iPhone 4G and new iPod touch to be more than 8GB and OpenGL ES 2.0 compatible by default. And to have more onboard RAM (like the iPhone 3GS) to deal with multitasking which will come on all new devices as part of iPhone OS 4.0.

I expect that the base model iPod touch will now be the 16GB model, which is more akin to the iPhone 3GS, and will therefore support multi-tasking better.

Apple is very obviously moving to consolidate its iDevice lineup for iPhone OS 4.0.

I also expect prices for the iPod touch 16GB will be the same as the price that the 8GB iPhone touch is currently. So perhaps hold off buying for a few days.

Will you be sad to see the iPhone 3G and the base iPod Touch model go? Or are you happy to have the opportunity to pick up a cheap iPhone 3GS, and better graphics and more RAM on all of Apple’s lineup? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Earlier today Engadget reported that Vietnamese forum Taoviet published a series of leaked photos of the fourth generation iPhone and posted a video on YouTube. The teardown pics revealed that the device had an Apple branded A4 processor with the marking APL0398 which is also found inside Apple’s iPad.

The new model is reported to be different from the ‘lost’ prototype which Gizmodo bought for $5000. The device did not have any screws on either side of the Dock Connector and was running a screen diagnostic test called ‘bonfire’

The device appeared to have a cleaner design which suggests that this might be a newer prototype.

Do you think this is the next iPhone? Let us know what you think in the comments.

iPhone 4G/HD Teardown Pics

iPhone 4G Video

• Touch panels – TPK, Wintek, Chimei Innolux
• Quartz components – TXC
• Camera modules – Largan Precision,Genius Electronic

Now that production is underway, we can be assured of iPhone 4G announcement at WWDC starting on June 7th. That should lead to general availability some time in late June or early July. Some had suggested Apple should bring the new iPhone out ahead of schedule due to the leak and subsequent furor around it. If you consider the logistics of the supply chain however, Apple probably knew that was impossible. If Foxconn was taking delivery of parts for assembly in April then that means the component manufacturers were probably ramping up and producing components in March. That means a final design was probably agreed to in January or February at the latest. By the time Steve was announcing the iPad in January, he could very well have had a final prototype iPhone in his pocket. All of that of course leads to another tantalizing possibility. If the final iPhone design was finalized in January or February then the errant iPhone found in a bar in April was, in all likelihood, a final prototype. Or, as is always the case in the riddle-wrapped-in-an-enigma world of Apple, a brilliant piece of misdirection.

So if the new iPhone is in production in China and if we can reasonably assume the prototype lost in California was close to the final version, it looks like Apple has delivered on much of what its user base has asked for. The front facing camera will be used for the video chat option alluded to in iPhone OS 4. The additional microphone will undoubtedly be used for noise cancellation as well as a diction to text feature similar to Android 2.1. Many have suggested that was part of the rationale behind the Siri purchase. And persumably the HD in the rumored iPhone HD moniker will refer to both the improved display as well as the rumored capability for the new camera module to shoot 720p video.

No matter what, the next month should be very interesting as new tidbits of information leak out about the new iPhone. If Apple answers with the hardware and software everyone anticipates, it will again shoot the iPhone ahead of the competition.

What are you looking forward to on the new iPhone? Have you delayed your purchase in light of the leak of the new iPhone prototype? What’s your wishlist of iPhone features? Let us know in the comments section.

AppleInsider are reporting that the SDK gives developers access to API calls for capturing video in 720p format. That is in a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, as opposed to the current iPhone’s capturing in 640×480. Some people are even more convinced now that the new iPhone will be called the ‘iPhone HD’ because of this. One thing to be aware of is that you are not going to see this feature on any current iPhone model, just as multi-tasking is restricted, or not available at all on earlier iPhones.

BoyGeniusReport is saying that file transfer to the new iPhone is possible via iTunes, much in the same way as on the iPad. Which suggests that we are never going to see an official way to mount any iDevice on the desktop as a drive like we used to be able to in the old days of pre-Touch iPods.

On the subject of iPods, the new iPhone OS has a kind of “widget” for controlling the iPod application. If you swipe to the left in the multi-tasking screen on the device you get a set of iPod controls. As well as an orientation lock button.

The orientation lock is another feature taken from the iPad. But this time it is a software switch, as opposed to an actual switch on the outside of the device. We also reported on that and the ability to close apps in the multi-tasking screen, kind of in the style of a Task Manager, earlier this week

What’s your guess for the iPhones new name? Let us know in the comments.

2010 may very well go down in history as the year Apple started to take over the mobile space. The year started with the Cupertino-based company revealing the much rumored and anticipated Apple tablet computer; the iPad. Who knew the iPad would come to dominate the tech industry in the first half of the year. Not to be outdone by even themselves, next up for Apple is the iPhone 4G / HD. Eagerly anticipated in its own right, the new iPhone should reestablish Apple’s mobile phone dominance.

As the iPhone 4G and iPad become publicly available, some may wonder whether these devices are competiting for the same consumer dollars in the same space. Should someone think of the iPad and iPhone as being in competition with each other or as complementary services? Could a consumer get away with buying one device and enjoying the benefits of either? Let’s look at what we can expect of both the iPad and the next iPhone and try to determine if they’re competitors with each other or complements to each other.

You could be excused for thinking the iPad and iPhone are two sides of the same coin. Both use the same operating system, operate on the same multitouch interface, and have many of the same design elements. Indeed, one of the primary criticisms of the iPad after it was first announced was that it was a “big iPod Touch”. The larger screen led many to believe the Apple iPad was simply a cynical attempt by Apple to cash in on the successful iPhone product line by jamming the iPhone innards into a larger device with a larger screen. What this criticism fails to recognize is the larger screen introduces a whole different dynamic to usage. Screens are larger, more easily touched, and applications have the space to become more complex. On the other end of the spectrum, the iPhone and its smaller screen leaves it well suited to perform other tasks. Sure you can watch video on it, send e-mails on it, and run apps on it just like the iPad. Could you imagine holding an iPad to your ear to make a phone call though? Or trying to tuck an iPad into your pants pocket? Despite the overlap in certain functional areas, the iPad and iPhone are really more complementary devices than competitive ones.

If Apple had wanted the iPad and iPhone to be competitive devices they would have aligned feature sets much more closely. Giving the iPad a five or seven inch screen like some of its competitors would have made it much more similar to an iPhone. You could almost imagine holding a five inch tablet device to your ear to make a call. It might look like Maxwell Smart’s shoephone but it isn’t totally outside the realm of possibility. There are a hundred different ways Apple could have aligned their two premier consumer electronics lines to more closely resemble each other. The fact they didn’t is an obvious indication they want these two devices to co-exist and not replace each other in different circumstances. Apple realizes the dream of convergent devices can only come so far and past that point product lines need to split into complementary areas. The iPhone represents Apple’s idea (be it ever evolving) of the converged, ultra portable device. You enjoy the iPhone in small doses of ultra functionality. The iPad lies at the other end of the continuum. It converges several jobs as well; content consumption, eReader, video display. Jobs the iPhone is capable of doing but doesn’t do very well for long periods of time. You can imagine yourself owning an iPhone for a finite set of circumstances and an iPad for a finite set of circumstances. Some of those circumstances may overlap but neither device will do all the jobs of the other well.

And in the end I think that’s part of Apple’s strategy. While its competitors trip over themselves trying to come up with something that doesn’t operate like an oversized phone or an undersized computer with a phone stuck to it, Apple has quietly developed useful technology for both ends of the spectrum. I would own both in a minute and be fully happy knowing each complements the other in a well designed fashion.

What do you think? Do the iPhone and iPad represent overlapping platforms? Would it be foolish to own both? Are the iPhone and iPad competitive products in your mind or complementary? Leave your thoughts in the comments section. I’m always interested in reading what you think.

Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray analyst, sent an e-mail to Cult of Mac on the issue. Piper Jaffray is an international investment and securities firm with expertise in many areas. Piper Jaffray analysts regularly comment on issues surrounding technology as a whole and Apple in particular. In his e-mail to Cult of Mac, Mr. Munster revealed his opinion that the issues around the Gizmodo story would force Apple to publicly release the new iPhone “sooner versus later”. Mr. Munster’s reasoning revolves around a very basic assumption of market economics; people aren’t going to buy last year’s model if they know ahead of time that a newer model is coming soon with the features they want. iPhone 3GS sales will slow, as the line of reasoning goes, and people will stop buying it in anticipation of the new model. If Apple wants to sustain high sales figures, it needs to get the next iPhone in the market as soon as possible; preferably not waiting until the anticipated launch in June.

While Mr. Munster is certainly a respected analyst who is a lot closer to the pulse of the tech industry than I am, I don’t think Apple will feel the need to rush the new iPhone out into public. I think Apple really just wants this whole situation with Gizmodo and the iPhone prototype to go away. Through this whole situation I’ve been reading and listening to John Gruber at the Daring Fireball blog. John is probably one of the three people whose opinion on Apple I respect the most. He thinks for now Apple just wants this story to go away and I’m inclined to agree with him. More than anything, in my opinion not Mr. Gruber’s, I think Apple would rather this all just fell back into the background until late June. On June 22nd Steve can come out on stage and introduce the new iPhone with a relatively clean slate.

The other reason I think Apple won’t rush to release the iPhone is that it simply may not be technically feasible to do so. While many would like to believe what we saw on Gizmodo is the iPhone in final form, let’s face it, it was a prototype. And probably a prototype among many, if not more than a dozen, prototypes that exist. Apple simply may not be ready to release it yet. The feature list may not be finalized and software may still be in development. Say what you will about Apple but they are fastidious about quality. Rushing to market with an unfinished product just to meet expectations or sustain sales is a Microsoft move, not Apple. I just don’t see them trading in this guiding principle to fore go flat iPhone sales for one month.

I will be as surprised as anyone if the next generation iPhone comes out ahead of the assumed June 22nd release date. Is it possible? Of course, anything is possible with Apple. I just don’t see any impetus for Apple to do so. The longer they let this story fade into the background, the better it is in the end for them. As talk shifts from the actual prototype to the legal implications for Gizmodo, people will soon forget it was even a story and turn their attention back to the rumor and speculation that feeds the Apple media machine so well.

Should Apple try to get the new iPhone out sooner rather than later? Do you think Apple will experience a couple of flat months in iPhone sales as people hold off purchasing the iPhone 3GS? Would you hold off knowing what you know now about the new iPhone prototype? Leave us your thoughts in the comments section.

MacRumours is reporting some interesting tidbits pulled out of an analysis of the latest iPhone OS 4.0 SDK.

They have found error messages in amongst some of the more mundane messages usually found on the iPhone. Some of which clearly talk about things like :

The video call could not connect because a remote Wi-Fi connection could not be established.

and

The video call disconnected because the local Wi-Fi connection was lost.

There also seem to be references to video conferencing in game error messages too, which would suggest that video calls could be integrated into game social networking or even games themselves.

One thing to note about all these messages though is that they all refer to Wi-Fi. This may not be significant. But it tends to suggest that perhaps video calls are not something that phone companies are happy to have running over their networks.

Sound familiar?

Are you excited about these video conferencing features in iPhone 4G? Do you expect to be able to make video calls over the mobile network? Let us know in the comments.

Apparently Apple have spoken with Silicon Valley police, and their computer crime task force is looking into whether or not there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.

It seems that Apple are curious whether or not the legal angle where someone finding something, and then selling it, is grounds enough to bring criminal charges against those involved in the iPhone 4G leak. To do that they need the police to decide there is a criminal case to answer and then get involved.

If the police do so this could then lead to knock on charges being brought against Gizmodo. Who could then be guilty by association with the first crime, as they would be the receiver of “lost” goods in an illegal sale. Gizmodo are more than likely Apple’s key target in all of this.

Under a California law dating back to 1872, any person who finds lost property and knows who the owner is likely to be but “appropriates such property to his own use” is guilty of theft. That would be the “iPhone finder”. If the value of the property exceeds $400, more serious charges of grand theft can be filed.

In addition, a second state law says that any person who knowingly receives property that has been obtained illegally can be imprisoned for up to one year. It’s this second law that could threaten Gizmodo’s position, and some of their staff.

For Apple this is all about protecting Trade Secrets. Both present and future.

“If these trade secrets are revealed, competitors can anticipate and counter Apple’s business strategy, and Apple loses control over the timing and publicity for its product launches,” Apple wrote in a brief.

If this comes to trial in any way, and that is a big if, expect Gizmodo to throw up all kinds of legal defences related to the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of the press.

Do you think Gizmodo acted correctly in all of this? Let us know in the comments

Well, give me enough rope and I’ll hang myself! I was positive this “lost” iPhone 4G was a hoax. But a new twist in the iPhone 4G San Jose Bar fiasco has unfolded today.

Engadget have come back blazing with all guns and a plethora of videos and teardown images for a device they are absolutely certain is an Apple iPhone prototype.

Yesterday we were convinced that this was a Japanese parody of an iPhone. But if the pictures of internal components (in the device Gizmodo now say they have in their possession) which bear the Apple logo are correct, this thing was indeed made by Apple. Or at least with parts from Apple’s iPhone suppliers.

I am still not 100% convinced of all this. It’s ugly. So at best it is a prototype. The fact that Apple legal have not come down like a ton of bricks on Gizmodo is a little strange too. Gizmodo have admitted toady that they bought what are stolen goods. And apparently have had it for some days.

We are going to leave it there for today, and keep a watching brief as this unfolds. Less than this brought down famous Apple rumor site Think Secret. And I think Gizmodo are skating on thin ice whichever way this pans out.

If it’s a huge hoax then they are going to look silly. But if it is an Apple prototype that Apple are “very interested in getting back”, according to John Gruber, then I see lawyers getting involved very soon.

What do you think? Real or fake? Are Gizmodo out on a limb here? Let us know in the comments.

Follow our iPhone 4G coverage here

I have to say I had my doubts when I saw the pictures of the “iPhone 4G” being passed around the web in the last 24 hours. Firstly the image had popped up on Twitter a while back from a different source : [twitpic]

But also it was simply such an awful overall design that it could only, at best, be a prototype. Remember those pre-production iPad prototype pictures that got leaked before the official launch? They were ugly too!

I guess it could possibly have been a prototype Steve was carrying around personally. But I am not sure he drinks in public in bars in San Jose these days.

Knowing how secretive Apple are the chances of an employee dropping one in a bar seemed ridiculous. If you remember the stories of Apple employes working on new devices having to keep their equipment covered in their locked rooms when not in use. And having to put a red light on outside their room to warn other employees of the fact that secret equipment could be on display when they were actually working with hardware prototypes. Well, that does make the bar story sound a little far fetched!

Finally, living in Asia in the heart of counterfeit land there are so many copies being pumped out of factories here it seemed more likely that this was some Chinese copy, or unofficial iPhone 4G for the Asian market.

It turns out the iPhone 4G or iPhone HD we’ve been staring at trying to decide if we love or hate is actually a Japanese iPhone copy.

The original web page that hit on this information is in Spanish. So here is a google translation link : [translate.google.com]

Got to laugh at the translation :

apparently found in a bar in San Jose (California), in a pillow case for an iPhone 3G

But you get the gist from the bottom of the page. We would say case closed.

Are you disappointed? Or relieved? Did this look like an iPhone from Apple to you? Let us know in the comments.

Apple might be releasing a new iPhone 4G  / HD this summer.  It will probably be released on June 22nd during Apple’s WWDC 2010. The only real surprises left are the specs, appearance, and pricing of the new unit. Now, thanks to something lost and found on the floor of a bar, we may have our first look at the forthcoming iPhone.

Engadget is running pictures and a story of an alleged Apple device found inside of an iPhone 3G case on the floor of a San Jose bar. The device is encased in the familiar black and chrome trim with etched Apple and lettering on the back. While it contains some of the familiar iPhone elements, including a home button and small rectangular ear piece, it appears to be slightly taller, thicker, and more angular. Some of the physical button set ups are also different from current iPhone models. According to the report the device has a forward facing camera, 80GB of storage, and was running an unfamiliar version of the iPhone OS.

Now as the article points out, this isn’t necessarily the gospel version of the iPhone HD. It could very well be the production version, and if it is, Apple is taking the iPhone in a decidedly new direction. Otherwise this might just be a prototype that made an unintended appearance. I think most people have the impression that each new iPhone design comes to Steve Jobs in a dream, he jots it down on paper, and a new product is born. Quite to the contrary. Each new iteration of the iPhone (or any electronic device) goes through extensive planning on paper and prototyping. At any one time there may be five or six prototypes of a device floating around, one which may eventually become the production version, or each incorporating parts that combine to make the final cut. This may not even be a prototype of the next iPhone but instead a prototype of something two or three years down the road.

If it is the production version of the iPhone 4G / HD, it does confirm one of the main rumors floating around. The forward facing camera has been on the wishlist of many an iPhone pundit and fan and this phone seems to make it a reality. It would be really interesting to get a chance to crack the device open and see what’s inside. Would we find an A4 chip in there? Would we find the iPad innards shrunk down into the new iPhone as some have suggested will be the case? Despite the pedigree and intention of this found technology, one thing is for certain; it will only fuel the rumor and speculation machine. With the iPad out, the iPhone HD will be the latest hot new device of 2010.

Do you have a wishlist for the next iPhone? What makes video calls and video chat so compelling for you? Would it be a killer app that makes you switch from your Droid or Nexus One to the iPhone? Would anything make you make that switch? Leave us your thoughts in the comments.

High on the wish list of many tech pundits and Apple fans has been video conferencing on the iPhone. Many had hoped the iPhone 3GS would implement a forward facing camera but it ultimately did not. What MacRumors has discovered are references to the front facing cameras interspersed in the new 4.0 SDK. Independently, TUAW discovered a process running in the new code called iChatAgent. iChat is Apple’s video chat application that runs on Mac OS. These two pieces together would seem to suggest the long awaited video conferencing capability is on its way.

A dual camera iPhone would have important implications for both the general consumer and enterprise user. Mobile video conferencing would be a differentiating application no current competitor has. If it could be implemented on a more powerful iPhone with the same style and functionality all Apple products carry, it would certainly be another feather in the iPhone’s cap. Apple’s focus this year on adding hardware and software features to the iPhone is also indicative of their realization the competition is getting closer. While no one is yet ready to say Android and Android handsets are an equal of the iPhone environment, Android 2.1 is a world closer to being competitive with the iPhone than earlier versions like 1.5 and 1.6. Apple saw its edge in the 80s lost to Microsoft in the computer operating system space, it isn’t willing to lose the smartphone space to competitors like Android. Its good to see Apple respond instead of resting on previous success.

What do you think of Apple innovating the iPhone platform? Will the software and hardware features being built into the new iPhone allow it to remain the standard for smartphones? Would you be more compelled to wait and buy a new iPhone this summer instead of getting a phone available now? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Now that we’re less than a week away from the launch of the iPad, the most hotly anticipated Apple device is the next generation iPhone. The fact it will launch this summer at WWDC is almost a given at this point. The real cause for speculation now are the device specifications. Thanks to John Gruber’s excellent Daring Fireball blog and word from the Wall Street Journal, a picture is now forming about the capabilities of the next generation iPhone.

The actual visual appearance of the device is still a bit of a guessing game. We recently reported on a YouTube video that purported to be an Apple advertisement for the next iPhone. If this is the new iPhone, and not some glorious KIRF, it embodies an appearance change that seems to support some of the specs I’ll discuss below.

According to Daring Fireball, the new iPhone will vastly improve the existing product. Under the hood, the device will dispense with the current processor in favor of the A4 system on a chip custom built for the iPad. The display will be upgraded to a 960 X 480 double resolution from the current 480 X 320. A second, forward-facing camera will be added to enable video calling and conferencing. Lastly, the Holy Grail of the iPhone OS, true third party multitasking in conjunction with the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0. The Wall Street Journal article adds to this by confirming the introduction of the new device this summer and reporting a Verizon iPhone may also appear in the coming months.

All of this adds up to some really exciting news for iPhone aficionados and those waiting for a new iPhone before switching. An iPhone with improved resolution, multitasking, video conferencing and the power of the iPad will make for an even more compelling product for Apple. It’s obvious at this point the direct threat to the iPhone is Google’s Nexus One and the upcoming HTC Desire. Both run the Android 2.1 platform and the Nexus One has been the only serious competition for the iPhone. By overtaking the latest Android platforms in hardware, the comparison turns back to software and Apple is clearly the head and shoulders leader in that department. Especially if true multitasking comes in OS 4. With my contract expiring this summer, I’m really excited to see what Apple brings to the table. This might be the year I finally get an iPhone.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming iPhone? Would you be tempted to switch if these specifications come true? Are you a tried and true Android person regardless of what Apple does? Leave us a comment, we’d like to hear from you.

It’s with this in mind that an article from iPhoneWorld becomes very interesting. A video has been found on YouTube using the same visual style and musical synchronization we have come to know from Apple’s iPhone commercials. It displays a completely redesigned iPhone with a larger screen and rectangular speaker and home button. As the phone flips around through the course of the commercial we see the rear of the device has two openings where one would assume is a camera and flash. Probably one of the most interesting aspects of the commercial though starts at the 19 second where it purports to show a video call. If you pause the commercial and look closely you see a small opening embedded in the far right hand side of the reshaped speaker. Front facing camera perhaps? If they’re demonstrating video calling it would be a must. It all ends by informing us the new device will be called the iPhone HD and that it’s “The most social iPhone yet”. Watch the full video below. More after the break.

Pretty compelling isn’t it? Even if this is the greatest KIRF in the history of iPhone KIRF’s, this is the iPhone Apple needs to make. A larger, presumably HD, screen with combined with a forward facing camera would bury the Nexus One and reestablish the iPhone as the preeminent smartphone. Mix in improved hardware under the hood and software features like the much desired multitasking and iPhone popularity would rocket into the stratosphere.

Is this the iPhone you’ve been waiting for? Would it make you drop your Nexus One, Droid, or even 3GS to climb on the Apple bandwagon? Is this the most glorious KIRF in history? Drop us a comment and let us know.

There have been a lot of pico-projector developments in the last couple of years. Several firms have produced developer versions of matchbox sized, or even smaller, projectors in full colour. Most notably a company called Microvison, although Japanese firms I have worked with already have smaller and better versions of this hardware up and running.

Patents Apple filed back in June 2009 gave us the hint that they may have more than a passing interest in this technology. (Links with concept shots and a video are at the bottom of this news piece.)

Apple’s latest patent application seems to go the next step and details ways that a projector could be shared simultaneously by several devices over a network. With advances in networking speeds for video, and miniaturised laser projection systems, it’s entirely possible this kind of device could be squeezed into an iPhone eventually.

What Apple’s patent basically says is as follows: The projector could be integrated into a dedicated remote controller associated with the projection system, or it could be offered in an auxiliary client device such as an iPhone, iPod touch, or laptop.

Of course, exactly what Apple will do with this remains a mystery. In the pictures filed with the patent, and on the links provided below, there is what appears to be a small device attached to a games console beaming gaming action onto a wall Don’t be fooled though, this is stock imagery from Microvision who make PicoProjectors, and not Apple’s own images.

Could this be the next big iPhone hardware development though?

It’s unlikely that we’ll see a projector this year in an iPhone. Particularly with the rumoured production problems Apple seems to have had simply getting stills cameras into their devices over the past 12 months. More likely we’ll see it as a peripheral for the iPad, iPhone and iPod first.

Apple files patent for iPhone projection in June 2009 : [patentlyapple.com]

Updated Patent application reported today by Patently Apple : [maximumpc.com]

Microvision : [microvision.com] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/iphone-patent-pico-projector-video-conferencing/feed/ 0