3G iPhone rumours round-up


3 Jun 2008

Gasp! Six days until the new, improved, 3G iPhone is officially unveiled by Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the rumour mill is working overtime, pumping out all kinds of crazy theories and predictions on what we can expect to see with the second-generation smart phone.

Siliconrepublic.com takes a look at the plausible and not-so-plausible features which Apple’s uber-gadget may sport.

Okay, the fact it will now work on the zippier 3G data network is a no-brainer, Jobs has been promising this for the past year and the user-friendly Safari web browsing interface will now have beefier speeds to hook us in even more. Now where is that Flash plug-in I was looking for …

Besides 3G, there are plenty of tweaks that Apple fans have begged for and that insiders are saying will be included: the most anticipated has got to be outside applications.

Apple saw the potential for third-party developers to create useful and innovative programs for the iPhone and released the iPhone SDK (software developer’s kit) to a hungry developer community.

This third-party community has actually been thriving for as long as the original iPhone went on sale and was ‘jail broken’ to allow application installation but now it will have the official backing of Apple and will not threaten to brick your handset after a software update.

Jobs will be talking about and demoing the cream of the third-party crop in his keynote speech at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, which kicks off next Monday, 9 June.

Moving along, one of the killer features of the iPhone’s arch-nemesis, the Nokia N95 Smartphone, has been the ability to record and broadcast live streaming video over the web.

We know the current iPhone does not have a video function at all; even the camera itself is quite basic with no zoom or flash functions. Video functionality is not only anticipated but needed as the iPhone’s competitors, such as Samsung with the Tocco, are all upping the ante on the touch interface front –the iPhone’s unique selling point.

Apple fans have always been style-conscious and while the iPhone was well-designed, it didn’t come in the range of colours that its sister device, the iPod, did. This time apparently, we can expect a choice of black pictured, white and deep red.

The pictures over at ww.iphonehellas.gr/ – a site dedicated to iPhone news and rumours – show these three colours on display. While it is anyone’s guess whether the pictures are authentic or photoshopped, the text in these ‘ads’ does not seem to gel with Apple’s snappy, well-written copy.

The photos also show a streamlined handset but this slim appearance contradicts other rumours with accompanying pictures offered as photographic evidence that the 3G ability will in fact make for a chunkier iPhone. Currently at 11.6mm thick, the new handset could be a mere 9.04mm. Or not.

Finally, one of the most-likely-to-be-true rumours is that of better battery life. With iPod, phone and browser all rolled into one, the iPhone’s battery finds itself easily drained and increased battery life would be a most welcome feature.

By Marie Boran