3G iPhone For $199

Cnet is reporting that ATT will offer a subsidized 3G iPhone for $199 to all customers who sign up for a 2 year contract. 8GB and 16GB versions of 3G iPhone will be available from Apple for $399 and $499 respectively. Presumably, the Apple Store versions will be unlocked.

The details of this rumor are murky. For instance, will this discount be available to people who are currently using a 2G iPhone and as such will still have a one year commitment remaining in their ATT contract?

Other rumors are saying the actual Apple 3G miracle will be available for hands-on purchase on June 27th.

Apparently Mr. Jobs is also considering upping the surreal ante for first-day 3G iPhone buyers by offering both a round of applause (which accompanied first-day Apple store buyers on June 29th 2007) and a same-sex french kiss. We're getting our lip balm ready.

Oh yeah, now people are saying the 3G iPhone will be 2mm's thinner. So far rumors have said, thin... then thick.... and now we're back to thin. Obviously no one knows what's what.

Fat 3G iPhone Spotted In The Wild

Today's iPhone rumors are saying the 3G iPhone will have true GPS capabilities and a headphone jack that will be flush with the side of the device. If you've been waiting for an excuse to buy an over-priced pair of headphones for your iPhone, you won't have to wait much longer. But there's some bad news too, turns out the flush headphone jack and GPS chip will make the iPhone 3 inches thicker. Sorry, 3 mm thicker. As far as we're concerned, every millimeter counts when your trying to impress the ladies, so we can live with the extra girth.
iPodobserver recently published what they claim is a picture of the 3G iPhone. It's a bit rounder than the current model and has a shiny black back, which reminds us of the black lacquer furniture that was so popular in the 80s. We're not sure if that's a good thing.

iChat for iPhone

It's definitely coming.

Gizmodo.com discovered a patent application from Apple which details their upcoming iChat application for the 3G iPhone. The patent has provisions for MMS and file transfers including, audio, video and pictures. The patent also specifically discloses mobile iChat's ability to receive background messages while the user is utilizing another application.

Yes, It's a year late, but it's still cool.

"Radically Differnt" 3G iPhone

Numerous analysts are claiming the upcoming 3G iPhone will be "radically different" than the current iPhone.

Analysts have said their information is coming from Chinese manufacturers who are currently building a new iPhone that will incorporate a flip design with possibly a keyboard and/or a larger screen. We've got some news for you too... it ain't gonna happen.

Much as we would love to see a flip iPhone with a keyboard, it just isn't in the cards. Apple's entire iPhone strategy is centered around the "touch" interface and they are not going to abandon it or shift focus to another input scheme at this early stage of the game. Perhaps if people had been bitching and moaning about how terrible the touch keyboard is... but most people aren't, and Apple knows it.

We spoke to some of our Chinese contacts about this rumor and they said that most likely the analysts had received information about competitive products that look like the iPhone in some ways, but aren't the iPhone. Furthermore, our contact told us that with secretive products like the iPhone, factories are often kept in the dark about who they are making the product for. When that kind of secrecy is being practiced, cosmetic branding, like the plate with the Apple logo on the back, isn't even shipped to the factory until a week or so before final delivery.

You can take this news to the bank. The next iPhone will look very similar (if not exactly the same) as the current iPhone.

Save Safari Pictures

A new feature has been discovered in the latest iPhone firmware... it's an unreleased beta, so this doesn't work on your iPhone yet, but it will soon.

If you place a finger on any picture on a safari web page, and hold it there for a long moment, a dialogue will pop up and politely ask you if you want to save it.

This is basically good for creating iPhone backgrounds and building up your offline porn collection.

3G Incredibleness

Details are emerging by the day.  Here's the latest:  

The following strings of code were uncovered in the 2.0 Beta firmware.  They are not in the 1.x firmware and as such indicate possible upcoming iPhone superpowers:

"HeadphonesBT"  and "RoleA2DP"  --  Bluetooth stereo headsets for this release?

"RoleRemote"  --  Can the 3G iPhone serve as a remote for iTunes and/or AppleTV?

"Printer"  --  Does 3G iPhone now support direct printing?

"BRICKED_AND_SIM_LOCKED_STRING"  --  Ominous warning or just a bluff?

Others are saying the iPhone will be slightly thinner (by 2mm?) and that it will have GPS capabilities and support the Nike iPod Running thingy.

How tasty.

3G iPhone Pricing

Various rumor sites are chiming in with so-so knowledge about the price for the upcoming 3G iPhone. Some are saying everything will be the same ($299 and $399) Others are saying a 32GB version will be $499. We're saying it doesn't matter what it costs, we'll pay whatever it is to be done with EDGE once and for all.

We Have Contact!

Turns out the iPhone Firmware Beta 2.0 has a search feature for contacts. Our prayers have been answered. When real contact searching is released this June, as opposed to the flipper-finger method currently employed, the iPhone will have all of the features found in every phone made after 1995. The march of technology is truly something to behold.

iPhone Contact Search Coming

So we all know the 3G iPhone is coming in early June.  It will be announced at the June 10 WWDC keynote presentation.  It will be 3G, it will have games and it will sell by the millions.

What you didn't know and which we only recently learned from someone who knows, is that the 3G iPhone will have robust voice-tagging.  By robust, we mean it will be able to find contacts, initiate emails and open applications simply by talking to it.  There will be no teaching, it will simply look in its database and present the closest answer to what you said.  Rumor has it, it is the feature Steve is most proud of and wants it to be kept secret until the big day in June.  To achieve this, all remnants of the code were removed from the beta 2.0 firmware and the SDK.