Apple store goes down, let the speculation begin

In what could be an ominous sign of the WWDC festivities, the Apple store has gone down. This has of course sparked a wild fire of rumors. WWDC is less than two hours away, and the store is down. The question is, what are they doing in there? Are they adding the 3G iPhone? Maybe that Mac Tablet we have heard so much about?

Only Apple knows for sure what is going on there, but would they really keep the Apple store down for almost two hours waiting for the 3G iPhone to be announced? Crazier things have happened, but it seems odd. There is no arguing with the evidence that this is much to close to WWDC to be routine maintenance.

That is because with WWDC so close, it is critical that Apple be up and running. If products do launch today, Apple needs them up today. Could they unveil something new and exciting? We think so. Stay locked at live.iphonebuzz.com, to follow the live cast of WWDC.

Pre WWDC 2008 rumor summary, what you need to know

The time has arrived and WWDC is finally here. There are a ton of last minute rumors that have surfaced, and it is only appropriate we round them all up and present them to you for your reading pleasure. Some of these rumors are look more solid than others, and some seem almost wildly unfounded, stick tight as we go through them.

Perhaps the biggest pre WWDC rumor is this, supposed spy shots of the 3G iPhone from CrunchGear. These ones do look much better than previous spy shots, but are they real? It is of course hard to tell with no one having seen the device to confirm, but they look as if they were possibly taken from marketing material. It appears as if these shots are real, the iPhone will have a front facing camera for video chat, and will come in an array of colors. The new iPhone does indeed appear thinner in the shots, but no confirmation of 32GB, that is if they are to be believed.

SlingPlayer is a popular video playing client that allows streaming from a home server, or SlingBox, to certain devices. Windows Mobile and Symbian are notable platforms with the support, and the iPhone with its generous screen seems a natural candidate. This feature is more than a rumor, and it thoroughly confirmed by a demo video making the rounds on the internet right now.

More of those mystery boxes have found there way into Apple stores the world over. With reports that Apple stores in London have received the mystery shipment. It is certainly not Apple’s style to risk having a worker unbox a 3G iPhone for 15 minutes in the spot light. NDA or not, someone has probably opened one of those boxes. Considering there are still no confirmed pictures of the 3G iPhone, most assume there are not 3G iPhone’s in those boxes.

Another interesting rumor is that Apple will launch iChat for the iPhone. It would have been a good idea to have something like this from the get go, after all iChat is a recognized application. The iChat application on the iPhone will make it familiar with Mac owners, it is all about branding in today’s world. Another interesting part of this rumor is that Windows is rumored to see iChat as well.

Don’t forget, we’ll be Live Blogging the Apple WWDC 2008 Keynote tomorrow, Monday June 9th at 10AM San Fransisco time, where we expect Steve Jobs to announce the new 3G iPhone.  Make sure you join us at http://live.iphonebuzz.com/ to find out the news as it happens!

Apple shipping boxes that are not to be opened until June 10th

An interesting rumor has surfaced today, with certain retailers in Australia receiving this box. The box has an ominous warning on the front, which clearly says if you open this box before June 10th, you will be on Apple’s bad side. The contents in the box are subject to a non disclosure agreement, so if you were theoretically brave enough to open the box, you could legally tell about what you saw.

The date is what gives this rumor legs though. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past three months now, then you know that the 3G iPhone is rumored to drop on June 9th. Seeing as how the box is marked June 10th, it clearly falls in line with the release date. This all leads us to believe that the box in fact contains the new iPhone.

The thing is this is not confirmed. It could be a hoax, or real. Until we actually see the interior of this box though, then we are not going to know. Remember to stay tuned to our live coverage of WWDC at live.iphonebuzz.com. Remember, our new system has been revamped, it will even auto refresh the page for you, to keep you up on all the latest.

[Via Unwired View]

Apple renaming .Mac to Mobile Me, updating service

For six years not much has changed with Appple’s .Mac service, but that could be about to change. It seems that Apple is looking to rename the service to Mobile Me, and revamp the entire suite of tools while they are at it. All references to the .Mac name in OS X 10.5.3 have been replaced with an easy to change in the future variable.

%@ is the new name of Apple’s online service (was .Mac)

That is because a variable can be changed in a software update from Apple. This localized string from iCal makes it very clear what is going on. Plainly, you can see the service has a new name, and it explicitly says the name is not .Mac. To up the speculation even more, strings in the new iPhone SDK make references to ‘Mobile Me’.

A simple Who Is reveals that Apple owns the domain ‘Me.com’ which is presumably where all the .Mac email addresses would go. There is no need to worry, as all your email from your .Mac account and corresponding email address will be forwarded to the new account.

Apple filed the trademark for the name Mobile Me back in 2006, and it was never known what they would use it for. More rumors over the name change is a sub $50 service, and push email support. It is also rumored the changes could allow over the air syncing of .Mac utilities to the iPhone 2.0.

New iPhone to come in 2.8 inch screen size as well?

Apple is already shrinking the screen size on the iPhone down from 3.5 inches to 3.2 inches, which is not that severe of a drop. It is just enough to allow the device to cut down on battery life a little, and to make it thinner. It is rumored that there will also be a miniature version of the iPhone, that will sport a 2.8 inch screen, which is almost an inch smaller than the screen on the current iteration of the iPhone.

There are advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that less screen to illuminate is obviously going to draw less power. This could help make up for the extra juice that the 3G chip and the GPS chip will suck up. This shot is a side by side comparison of the device sizes, which shows it will look the same as the current iPhone. Just think smaller with more features.

One negative thing about this photo, there is no hole in the face plate for a front facing camera. If this is the real deal it shatters the dreams of iPhone video conferencing. One thing that would not be so great about the smaller screen is that means a smaller interface, and smaller on screen keyboard. This could prove to be a big problem for iPhone users if the interface proves to be too tiny.

[Via iLounge]

Pre WWDC rumor round up and 3G iPhone wish list

We are but four days away from Apple’s land mark WWDC event in San Francisco. Being so close, it is only natural that the rumors are running wild over the event. Everything from the 3G iPhone, to a new type of tablet like Mac portable. Sit tight if you would like to hear what we are hearing, and for our take on the rumors that have been flying around.

First, one of the most telling rumors going around is that the AT&T store employees are beginning to be trained on the 3G iPhone. This is no doubt in preparation for WWDC, which will most likely be of historic proportions as far as news coverage.

Not only is the Apple store out of iPhones, but so is AT&T. There is now a shortage of iPhones an all levels, from all channels. The common consensus is Apple is drying the pipes, so that people do not buy one now, and then complain when the new iPhone comes out. This is a smart move, Apple has learned from the price drop fiasco.

Another interesting piece of news that has been floating around that the price of the new iPhone could be much more affordable than the one we know now. Not at direct retail, but thanks to carrier subsidies. This is a very common practice by many carriers on many devices, so that they can get more subscribers to buy higher end devices. They more than make up for the loss over the course of the contract.

In light of the rumors, and since everyone else is making predictions, I have a short wish list if you will of features that I would like to see in the next iPhone. Some may be a little unreasonable I admit, but in today’s world, with so many choices, why would you ever settle?

FM Radio With RDS: FM radio is very easy to pack into a device. It requires a small chip, and very little CPU power. It has made its way into many devices, especially Nokia devices. While FM radio may be a little less high tech than the iPod function, it is still useful, and change is good. While we are at it, why not throw RDS in? RDS is a method used to send song and radio information to radio displays. Many car radios have the function.

GPS: Though it has been almost synonymous with the words “3G iPhone” it still makes the wish list, as until we see the device, it is all but a wish. The current system in the iPhone uses cell site triangulation, which it a pretty good method. Nothing compares to the accuracy of a good old GPS though, and it is something Apple should definitely pack in the new iPhone.

3.2 Mega Pixel Camera: To me, at the very minimum, the new iPhone should have this. If it hopes to be competitive in Europe and Asia, it must have a better camera. 3.2 mega pixel with auto focus is the absolute minimum. Preferably, a 5 mega pixel camera, auto focus, shake control, image stabilization, face detection, xenon flash, and at least ISO 1000 sensitivity. Mega pixels mean nothing without a good lens, I would recommend that Apple at least pack a decent lens in it, even if they keep it at 2 mega pixels. I will admit, that is a little excessive, after all it is a phone, not a camera.

Dimensions: While I prefer a smaller phone, the iPhone has a limit on how small it can get, after all it has to host that enormous touch screen. A thinner iPhone would be nice, but there is quite a few new features to be packed in. With all these features, the iPhone could get a little thicker. Hopefully though, Apple keeps the iPhone the same size, at the very least.

More Open SDK: Don’t get me wrong, I think the SDK is a tremendous step to the overall open factor of the iPhone. However, the SDK will not allow access to the iPhone’s dock, nor the users music or video library. There are tons of sweet applications and peripherals that could be used with these abilities enabled, and Apple really should take a second look.

Jailbreak: Some users will want the SDK, some will want to go Wild Wild West. Though there will be a ton of good applications on the SDK, there will always be a ton that are not going to be on the official Apple ok list. As mentioned the relatively closed nature of the SDK is restrictive and does not allow access to all aspects of the iPhone. Jailbreaking does, there is nothing off limits on the iPhone when it is jailbroken, nothing.

Multi Tasking: The iPhone is a smart phone. All smart phones have true multi tasking. The iPhone has 128MB of RAM, it is thoroughly capable of it. There is no reason that Apple should not give the iPhone its ability. What’s more, if they were smart they would let the SDK have access to the feature.

Battery Life: The iPhone already gets pretty good battery life, that is in part thanks to not using last years GPS and 3G chips. In 2008 though, the technology has improved quite a bit not surprisingly. This means that the new iPhone should get comparable battery life. I think they can do better though. Some sort of system that can determine when 3G and GPS are needed, and keep them off when they are not.

Web Browser Enhancements: While the iPhone already has an excellent web browser, there are still some things that would be nice to have. Namely, flash support. Work with Adobe Apple, everyone else has seemed to snap to the realization that full browsers need full features. A better JavaScript interpreter would be great, as I find it to sometimes lag down on a web page. Copy and paste in the Safari browser would be a nice improvement, it is a common feature on a ton of devices, so adding it will definitely be welcomed.

Bounjour to allow wireless iTunes sync for 3G iPhone?

Quite a few things can be done with the wonders of Bounjour. File transfers, and wireless streaming, all the things that you could ever want to do over a local network, can be done with Bonjour. One thing that would certainly be nice on the new iPhone would be the ability to sync your iTunes library without using that pesky USB cable.

This folder you see, contains icons that represent devices and services that are normally reserved for use with Bonjour. As you can clearly see in this screen shot, the folder contains icons that represent the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Now, this is not an absolute confirmation that they will be getting Bonjour support, but it is a fair bet.

Bonjour has already been brought to the iPhone unofficially thanks to the relative ease of jailbreaking and loading custom icons on the iPhone and iPod Touch. WWDC and the rumored launch of the 2.0 firmware is right around the corner, so keep it locked for the latest news.

[Via Gizmodo]

SoftBank will be Apple’s partner in Japan

It was only a matter of time until Apple and a Japanese carrier pounded out a deal. This is of course made possible thanks to the upcoming 3G iPhone. SoftBank released a very short and to the point press release today, stating that they will be the one to carry the iPhone in Japan. It is not mentioned whether or not the device would be an exclusive.

“SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple® to bring the iPhone™ to Japan later this year.” -Press Release

For some reason this style of vague and short press releases have been whats cool lately. The fact that they do not mention in this statement, is that in Japan they do not run any GSM networks. There, they are all W-CDMA, which is the 3G upgrade path from GSM. The 3G iPhone, will of course pack the W-CDMA air interface, after all, that’s what makes it 3G.

The 3G iPhone is expected to be announced this Monday at Apple’s WWDC event. iPhone Buzz will be there to cover the action, with our live blog of the event. Check out live.iphonebuzz.com, and keep it locked there during WWDC, if you want to know the latest from the event.

[Via SlashPhone]

iPhone loses smart phone market share in Q1

The iPhone exploded into popularity after release, and because of that, by the time 2007 closed out, the iPhone had nearly 30% market share in the U.S. Put another way, that would mean one in three smart phone users had an iPhone. In Q1 of this year however, it was discovered that the iPhone’s market share had fallen relatively sharply, to 20%.

This is no doubt due in part to the severe iPhone shortage that is going on the whole world over as of now. While falling from 27% to 20% may not sound like much, it is a decrease from one in three, to one in five smart phone owners with an iPhone. That is a significant decrease, and it is something to be considered. However, no one, including are worried about this. Nor should they be, and we all of course no why.

That is because the 3G iPhone is right around the corner. WWDC is in six days, and that is when the new iPhone is rumored to hit the streets. With the influx of new iPhones that will hit the market, and with all the new features, will the iPhone’s market share go back up? You bet, and it will likely grow a lot higher than what it is now.

[Via The iPhone Blog]

Volley of iPhone rumors hit the web

Here we go again folks, a whole truckload of rumors has hit the internet today, with two different Apple related web sites claiming that they have gotten a hold of information confirming some, and crushing some of the rumors floating around about the 3G iPhone. There are a ton of juicy details, still no actual pictures of the device, but we will take what we can get when it comes to the latest iteration of the wonder phone.

According to the rumored confirmations, the new iPhone will in fact be lighter than the current one. Also, the device will of course have 3G. It also packs in GPS, which has been hoped for and a rumored feature for quite some time. It will also record videos, and be up to 22% thinner. How they made the device thinner, and lighter, is light of these new features, is quite a feat.

Also according to the rumors the device will be able to record videos, which was a much needed features. The added video support will also add video conferencing, which as of yet has not been included on many American bound devices, as the feature is not supported here yet. Apple could be adding the feature for the European and Asian markets, which all have the feature.

The rumors also say that the new iPhone will come in 32GB and 16GB flavors, which was expected, but not confirmed. Even with all of these features, the device will get better battery life than the current iPhone as well. The new iPhone literally takes every aspect of the iPhone to the next level. It is also rumored the the device will be sold at subsidized prices, like most other phones on sale in most parts of the world.

[Via Macrumors and Cult Of Mac]

StyleTap announces Palm OS emulator for iPhone

If you are one of the countless people that condemn the iPhone for its inability to emulate the Palm OS, then it may be time for you to take another look at Apple’s wonder device. StyleTap has announced that they plan to bring this capability to the iPhone in the near future, whats more the iPhone runs the Palm OS better than most Palm devices, so this is a very interesting feature to add to the long list of things that the iPhone already excels at.

You will be able to grab the software needed starting in July, when more information is released by StyleTap. When the information comes forward, they will also announce price points, how to get it, and how the software will be marketed. StyleTap also said that they will have members from their team attending WWDC. They will be available for interview, and hopefully a demo.

The question really though is how well does the device’s capacitive touch screen work for the resistive touch driven OS? After all, Palm’s OS was designed for a stylus. Though the smallest parts of the interface may be a little hard to use with your finger, the answer is surprisingly well. Check out the demo video to see the software in action.

[Via SlashPhone]

BioShock coming to the iPhone

Gaming on the iPhone is going to be huge, game developers just can not keep their hands off of the iPhone, and for good reason. The device has a ton of horsepower, and has already proven it is more than capable of playing games, as well as perform all sorts of other functions. This is a very complex game, and is very telling of the iPhone’s abilities.

For those of you that have not heard of it, BioShock is a first person shooter that was released last year for the PC and on the Xbox 360. If systems like that are required to play this thing, than the iPhone must have some serious untapped potential. The game has not been ported to any mobile at all, and it will be interesting to see how it interacts with the touch screen.

The iPhone will be receiving the real deal. It will get a full 3D, high resolution, memory hogging monster of a game, and that’s the way we like it. There will also be a 2D lower quality version released for devices that can not handle 3D graphics, which will be pretty much anything not an iPhone.

[Via The iPhone Blog]

Griffin case mold reveals 3G iPhone design

If there are any doubts about the legitimacy of the recently leaked 3G iPhone case specifications, they may finally be put to rest. Though the information is not exactly confirmed by anyone, but it is a pretty elaborate hoax to make your own 3G iPhone case mold. The mold design seems to fit the rumored case specifications, so this may just turn out to be the real thing.

As you can see, these mold plates fit the rumored specifications very nicely, and the sensor placement in the mold matches them as well. The mold is clearly form Griffin, who is considered to be very creditable, and the authority when it comes to accessories. The fact that it says Griffin, in itself gives this rumor a whole bunch more credibility.

While it is possible it is a hoax with a little clever Photo Shop work going on, it is a very good amount of work to go through. If the mold turns out to be real, and assuming they are using it now, we could see Griffin iPhone cases as soon as launch day for the new iPhone.

[Via Just Another Mobile Phone Blog]

3 to bring iPhone to Hong Kong and Macau

In a very brief press release, 3 has announced that they will be bringing the iPhone to Hong Kong and Macau, two markets where as of now, the iPhone is not officially available. Of all the countries and territories that 3 has coverage in, Hong Kong and Macau are the only ones that 3 has been rewarded a contract to carry and sell the iPhone in.

“Hong Kong and Macau, 29th May 2008 - Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited today announced that it has signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Hong Kong and Macau later this year.” -Press Release

That is the whole press release. So there is quite a lack of details at the moment, but it has been assumed by some that this is the 3G iPhone. This would make sense, as there are 3G networks in both locations, and why bring the original iPhone “later this year”, when there will already be an upgrade that makes the device old news.

[Via SlashPhone]

iPhone 2.0 revealed by an icon in the SDK?

The anticipation is quickly mounting as WWDC draws ever closer. Apple’s yesterday release of the latest firmware for the iPhone, 2.0 beta 6, revealed something interesting about the new iPhone. The icon was also found in the latest version of Leopard, 10.5.3, which was released to Mac owners yesterday. The icon looks very similar to the current iPhone.

Though it looks almost exactly the same as the current iPhone, there are some minor differences. Mainly the bezel, which is narrower and more squared than normal. The device also seems to be slightly taller than the current iPhone iteration. This is the only angle, so we could not see any other dimension comparisons.

It is important to note though, this could mean nothing. The device very well could be a bad rendering, which made its way into the software releases. This sounds to be the most likely explanation, as you would expect Apple to be releasing such an icon with the latest version of iTunes to drop after the release of the 3G iPhone.

[Via Wired]

New SDK build and 2.0 beta firmware released

Yet another update to the iPhone firmware 2.0 and the SDK have leaked out. The new firmware has been dubbed 5a308. This build was released today, along with a fresh build of the SDK. The new SDK is 1221.8MB, so it is a little bigger than the last release, which was the fifth such release. It is not known yet if this is the firmware beta that adds the rumored geo tagging features.

The firmware is fresh off the server, and the details about it are few. What we do know right now is that the new SDK requires developers to register an application ID, suggesting that they are tightening things up in anticipation of the launch, which is rumored to be soon. Application IDs are required for provisioning now, all previous provisioning is now longer valid.

Another interesting thing is you must be running OSX 10.5.3, which was just released this morning. It is odd that Apple would cut off the still large amount of users running Tiger, or 10.4. The new updates release notes were uploaded to Apple’s site earlier, and can be viewed now. Apple also removed six demo applications from the SDK package.

[Via TUAW]

More 3G iPhone pictures surface?

Here we go again guys, this time around a site called allabouthphones.nl has posted pictures of what they say is the 3G iPhone. Now, the device pictured does look very new. It is very thin, too much so to be a modified iPhone of the current type. The white color is one of the colors that have been rumored, so this device could actually be the real deal.

Of course it is not this simple. The device pictured could always be a shell or a new case, would explain why it is so thin. They never picture the device at an angle that would make it easy to tell what is up with this thing. Again, it seems that we are just going to have to wait until June 9th to see what Steve brings. Until then, these pictures will have to do.

[Via allaboutphones.nl]

iControlPad: iPhone games PSP style

If the all touch interface on the iPhone is not your style when it comes to games, then the iControlPad may just be for you. The peripheral enables your iPhone to be in a casing that allows for a PSP like feel. It adds physical buttons to the iPhone for the purpose of playing games. The iControlPad will be providing full SDK support, and also source code so developers can get their games to work with the unit.

The peripheral works by connecting to the iPhone’s dock. According to the designer, support for the iControlPad is already built in to most of the game emulators, and they are sending out more units to try to get more universal support. The device will have to get around one problem though, the SDK does not allow unprejudiced access to the dock connector.

The device as of now is in its prototype stage. They promise that the final version of the unit will be “much more sleek and fitting”. You can check out there website here, where they have a status blog and contact information.

AT&T hiring temporary workers for 3G iPhone launch?

AT&T is hiring some workers to take temporary positions at AT&T stores. The listing says from June 16th to August 16th, the temporary workers will have jobs. This is not unique to AT&T, surprisingly enough. Last year, in anticipation of the original iPhone, AT&T did the same thing, so that there would be no shortage of help to push the device out the door.

This time around they are doing the exact same thing. June 19th is a little bit of a delay of what we have heard, which is immediate launch of the device after the rumored WWDC announcement. Either way though, the device will be here soon. Another day, another leak from AT&T. They keep one tight secret keeping machine there don’t they?

[The iPhone Blog]

Freight full of unknown Apple devices lands in North America

So here is the deal, a mysterious shipment from Apple’s factory partners has made its way to North American shores. Since the middle of March, there have been 188 containers of a product with a name that Apple has never before used when importing their devices. All devices must have a name, when they come through customs. For example, when Apple imports Macs they call them, ‘Desktop Computers’, on the customs label.

Customs records though, revealed that the prior mentioned shipments are market ‘electric computers’. This is a very vague name, I mean all computers are electric, or need electricity at least. The thing is, ‘electric’ could be referring to the iPhone’s screen. The capacitive screen needs a small electric charge from your finger, or capacitance, to function. This is a speculation on my part though.

It is assumed that the crates collectively could contain as much as 1,760,000 iPhones. It is assumed these are the 3G iPhone, though we can not be sure. The current iPhone supply has dwindled to near nothing, and Apple is in dire need of some more units. It is hard to imaging, that in light of the fact we will see the 3G iPhone soon, that Apple would import that many iPhones just to have them deprecated by the new device.

Another interesting point in the rumor is that Canada has received a few shipments of this mystery device as well. Rogers has said that they will be getting the iPhone this year, but did not specify what model. Considering that Rogers runs an HSPA network up in Canada, the 3G iPhone seems a logical choice for them.

No one knows for certain what is in those crates except Apple, and the its factory partners. This and any article you have read is a best guess. While we are entertaining ideas, I would like to present a new one. The possibility, that this could be the long rumored tablet Mac. We have seen rumors of this device being a WWDC show stopper.

To me, this device would seem much more like a computer than an iPhone, and electric, you bet. Unfortunately for us we will have to wait until June 9th to see what this all means.

[Via Import Genius]

3G iPhone to support HSPA+?

The 3G iPhone will be fast, especially on overseas networks where 7.2mbps HSDPA is common. Unfortunately for us in the U.S AT&T has no HSDPA faster than 3.6mbps, but 7.2mbps HSDPA is on their to do list. HSPA in its current form is tops out at 14.4mbps/5.76mbps down/up respectively. Furthermore, the highest speed most devices support is 7.2mbps.

HSPA+, also known as HSPA Evolution, or HSPA Evolved, is set to increase speeds significantly. It supports 42mbps/22mbps down/up respectively. To my knowledge, there are currently no HSPA+ devices on the market. Unless one comes out in the next 17 days, then it looks like if this did turn out to be true, then the 3G iPhone would be the first HSPA+ device on the market.

For us, this would not do any good for quite a while. Telstra, down in Australia, might be able to take advantage of it though. For them, HSDPA is already at 14.4mbps, and it is rumored that by the time Christmas rolls around this year, that Telstra will have upgraded their network to HSPA+.

“We know what is coming we have seen the new device and it will be available on our network as soon as it is launched in the USA. By Xmas this phone will be capable of 42mbs which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world ” -Telstra

[Via Engadget Mobile]

Geo tagging for pictures taken with iPhone on the way

Geo tagging is a feature that is included on many higher end devices, especially Nokia’s devices, and is becoming increasingly popular on non smart devices. The iPhone does not have the ability to geo tag pictures. not yet at least. Geo tagging is when a device writes its current position to the meta data of an image when the device saves the image to memory.

The feature was discovered in a new build of the 2.0 firmware, which has been dubbed 5A292g. This is all fine and dandy for GPS enabled handsets like the new iPhone that will be released soon, but what about for the GPS challenged iPhone we know today? The simple answer is yes it will work. These screen shots are not from a 3G iPhone, as no one has stepped forward as having one.

The complicated answer, is kind of. The iPhone uses cell site triangulation to achieve its location awareness. While it is not as precise as GPS, it usually precise enough for most uses. Geo tagging is among those features that will work for the purpose of it. The set back is not cell sites, no location services. Just don’t leave the safety of the network, you never do anyway, right?

[Via AppleInsider]

Apple to launch iPhone in Japan and Korea?

Korea and Japan use strictly W-CDMA for cellular networks. Being a GSM device with no 3G, the iPhone lacks W-CDMA, and is therefore not Pacific Rim friendly. Of course this is all about to change soon, when Apple launches the long awaited, rumor surrounded, now holy grail of a device 3G iPhone. It is assumed to be launched at WWDC of course.

According to one rumor, the possibility of the iPhone making its way to these two countries is very real. It seems as if NTT DoCoMo and Korea Free Telecom will be the lucky carriers to get the new 3G iPhone, and apparently it will be an exclusive. It is not clear if there will be any sort of subsidies or if the revenue sharing agreement will come into play.

There is only one problem for Apple in these countries though. Korea and Japan have much more advanced handsets and networks, so the question remains as to whether or not the device will sell well in these countries. Though there will most likely be plenty of buyers, Apple might want to make the deal a little juicer, I don’t know maybe subsidies could be a good thing for them.

[Via Apple 2.0 Fortune Blog]