ACU gives iPhone/iPod Touch to all incoming freshman

Abilene Christian University released that starting with the incoming 2008 Freshman class all student will receive an iPhone o iPod touch. The cost of these units will be built into each student’s tuition in hopes of bringing new technology and resources on the go for these students. They have prepared over 15 web applications making it easy for students to locate professors’ offices, answer in-class surveys and quizzes and even check their meal ticket balance.

“We are not merely providing cutting-edge technology tools to our incoming students,” said Roberts. “We are also providing the web applications that ensure these tools will become critical to the students’ learning experience. Because 93 percent of ACU students bring their own computers with them to college, we are choosing to take them to the next level by providing converged mobile devices.”

For the past ten months Abilene’s faculty and staff have been conducting research and are always looking for new possibilities through handheld devices. This college campus located in Texas and attracts about 4700 students from all across the US, by integrating technology they will be expanding the diversity among the students and allowing peace of mind with a piece of technology helping them along the way.

[Via ACU University]

Speck joins in the iPhone 3G frenzy with their new cases

Speck released their two new models of iPhone 3G cases with removable bottoms that allows them to be docked in a standard iPhone dock. One line will include see-thru cases that will retail at 29.95 and another line of rubberized cases built to withstand any wear and tear you put your phone through, those will retail at 34.95. You will be able to purchase these early July, right around the release of the iPhone 3G.

[Via Speck Products]

Softbank revealed iPhone 3G price for Japanese market

While 90% of Japanese might not show interest for the 3G iPhone (Based on iSHARE survey), it doesn’t mean the upcoming phone from Apple will tank in Japan. Softbank, the carrier that will provide the 3G iPhone said it would be selling the phone at 23,040 yen or roughly $215 up to 34,560 yen.

Softbank might not be the mobile-carrier leader in Japan, but it has been catching up to the big guns like NTT DoCoMo. An analyst said Softbank would probably gain more lead by selling roughly one million iPhones in the first year.

[via bloomberg]

Unsubsidized iPhone may sell for $700

AT&T has still remained mum on the subject of unsubsidized pricing for the iPhone 3G. This is something people are interested in, since many people may not end up qualifying for the unsubsidized price, due to already being mid-contract. (Granted, we still don’t know exactly how AT&T plans on handling this situation). However, some recent news from O2 might give us a good idea of what to expect.

O2 will be charging anywhere from free to £99 (for the 8GB model) which, on the higher end comes up to almost the same as what we are expecting to pay over here. Unlike AT&T, O2 will be offering the iPhone with one of their prepaid plans. You will have to pay an unsubsidized price to get one of these, and they’ve been kind enough to announce the unsubsidized price, which is £350. Now if this unsubsidized price holds true here in the US, we could expect to pay almost $700 for an 8GB iPhone.

Edit: Updated to reflect the correct price.

[via MacRumors]

International data roaming on a 3G iPhone will be even more costly

I’m sure that any of you that own a 2.5G iPhone know well enough by now that you don’t go into another country and try to use their data network. When you arrive back in the US, you’ll be greeted with a wonderful bill for an outrageous amount for roaming data. So it should come as no surprise that you’ll really not want to roam with your iPhone 3G.

Just to give you an example, O2 charges around $12 per MB downloaded when roaming outside of the UK. At least with the original iPhone, the slow connection meant you probably didn’t use nearly as much data as one will with the 3G version. However, with a new iPhone, you could potentially be spending around $12 per second, which will add up quick.

Like I said, most of you probably already know how to turn off data roaming on your iPhone, however, with the new lower price for the 3G, there are going to be a lot of people that may not even think about this. So if you know someone with an iPhone going on a trip to Europe, you might want to give them a heads-up.

[via TUAW]

Analyst – Apple receives $325 in subsidies from each iPhone 3G sale

There has been much speculation as to just how much money Apple is getting from AT&T this time around. According to Yair Reiner at Oppenhiemer, they should be getting roughly the same amount of money from the carrier. The only difference is that they’re getting most of their money up-front this time.

Reiner suggests that AT&T is paying roughly $325 in subsidies on every new iPhone sold. What’s more is that he also believes that Apple is receiving a $100 bonus for every new customer that signs up at one of their stores. It sounds like Apple might have thought things through a little more this time around. Now they’re selling a phone that’s cheaper than the original (and will thus likely sell even better) and they’re getting their money up-front from AT&T. Well played.

[via Crave]

ezGear announces two new iPhone 3G cases

We all saw a huge influx of cases and accessories when the original iPhone launched last year, so we can hardly expect anything different with the release of the iPhone 3G. ezGear has just announced 2 new ezSkins for the forthcoming version of Apple’s hot phone.

The two new cases are the Landau and Plus. The Landau is your basic case which provides all-around protection (including a screen protector) without limiting access to any of your ports or buttons. The Plus is a more rugged case which covers the entire non-screen surface of the phone. ezButtons are built into the case, which are essentially areas which have extra silicon padding. This allows you to press on specific areas of the case and have the desired button be activated. Your iPhone’s screen will be protected by a standard static screen protector.

Both cases will be available in Frost White, Onyx Black and Cool Blue. The Landau will also be available in Princess Pink. The ezSkin Plus is expected to run $19.99, while the Landau will be $5 less. Both are set to ship on July 8, 2008.

Citrix to bring remote capabilities to the iPhone

We have all seen a jail broken iPhone with the capabilities to VPN into a windows running machine, but now we may be seeing a program that will allow you to do this without unlocking your iPhone. Citrix recently released that they are working on a technology client to run Windows XP on the iPhone. They ran a demo of the way the application will run on the iPhone and demonstrated it on the real thing.

Many business users have a huge demand for remoting into a work computer and retrieving information while out of the office, Citrix has been able to provide many different routs to doing so, and until now they never included the iPhone.

There is no specific release on it, it is still being tested and demoed on the phone, and unlike the past its been said that this option will be relatively inexpensive as compared to the corporate versions that they have had in the past which can run the corporate bill quiet high.

[Via ZDnet]

Morgan Stanley predicts twice the demand for the iPhone 3G over the original

I’m sure that everyone remembers the number of people lining up for iPhones last year, and the concern over supply versus demand. Can we expect a similar demand for the new iPhone 3G? Morgan Stanley says that it’s going to be even bigger this time around.

It’s pretty obvious why there will be a bigger demand for Apple’s latest headset. According to a representative of Morgan Stanley “We believe the market generally expects a doubling of iPhone units with the lower price point ($199) and we believe this is realistic, if not conservative.”  They have even raised their price target on Apple’s stock up to $210, which is up $25 from their last target.

Carriers such as O2 in the UK and Optus in Australia are already receiving more interested customers than expected. Optus was taking $100 deposits from customers wanting to get their hands on an iPhone 3G, however, they have received so many that they had to stop taking such deposits. Looks like you’d better get lined up pretty early this year.

[via 9to5 Mac]

Japanese not that interested in iPhone 3G

Who wants a 3G iPhone? I sure do, and I’d be willing to bet a good many of you do too. So who doesn’t want one? Roughly 91% of the Japanese population. What’s interesting is that even less people in Japan are interested in the iPhone 3G than they were about the original iPhone.

Unfortunately the survey conducted by iSHARE isn’t very clear as to why those polled aren’t interested in the new iPhone. Some suggested reasons are that the carrier SoftBank is a relatively small player in the Japanese market, as well as the lack of removable battery and inability to play 1Stg digital TV.

[via Electronista]

A glimpse into the App Store of Apple

As we get closer and closer to the release date of iPhone 3G we are all wondering what Apple will release in the App store that will be available for us to purchase. They released a few insights into some Apps we’ve all wanted to see. The first that I know I am looking forward to is EasyTaskManager, which is a desktop manager that supports “GTD, the ‘Get it done’ method”. You will be able to organize your life between home and the office and now on the go, with this application you can sync between multiple computers including a Windows PC and a Mac. Next, iSharephone is an application allowing you to connect to the Microsoft SharePoint servers form your phone. This lets you see any of the information on your phone from the SharePoint portal. Some little ones that will keep you busy waiting at the DMV or in the back of class will be Rusty Red Wagons port of Solitaire, Klondike, Spider, and Freecell. Along with Rusty Red Wagon, Ambrosia is introducing Mobile Mahjong, which will allow you to have the ancient Chinese game at the tips of your fingers….literally.

As the release of the iPhone nears we will begin to see some more Apps leaking through. Check back for updates on new releases.

[Via iPhone Alley]

Just bought service with AT&T? Good luck getting the iPhone 3G for $199

I had an interesting chat with an AT&T customer service rep yesterday that I thought I would share with you, as you might find the information useful. See, my old phone contract expired shortly after the announcement of the iPhone 3G, so naturally I decided to make the switch to AT&T. However, there is still some dispute as to whether or not you’ll be able to snag one for $199 if you are already a customer who isn’t eligible for an upgrade.

Initially I posed this question to the person I bought my service off of, however, they seemed to have less knowledge on the subject than I did (they were still claiming that the old 2.5G iPhone plan would work for the 3G phone) so I wasn’t exactly trusting. However, I really didn’t want to be without a phone until July 11th. So since AT&T still hasn’t said exactly what they’re doing for customers that aren’t eligible for upgrades, I thought I’d give their customer service line a call.

When I got a rep on the line, I explained my situation to him, and he replied that I was the fourth or fifth person today he’d spoken to with a similar situation. Fortunately, the higher-ups had sent down an email with simple instructions for those of us that had recently purchased service with them. The solution? Just go back to the store and exchange my cheap-o phone for a 2.5G iPhone, and they’ll just exchange it (minus 10% restocking, of course). That seems simple enough, right?

I don’t now if any of you have attempted to purchase a 2.5G iPhone in the last few weeks, but it’s becoming nearly impossible to find one in stock. I explained this to the rep who seemed a bit surprised. He then read off the email which stated that the 2.5G iPhone had been discounted for this exact reason, and that customers should be directed to the store where they purchased service so that they can purchase one, and thus ensure that they won’t have to pay an unsubsidized price (it was also noted that they weren’t yet sure if they were going to be selling it unsubsidized, and they were still working out the details).

I decided to try a different route with the rep and asked exactly what the new discounted price was for the 2.5G iPhone. He spent roughly 10 minutes searching for this information and came up dry. I suggested that I could simply call my local branch and inquire, and he said he’d be kind enough to do that himself. I was put on hold for a few minutes, after which time he came back on the line and sounded rather surprised. Apparently my local branch had no 2.5G iPhones, and the manager had informed him that almost none of the stores nationwide would have stock on them due to the new version.

We already knew that AT&T was caught a big off guard with this whole iPhone 3G situation, but this shows just how bad it really is. It has been known that the iPhone has been out of stock nearly everywhere for a good while now, yet AT&T is telling new customers that they need to purchase one in order to be eligible for a 3G iPhone at the subsidized price. That’s terrible.

I don’t blame the rep which I was talking to, he was simply passing on what he had been told to say. He was kind enough to make a special note on my account that explicitly stated that I was to be given a 3G iPhone at the proper subsidized price, and the manager on duty was to override the upgrade eligibility requirement.

Here’s my suggestion to anyone who has recently purchased service (or plans on purchasing it before July 11th) and wishes to get an iPhone. Call the AT&T customer service line and have a conversation similar to the one I had. It may seem like a lot of trouble, but at least you should be ensured an iPhone for the proper price. If you don’t call, there’s a chance that you’ll be presented with a much higher price at the checkout. Hopefully AT&T will have a solution to this before launch day.

Rogers Wireless to upgrade data plans for iPhone 3G

I remember back when the original iPhone came out, there was much buzz surrounding the possibility of it being released in Canada. Unfortunately the only carrier that uses GSM phones is Rogers Wireless, and due to their outrageous data plans, it was unlikely that it would ever be introduced to the north. However, with the impending release of the iPhone 3G, will Rogers be updating their crazy data prices?

Rogers Wireless president Madir Mohamed announced recently that they are, in fact rolling out new data plans to accommodate more frequent data usage. He notes that the average Rogers customer pays roughly $63 each month for voice, data and messaging service. They expect that the average iPhone subscriber will end up paying more like $90, with most of the additional expense being attributed to data usage.

This gives Canadian users an idea of what they can expect to pay per month for their iPhone. Unfortunately it will still be a couple of weeks before the actual plan prices are revealed.

[via Electronista]

Yes, No, Maybe: Will there ever be Flash on the iPhone?

There is one big question that has had Adobe working around the clock , will there ever be flash in the iPhone?

During Adobe’s Q2 earnings call Monday, chief Shantanu Narayen said that Adobe had tackled some of the technical challenges to getting Flash to work on the iPhone:

We have a version that’s working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it work. So we are pleased with the internal progress that we’ve made to date.

The next hurdle will be convincing Apple’s boss, Steve Jobs, that this mobile version of Flash will be powerful enough for the iPhone, which hes been skeptical of in the past.

Even if Adobe aces Flash for the iPhone and makes it the most efficient version of its plugin ever, the business part of the process could hold things up for a while longer.

The iPhone has a huge future ahead of it, and all I can say is I sure hope Adobe is a part of that. Integrating Flash into the iPhone would be a revolution we have yet to see, but doing so would call for a much stronger business relationship with Adobe than Apple has with any of its other partners. The simplest way to go about it would be to incorporate Flash right into the Safari browser on the iPhone. Will this be done? Maybe, but for now we’ll settle for a 3G network and GPS.

[Via Alley Insider]

Can existing AT&T customers upgrade to the iPhone 3G? Yes!

Per AT&T representative Brad Mays, current iPhone customers can of course upgrade to the 3G iPhone and pay $199 for the 8 GB model or $299 for the 16 GB version.  They will need a new two-year contract. Customers who purchased a 2.5G iPhone on or after May 27 and want to swap it out for a new iPhone will be able to do so. without incurring an additional handset charge for the new device.  (There will be a 10 percent re-stocking fee.)  They will of course need to turn in their 2.5G iPhone.  For other situations, there will be an unsubsidized price, which we have
not yet announced.  We will announce that price in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Apple settles Visual Voicemail lawsuit

Remember that pesky lawsuit that Apple and AT&T were hit with regarding their visual voicemail technologies? Well it seems that they have reached an agreement with Klausner Technology Inc. to license their patented technology.

None of the juicy details regarding a settlement have been announced, however, I suspect that Apple was eager to settle the lawsuit before the July 11 launch of the iPhone 3G.

[via Apple Insider]

Teardown suggests iPhone 3G costs only $100 to manufacture

Some people might be wondering why the new iPhone 3G is going to be so cheap in comparison to the first-gen device. While it’s easy to point out that Apple is likely getting more money from AT&T, rather than relying on actual sales of the device, that’s not the only reason. Analysts suspect that the newer iPhone really only costs around $100 to manufacture.

Portelligent estimates that with this lower manufacturing cost that Apple stands to make around $90 per phone on hardware alone. While that is significantly lower than the estimated $229 profit earned on the original iPhone, the extra money from AT&T that they are likely making in addition to the number of new users that will be attracted by the lower price will no doubt make up for the difference.

According to David Carey, president of Portelligent “Gen2 iPhone pricing is aggressive enough that it made me think Apple’s really taking the gloves off on this one. They are probably not as worried about iPhone hardware profits as they are about getting a piece of the action on service revenues and getting more Macs in homes and offices all around the globe.”

I have to agree with Carey on those points. With such a low price point, it’s going to be hard for other high-end phone manufactures to compete. Not to mention the number of new users that will be introduced to Apple’s products and therefore be tempted to “switch” to a Mac.

[via Macnn]

iPhone 3G: Can I activate it at home?

There have been many rumors floating around about whether or not new iPhone users will be able to go and buy their new iphones and activate it at home on iTunes. There was speculation from an article posted today that there may be a possiblity you can still activate your new iPhone 3G at home. Under AT&T you may be able to sign an intent to obtain a two year contract, and then take the phone home and activate it through iTunes.The only alternative to speeding up this activation process in the store would be the following:

“customers may be able to agree to terms and select a new rate plan at home before July 11th, and then print and bring with them on July 11th a document that AT&T and Apple reps can quickly scan and verify before handing over a new iPhone. This would speed up the first-day sales process and function similar to the $100 iPhone credit coupon offered following last year’s iPhone launch.”

Though nothing has been confirmed, many rumors will continue, AT&T is expected to release finalized details closer to July 11th.

[via Apple Insider]

Is that a front-facing camera I spy?

A few things about iPhone 3G speeds

So we know that the iPhone 3G has download speeds that are 2.4x faster than the EDGE connection found on the previous version of the phone. While this is all good and well, we’re still curious why the download speed for the iPhone is capped at 1.4Mbps down when AT&T’s 3G HSDPA network is fully capable of 3.6Mbps down. Thankfully, AT&T has the answer.

Apparently all mobile smartphones on the AT&T network are capped at this 1.4Mbps speed. They cite battery life as one of the primary concerns for maintaining the lower data speed. Essentially, the faster you’re downloading data, the quicker you’re going to use up that battery. Another concern is likely that there will be a lot more 3G users come July 11th, so they will need all of the bandwidth they can get.

[via Gizmodo]

Leaked internal memo from AT&T reveals iPhone 3G details

I’m really not sure how the world functioned before the internet. My guess is trade secrets and internal memos were actually kept secret for the most part. These days, however, it seems that everything is public knowledge within a short amount of time. A new leaked memo found by The Boy Genius from AT&T shows us a few of the finer details about the iPhone 3G that you might have been wondering about. Hit the jump for a list of the most notable details.

• iPhone 3G will be activated at point of sale when the device is purchased in store.
• Return period has been changed from 14 days to 30 days
• $199 and $299 pricing is for new activations or qualified upgrades with a 2-year agreement
• 2G iPhone data rate plans will remain available for 2G device suntil further notice
• The new iPhone 3G data plan is $30/month and includes unlimited data and visual voicemail
• There is not a no commitment price. This means you can’t just walk in and bang $500 on your credit card and walk out.
• If you are an existing iPhone customer in good standing, you will be able to extend your contract for two years when the iPhone 3G launches and get the ill-na-na $199/$299 price point. Doesn’t matter when you bought an iPhone either.
• AT&T and Apple stores “unbrick” the iPhone 3G at time of purchase, but for some reason if that doesn’t happen, you’ll be required to use iTunes at home.
• Pre-paid and Pick Your Plan will not be allowed on iPhone 3G
• Device purchase limit remains at (3) per customer in AT&T stores.
• 2G iPhones to remain as demo models in AT&T stores “until further notice”.
• AT&T stores will get rate brochures, 22 x 28 posters, and window banners
• Launch day will mirror last year’s launch. This includes extended store hours, crowd controls, etc. Security will be provided to stores requesting armed police or guards.
• AT&T is working with Apple to roll out GPS-enabled applications.

[via Boy Genius Report]

Walt Mossberg: Samsung Instinct is no iPhone

Walt Mossberg has been playing around with the Samsung Instinct for Sprint for a while now, and has something to say about the device. That is, it is no iPhone. According to Walt, the device is nice, but it is lacking in some areas that he really would have liked the device to excel in. According to him, the interface is just not pretty enough.

“I’ve been testing the Instinct, and while it isn’t a bad phone and has some features the Apple product lacks, it’s no match for the iPhone. The manufacturers haven’t replicated the iPhone’s greatest strength: beautiful, powerful, breakthrough software.” - Walt Mossberg

Strong words against the device. The Instinct will begin shipping on June 20th, meaning it will beat the iPhone 3G out of the gates. The problem is, Sprint has been advertising the devices 3G and GPS, directly targeting the iPhone on that front. Maybe someone should tell them about the iPhone 3G. Mossberg seems to be the few, as many that have reviewed the Instinct found it to be a very nice device.

[Via Wall Street Journal]

iPhone 3G sports an additional proximity sensor

When we first found out that the iPhone 3G may have an additional sensor on it, many almost immediately began speculating that the device will have a front facing video camera. A lot of modern phones have this camera in the front to make video calls, especially on European and Asian devices.

It has been revealed now though, that it is in fact a proximity sensor. The iPhone already has one, but Apple has decided an additional one is in order. Another proximity sensor means the iPhone will be able to recognize with greater accuracy when the device is pressed against your face, or when it accidentally turns on while in your pocket.

[Via iLounge]

Flash support for iPhone revealed in iPhone 3G screen shot?

There are a number of things that could negate this story, but it is still one of those rumors that you just really hope is true. A screen shot of the iPhone loading the site lonelyplanet.com, shows the device rendering out Flash content on the site. The site has a mini map on the side, that looks a certain way when loaded up in Flash, and also a certain way when loaded up without it.

That is what the site looks like under iPhone firmware 1.1.4, a flat map with no Flash, and no variations. It is clearly very different from the screen shot of a normal desktop web browser, loading the site up, with full Flash support.

As you can see in this screen shot from a desktop, the map is a little fancier. It has color variations, and also hover effects and mouse over actions.

Lastly, this is how it looks on the iPhone 3G. Well, this is how it might look. Clearly the device shows a full version of the page in the browser, but this is almost certainly marketing material. Meaning screen rendering, and this could be an oversight by Apple. On the more exciting side, Apple could have thrown in Flash support and waited for someone to catch on to this little detail, you decide.

[Via iPhone Atlas]