Hardware

It’s that time of the year again as Apple preps its next generation iPhone in time for its World Wide Developers Conference, rumors are coming up about the Chinese version of the popular handset. However, it looks like Apple may cave in and disable many of the device’s core features.

Numerous references have been made over time to the iPhone “Brick” which probably brings up thoughts of a unibody like form factor considering similar mentions have yielded the current generation MacBook family which utilizes a Unibody enclosure. However, with the iPhone, the “Brick” mention may hint at what we’ll see in the Chinese version of the device: no 3G and no WiFi. As disheartening as it may sound, it comes as no surprise as Apple has had extreme difficulty in bring the iPhone to China due to harsh carrier demands, the lack of extended cellular radio options being one of them. By stripping out Wifi and 3G, Apple may have a chance to sell the iPhone one of the world’s largest cellular carrier.

Via: The iPhone Blog

While digital everything seems to be the mantra of today’s tech obsessed world, what better than to digitize everything including a compass in the next generation iPhone?

Hidden settings in the Firmware 3.0 indicate that a magnetometer support will be available once the Software exits out of Beta in to its final release. The Magnetometer in the iPhone would allow Apps to recognize which direction the user is pointing and work hand in hand with Google Maps to create accurate turn-by-turn directions.

Via: Top IPhone News

Apple is busily preparing the final designs of its next generation iPhone but the main focus seems to be the graphics prowess of the device. To bring stunning 3D visuals to the iPhone, Apple has brought inRaja Koduri, CTO of AMD.

In addition to Koduri, Apple already managed to nab Bob Drebin, another CTO from the Nvidia competitor. Apple has been consolidating all of its iPhone R&D and bringing it Cupertino since its purchase of PA Semi early last year. It will be interesting to see what Apple brings to the next iPhone in terms of graphic power but rumors have long floated around the Internet since PowerVR, the iPhone’s GPU supplier, engineered a low power chip that could drive HD resolutions. In addition, it’s been rumored Apple would introduce a new video output cable that would drive the iPhone’s external HD resolution.

Via: iPhones Talk

The amount of evidence towards video editing in the next generation iPhone has been piling up since the first Betas of Firmware 3.0 were seeded out by Apple. However, Peter Burrows of Businessweeks says his sources are confident Apple will integrate video recording in the next generation iPhone.

Pete says that the addition of a video camera in Apple’s 3rd generation iPhone will be a lot more than another useful feature. According to the analyst, Apple would also bring a heavily slimmed down version of iMovie apt for the mobile device that would allow users to edit and share movies directly from their iPhones instead of importing the media into iMovie or even Final Cut when they get home. Another rumor floating around is that Apple would integrate a YouTube upload feature into its 3rd generation iPhone and could go hand in hand with the device’s new video editing capabilities.

Via: Macrumors

It’s no doubt that Apple is working on a new line of iPhones but a recent supply list leak may have revealed who will be contributing parts to the next generation iPhone.

The list of suppliers comes from Digitimes who’ve had a hit or miss with Apple rumors but the parts seem to match up with recent news we’ve heard about the purported hardware in the next generation iPhone. The full list is available after the jump.

Via: iPhone Alley

A myriad of features are planned for Apple’s next generation iPhone and amongst the rumored upgrades might be something you didn’t expect: an FM transmitter.

Apple’s iPod and current generation iPhones have noticeably gone without having an AM/FM transmitter to tune in to a radio station. Reference’s to Broadcom’s BMC4329 wireless chip in the latest build of the 3.0 Firmware has the rumor mill churning as this particular piece of Silicon supports receiving and transmitting FM frequencies. The use of this in the next generation iPhone could allow users to stream music wirelessly to radios over an FM channel but that is dubious as Apple would want to do little to jeopardize it’s heavily licensed third-party accessory makers.

Via: iPhone Alley

In an ironic twist, Apple’s recently available iPhone patent for alternate authentication methods shows off a Jailbroken iPhone.

Apple has publicly shown its disapproval for Jailbreaking but a patent recently made available detailing authentication methods such as biometric scanning reveals a Jailbroken iPhone in one of the patents diagrams. The diagram shows off a customized home screen complete with a wallpaper (not allowable by Apple) and the older versions of Installer App and Summer Board which are only available exclusively to hacked iPhones.

Pictures after the break.

Via: iPhone Alley

One of the biggest gripes of the iPhone (and ironically one of its biggest features) is its on screen keyboard. While no 3rd parties have come forth to create a hardware keyboard to remedy the problem for a small amount of users, one enterprising developer has tapped in to aging technology to give the iPhone some added functionality.

The keyboard leverages the type of connection an ancient 1200 baud modem to send key inputs through the iPhone’s headphone port thanks to code compiled from the publicly available SDK. While the technology behind the ingenuity wouldn’t be used publicly due to the bulky PDA keyboard and knowledge of coding required, it’s an interesting concept that should jump start the development of 3rd party keyboards for the iPhone. Al of this was done without Jailbreaking the iPhone. Hopefully with the advent of SDK 3.0, this will become a reality.

Via: Arstechnica

When introduced along side the iPhone, the Bluetooth headset was one of the many accessories that dotted the handset’s launch in 2007. While more expensive than traditional Bluetooth headsets, Apple has probably discontinued the headset to prepare a new model with support for A2DP.

Anyone looking to purchase Apple’s Bluetooth headset will be met with a discontinued status. There is speculation however that Apple will introduce a new model that supports A2DP. This could coincide with the release of FIrmware 3.0 which will support A2DP for Bluetooth headset.

Via: The iPhone Blog

One of the biggest selling points of the iPhone 3G was the increased data speeds over its slower EDGE counterpart. Sure the reduced price added to the fray of buyers enduring long lines to buy an iPhone 3G but the faster data connection soon became a hit. Rumors floating around the Blog-o-sphere point to the next generation iPhone supporting a much faster data connection.

AT&T has plans to drastically expand its 3G network in the near future to speeds of 20Mbps.  In order to take advantage of the faster speeds that come with the newer HSPA+ protocols, the iPhone must use a new chipset which could be included in the next version of the iPhone. Supposedly, the next generation iPhone would include 802.11 N and 3.5G HSDPA support.

Via: iPhones Talk