Business

As the iPhone 3GS goes on sale tomorrow in the US, inquires about the phone’s price and plans have been met with responses from various European carriers.

Orange, France’s exclusive carrier for the iPhone will charge €229 ($318US) €149 ($206US) for the 16 and 32GB versions respectively with at least a two year contract. However, the cheapest contract costs €39 and lasts two years. T-Mobile of Germany (Deutsche Telekom) will be pricing the iPhone 3G S at €1 for the 16 and 32GB models but requires customers to sing a two year contract at €119.95 per month. The 32GB phone will also €249.95 with a lower monthly fee. Finally, TIM of Italy’s will be charging €619 and €719 for the 16 and 32 GB models respectively on prepaid plans.

TUAW

Tomorrow Apple is set to officially introduce the iPhone 3GS with an improved 600 MHz ARM CPU but there already talks that a much more powerful will be arriving. However, it won’t arrive for some time.

James Bruce, ARM’s wireless segment manager has confirmed that the company’s follow up to the Cortex A8 (aptly called the A9) will be making waves in major smartphones next year. The obvious speculation is that Apple will incorporate the dual core A9 into it’s next generation iPhone. It wouldn’t be surprising as Apple is keen on accelerating the iPhone’s underlying hardware. More on the CPU:

“What we’ve done on the A9 is actually make it more power efficient than the A8. The dual-core A9 will be coming out on 45-nanometer rather than the (current) 65-nanometer process,” Bruce said. Generally, the smaller the geometries, the faster and more power-efficient the processor is.
Bruce continued. “With the dual-core running at maximum load there’s probably going to be an increase of about 10 to 20 percent in power consumption but in general day to day use you’re actually going to see better battery life.”

Via: Macrumors… more...

As we loom closer to the public debut of Firmware 3.0 for the iPhone and the new App Store policies that follow, we’re already seeing some of those changes take effect. Notably, Apple’s App review policy is making a drastic change but also a limit is being placed on how Apps can be downloaded.

Previously, you could download an App and redownload it free of cost after you’ve deleted it but now, Apple will be charging you. However, you’re given the option to download said App in iTunes on your computer. The only reasonable explanation is Apple’s fear of “piracy” as iPhone owners could log in to multiple iTunes accounts and download Apps for free that were already bought by their friends in Firmware 3.0.

Via: The iPhone Blog

Recently, Chinese Ontrade a Chinese hardware wholesaler, leaked parts of the next generation iPhone for purchase. The parts in question hint at what kind of changes we could see in the next generation model’s underlying hardware.

First, a new bezel would bring the speakerphone to the very top cutting in to the tapered edge between the headphone jack and the lock button. Ontrade also claims to have the next generation iPhone’s screen for sale which sadly, is not an OLED display that is now starting to pop up in smartphones and notably, the Zune HD.

Via: TUAW

Apple and Telecom New Zealand may be in talks to bring the next generation iPhone and iPhone 3G to the country soon.

The leak was posted on Twitter by the telecom’s head of retail, Alan Gourdie. The only other confirmation has been a mention by National Business Review which lines up with Alan’s message.

Via: iLounge

Another round of speculation is hitting the Internet as analysts share their thoughts on what AT&T’s next move will be once Apple rolls out another update to the iPhone. While we’ve heard everything ranging from an iPhone Nano to a more robust (and wallet burning expensive) iPhone Pro, no one has really thrown the ball in to AT&T’s court but their next big thing could be a price cut.

Yes, a price cut but only on their monthly iPhone plans. Since Apple seems gung-ho on expanding the iPhone in to as many people’s hands and ears as possible, a little nudging towards AT&T’s end to ease the cost of ownership has probably been in the cards for some time. There is nothing set in stone on what the magic number will be but the word going around is a move back to the $20 a month for a limited internet plan. The reduction in monthly rates would go hand in hand nicely with a lower cost (and feature reduced) iPhone which would finally shut up the rumor mill about a $99 iPhone. In addition to a… more...

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

AT&T is set to purchase cellular equipment from leading competitor Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel Wireless to improve call reception in many rural areas formerly unavailable in the carrier’s reach across 18 states.

The deal is a loose end from Verizon’s acquisition of Alltel wireless (which now puts Verizon as the largest US cellular carrier) and mandated by the FCC. While users will have to switch from CDMA based phones to GSM based devices when AT&T acquires any remaining Alltel customers, the deal is well worth it thanks to an addition of new cellular towers in areas covering 18 states including Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming.

Via: iPhones Talk

SlingPlayer has finally made its way to the iPhone albeit in a limited and crippled form thanks to intervention from AT&T.

The $29.99 App (iTunes Link) will only work over WiFi and not over 3G as previously expected but after continued attempts by AT&T to limit Sling’s 3G capabilities threatened to ban it from the App Store, Apple and Sling caved in. AT&T’s comment on the matter is that Sling would generate so much network traffic by streaming a TV signal that it would bog down the carrier’s network and prevent other users from having a stable connection despite Sling’s availability on other AT&T Smartphones.

Via: iLounge

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