Apple has always been known to heavily curate their App Store, like Walmart, while the jailbroken alternative, Cydia, has always been looked at as more open, like a market. It turns out, however, official App Store apps may leak your data far more than their unapproved, jailbreak counterparts.

An on-going study by the International Security Systems Lab and the University of California at Santa Barbara reveals some startling information about apps that leak your private data to their developers. The most surprising part of this survey for many may be the fact that jailbroken apps actually leak your personal data far less often than their Apple-approved counterparts.

Using a tool named PiOS, USCB took a sample of 825 free apps from the official App Store and 526 free apps from the Cydia repository, Big Boss, the largest and most popular of all the repositories available. What they discovered may make people rethink their bad connotation about jailbreaking.

Data from UCSB showing app data leaked from official and jailbreak apps

• 21% of official App Store apps leaked some kind of personal data to their developers
• Only 4% of jailbroken apps sent personal data to developers

The most common form of data leaked was the user's device UDID. This is not something I'd say users should be specifically concerned with. Your UDID number identifies your individual device. It's most likely what Apple uses to build user profiles and gauge your interests in order to offer you more relevant iAd information or App Store recommendations.

Further, official apps leaked location and address book information more often. One official app also revealed your actual phone number to the developer. No jailbreak apps gave developers access to your phone number and only one gave access to your address book and location data.

In the past jailbreak developers have developed patches for security exploits before Apple addressed the issue. Cydia also plays host to several apps that actually provide jailbreakers more control and protection over their private data than what iOS offers stock.

Jailbreak apps such as PrivaCY, developed by Cydia creator Jay Freeman, actually gives user a toggle that will block apps from uploading private data and usage statistics to remote servers. After it was discovered that Path was transmitting user's address books, Ryan Petrich created a jailbreak apps called ContactPrivacy which warns users when an app is trying to access data.

Jay Freeman thinks jailbreakers are concerned with their data and privacy even more so than stock users (that's probably true) -

“If you care about this kind of thing, you should jailbreak your phone,"

"Instead of Apple making decisions about what’s good and bad, you decide. People think jailbreaking is about deciding that things Apple doesn’t like are good. But it also allows you to decide that things Apple likes are bad. We provide you the tools to block the functionality you don’t believe apps should have on your phone.”

The difference may simply lie in the user base. Anyone who decides to jailbreak is pretty much classifying themselves as a power user. These users don't want Apple to make decisions for them. Beyond that, they greatly care about their data and security.

Over 10 million users are currently running jailbroken iOS devices. They have more options when it comes to protecting their privacy and user data than the millions of devices that aren't jailbroken. Many users have a negative connotation when it comes to jailbreak. Yes a jailbreak uses an exploit in the device to inject code that Apple doesn't let you run by default. But keep in mind these security holes are already present, stock or not.

What you decide to download from unofficial sources like Cydia after jailbreaking lies strictly with you. Could jailbreak leave your device open to malware attacks? Sure. But only if you're downloading packages that contain malware. Reading release notes and making sure you know what you're downloading eliminates 99% of these problems.

And again, most users that seek jailbreak are a bit more technologically inclined. They know what they're downloading and what they should stay away from.

Whether you are #TeamJailbreak or #TeamPure, does it surprise you that official apps leak more data than their unauthorized counterparts? Has any of it made you rethink any negative opinions you have about jailbreaking?

Source: Forbes via UCSB

Recently leaked parts purportedly from Apple's upcoming iPad 3 have been put together and the fit indicates not only that they may be near final production versions, but that the often-rumored 2048x1536 Retina display panel comes from Sharp, that a better camera is coming with it, and that overall, the casing may be slightly thicker.

According to the report by iLab, the new back plate on the iPad 3 will be roughly 1mm thicker in order to accommodate a larger battery, with screw alignments that line up precisely with the LCD panel from Sharp. The 30-pin dock connector also fit nice and snug on the new back plate, and a new camera hole suggests a higher megapixel camera should be coming as well.

Apple is rumored to be holding the iPad 3 announcement event during the first week of March.

Source: iLab Factory via 9to5Mac

Chris Chang from M.I.C. Gadgets claims that Apple manufacturer Foxconn may have "lost" an iPhone 5 prototype, which was subsequently sold to case manufacturers who then promptly began producing cases that leaked onto the internet, flooding us with rumors of the larger, wider, tear-drop shaped form factor.

With its past experience, one might think Apple would have been able to track that prototype down in a heartbeat. However, Apple was outsmarted. The person who had access to the prototype wiped the phone’s software, thus disabling the GPS hardware needed to track it down. It was then allegedly sold to one of the iPhone case manufacturers for RMB ¥20,000 (about $3,100). We were told that Foxconn was aware of the loss and had penalized internal management for the incident. We also heard from another source that the person who “lost” it was paid to do so. This case is similar to the iPad 2 leak reported back in June, where three men were jailed for stealing unreleased information about the Apple tablet.

Apple has been known to produce more than one iPhone prototype before -- an ambitious model and a more conservative model if the ambitious one doesn't come together in time. Whether or not this story is accurate, whether or not Apple had this type of prototype in the pipe for iPhone 5, and whether or not they're going to bring it to market are all unknowns at this point.

What's not an unknown is that Apple will finally settle this once and for all on October 4.

Online parts supplier TVC Mall claims to have some iPhone 5 replacement parts in stock. If these are the real deal, it gives us a bit more information on the internals of the iPhone 5. Besides the rear camera, TVC has a few other iPhone 5 replacement parts listed - an iPhone 5 replacement battery, audio jack flex cable (pictured above), and the prox sensor flex.

Compared to the iPhone 4, these parts seem like they may be legit. It also wouldn't be the first time suppliers get their hands on parts before the official release of a device. We also see about 20 fakes for every real leak as well. After repairing several iPhones over the past 2 years, I'd say these parts could maybe be the real deal.

I find myself kind of hoping they're not as I really wanted to see a dual LED flash on the iPhone 5. Sigh. Here's to hoping these are maybe just a really good Photoshop mockup of some iPhone 4 parts.

[TVC Mall]

A MacRumors forum member going by the handle guigsh posted the above photo(shop?!) in their forums this morning, claiming it was a spy shot of iPhone 5 taken in the office of a French operator. While we've seen spy shots of HP webOS devices under similar circumstances in the past, this one doesn't look much more believable than those [Chinese iClones we've been seeing lately].

A follow-up post from the thread author gives us the following information:

we were able to see it only 2 minutes, pictures forbidden of course, so, we did our best. I just want to share this with the mac community, now trust me or not. Rendez-vous in 1-2 months

No doubt we'll see tons more leaks, and tons more fakes before Steve Jobs holds up the real deal this fall. In the meantime, this one is making the blog rounds so take it for what it's worth -- a very large grain of salt. I'm personally not convinced in the least.

Your turn. Real, fake, or really fake?

MacRumors Forums

iPad 2 mockups and cases were floating around CES 2011 and the internet long before Apple announced the device, and now China has fined the people responsible for leaking the information, and sentenced them to over a year in prison.

The court announced the decision Tuesday in statements on its official account at Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service in China. It said that Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co., had offered 20,000 yuan, or about $3,000, plus discounts on MacTop products to a former Hon Hai employee named Hou Pengna, for information about the iPad 2. The court said Ms. Hou then paid Lin Kecheng, a Hon Hai research-and-development employee, to get digital images of the device's back cover from last September, six months before the iPad 2 was publicly announced.

The court said Mr. Xiao was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and fined 150,000 yuan. Mr. Lin was sentenced to 14 months and fined 100,000 yuan, and Ms. Hou was sentenced to a year in prison and fined 30,000 yuan.

Since the factories making the devices and near the factories making the accessories, leaks have always occurred. In the highly competitive accessory market, having a case or other product ready when Apple launches a previously secret new device gives a huge first mover advantage. (Which is why Apple lately has a case of their own, like bumpers or SmartCovers, ready to go at launch.)

Video of TiPb's hands on with an iPad 2 dummy, after the break.

[Wall Street Journal]

Vietnamese site Tinhte might just have gotten their hands on an official white iPhone 4 from Apple... running a previously unseen version of iOS! While it could also just be a clever set of Jailbreak tweaks, the video shows a new version of the multitasking fast app switching that replaces the dock icons in iOS 4 with miniature tiles of the actual apps, sort of like Exposé for iPhone.

Whether this is something destined for an interim iOS 4.4, our first hint at iOS 5, or some Jailbreak wizardry only Apple knows for sure. But it is interesting that it shows up on the anniversary of the Gizmodo iPhone 4 leak, isn't it?

UPDATE: Per comments, yes there are some old icons but also some Apple internal test icons. Weird. Second video from the same source that shows off, among other things, 64GB, a new rendering for Folders, and Facebook built into settings.

UPDATE 2: This might just be a prototype iPhone 4 running an early test version of iOS 4 which included Folder and Fast App Switching UI Apple later decided against implementing (going with what we see now in the release version of iOS 4.)

Check out the video after the break and let us know, real, fake, or really fake? And if real, what do you think?

[Tinhte via Engadget]

While iPhone 5 might only debut this fall, that apparently won't stop the purported image leaks from Vietnam. If accurate -- and that's always a big if -- the pics show a much smaller bezel which could be indicative of that larger, up to 4-inch display we've heard rumored before. Also, the black breaks are missing from above the volume controls, which either places some doubt on the veracity of the pictures, or indicates Apple may have done some work following iPhone 4 attenuation and de-tuning problems.

A couple more pictures after the break. Check them out and let me know what you think -- real, fake, or really fake?

UPDATE: Fake as in fake fake. And the embarrassing part is I read some Chinese. Frak.

[BiteYourApple via BGR]

Verizon is once again reminding their employees and family members to put the customers first and refrain from buying a Verizon iPhone themselves, at least for the time being. An email memo sent out today to all employees says:

Focus on Customer Is Key to Verizon iPhone Launch

To help ensure we meet customer demand for iPhones, Verizon is urging employees and their families to postpone purchases of the popular smartphone, whether online or in retail stores, for the time being.

“Customers and non-customers alike have waited for years to see this product on America’s most reliable wireless network,” notes Verizon Wireless Chief Operating Officer John Stratton. “Demand will be unprecedented.

“Now it’s here. This is our chance to show those millions of people what it means to be a Verizon customer -- providing them the best network, joined by the very best customer service and support, all adding up to a world-class customer experience.

“Part of that experience is ensuring we’re able to meet our customers’ needs in the midst of what will surely be unprecedented customer demand.

“I know customers aren’t the only ones who are excited – employees are, too. While I share your excitement, over the coming weeks we all need to do our part to meet our customers’ needs -- this means putting our customers first.

“After all, that’s the way we do business. That’s the Verizon Credo in action.

“This is an historic moment in time to rally together and show our loyal customers and new ones what our culture is all about.”

Are you happy Verizon brass is putting your Verizon iPhone first, or are you just wondering how many Verizon employees or family members will sneak off to Apple Retail Stores on February 10 to snag a Verizon iPhone on the sly?

It looks like our good friends over at 9 To 5 Mac and iFixYouri have managed to get their hands on what might just be an iPad 2 display fresh from the assembly lines in China. According to them, the display is lighter as well as just over a 1 mm thinner than the current generation iPad display. The frame around the screen is also noticeably smaller as well.This seems to make sense as all of Apple's products have been getting smaller and thinner recently, and reducing the iPad's weight would be a huge plus.

The part number (LP097X02-SLN1) appears to be an LG Phillips 9.7in XGA 1024×768 H-IPS display, which is the same resolution as the current iPad. This matches up with theories that it's still too expensive to go to a 2x 2048x1536 Retina Display this year, and it's a non-starter for developers to go 1.5x or anything in between.

Check out some candid shots of both displays after the break and let us know -- would you be happy with this display in iPad 2?

[ 9 To 5 Mac ]

It appears that what could be the design drawings for the next generation iPhone have been leaked and published by the folks over at Tw.Apple.Pro for all of our viewing pleasures. The pictures posted don't really allow us to see much but they do appear to match the leaked casing pictures/video that we posted on Wednesday. Stay with us after the break for more on this story.

The YouTube video that showed the possible next generation iPhone parts was removed due to copy right issues. Apple wanting the video pulled could hint towards possible attempts at keeping leaks of the next iPhone a secret unlike what happened with the iPhone 4. The drawings appear to match pretty well with the photos though and it seems to be a subtle sign of things to come.

So again we ask you what do you think - Real, Fake, or Really Fake?

[ MacRumors ]

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that those supposed cases for iPad 2, which show off a more iPod touch 4-like design, a camera cut-out, larger speaker, and possible USB port, have been pulled from Alibaba.com by parties unidentified (but easily speculated.

9to5Mac has also pulled their case mold images after similar, albeit "not so nice" demands.

Apple has had images removed from the web before, including the infamous iPod "fatty" nano leak, but in recent years hadn't bothered (or hadn't wanted a legal demand to prove the veracity of the pictures), even for the iPhone 4 leak. Is the tablet market about to become competitive enough that Apple doesn't want to take any chances, is this a third party getting involved, or is it something else?

(The image above is a concept design by TiPb.com, rendered before the latest round of rumors, coincidentally showing a more tapered, iPod touch-like design...)

Video of one of the cases after the break (unless and until YouTube is required to pull it).

[Wall Street Journal, 9to5Mac, via MacRumors]

I love the smell of a iPod touch 4 and iPod nano 6 accessory leaks in the morning. Once again we've got cases from China, this time with a side of screen protectors for good measure.

How informed are the device mockups? We'll find out for certain at Apple's special music event this Wednesday but until then, give us your best guest -- real, fake, or really fake?

[9to5Mac]

As spring turns to summer and fall, iPad and iPhone leaks turn to iPod touch -- witness the images above which claim to reveal iPod touch 4 complete with camera and flash.

HardMac claims the image came from a case manufacturer, the same who leaked the iPod mini (nano) camera last year, and that Apple typically provides advance size and shape information to these manufacturers. (Though clearly not for iPhone 4).

We'll find out if these images are real later this fall at Apple's annual music event. In the meantime here's a question, do you want iPod touch to stay looking pretty much the same, albeit with Retina Display and (likely 3mp) camera, or do you want a more iPhone 4-style case redesign as well?

[Hardmac]

UPDATE: As commenters suspected, it's a cheap clone/knock-off from China/Japan.

Engadget has some pictures of up of what's purporting to be an iPhone 4G (which it can't be because there aren't any GSM 4G networks for it to run on), but could it be an iPhone HD (or whatever the iPhone G4 ends up being called) prototype of some sorts?

We've heard that Apple keeps prototypes in the basement, bolted to tables, but if someone was testing radio reception or otherwise had to get some on-the-go diagnostics... Still, given how losing this thing would no doubt be grounds for immediate, painful eradication by Steve Jobs' omega beams, we just can't see anyone at Apple letting it out of their sight.

Engadget says the guy who "found" it in a San Jose bar, inside an iPhone 3G case, is looking to get cash in exchange for hands on time, but that they're working on more details.

Update: And the link to some TwitPics supposedly from a Chinese search posted on Feb 20.

What do you think, real, fake, or really fake?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

PadGadget did some digging around Apple's web-based iTunes Preview and came across what look to be some already-approved iPad apps. The give away? The use of HD (High Definition) or XL (eXtra-Large) in the title to signify the bigger 9.7 inch, 1024x768 pixel iPad display. Some of the titles discovered include:

• Ammoin HD
• Azkend HD
• Flight Control HD
• Grind HD
• HD Recovery
• Labyrinth 2 HD
• NBA Hotshot HD
• Numba HD
• Plants vs. Zombie HD
• Sparkle HD
• Worms HD

You can't download them yet, of course, but unless you're one of the biggest reviewers on the planet you probably don't have an iPad to play them on anyway...

Anything in there you're dying to play? I suspect Plants vs. Zombie HD is getting Jeremy's hard earned cash day one...

[PadGadget via MacRumors]

First it was McGraw-Hill on CNBC, and now it's Apple's own iPhone Developer Program leaking iPhone-relevance about tomorrow's "Come see our latest creation" event with the text "Place holder Agreement -- Need to update this for the 27th launch"

Will the iPhone agreement cover an iTablet/iSlate/iPad SDK as well? Will the iTablet be running the iPhone OS as rumored? Will iPhone 3.2 or iPhone 4.0 (or both) be announced for developer beta? Will there be no end to pre-event leaks?!

[via Engadget]

McGraw-Hill's CEO has outed the iTablet before Apple's "Come see our latest creation" event, scheduled for tomorrow, revealed it runs the iPhone OS, and undoubtedly has just earned himself a "bag of hurt" at the hands of one Steve Jobs. At 2:50 seconds in, Terry McGraw tells CNBC:

"Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they'll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now -- we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you're going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific."

Yeah. Oops! (But at least we appreciate the news!)

[via McRumors]

Did France Telecom/Orange exec Stéphane Richard just get caught off guard enough to confirm the immanent arrival of Apple's iTablet/iSlate, with a webcam? NowhereElse.fr has the video clip (go to 6:10 to see the relevant bit), and Techcrunch provides the translation for those who don't understand French:

Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: According to weekly Le Point, in a couple of days Apple will be launching its tablet computer …
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: … equipped with a webcam.
Stéphane Richard: Yes.
Jean-Pierre Elkabbach: Are Orange customers going to be able to enjoy it?
Stéphane Richard: Of course!

We're still waiting on Apple to announce it (or announce the rumored Jan. 27 announcement!), however. And word on whether or not Steve Jobs has hopped a plane to France, ready to kung-fu death-touch his loose lipped Euro carrier partner...

This, according to China Ontrade, is the 4th generation iPhone midboard. Having accurately leaked part of the iPhone 3GS assembly in May 2009, weeks before Phil Schiller showed the launch device off at WWDC in June, they've gained some measure of credibility. However, this isn't May 2010 and its hard to see ever-prototyping, last-minute-camera-ditching Apple setting anything in stone (or aluminum or plastic) this early in the cycle.

iPhones get introduced in June/July, after all, according to the same Phil Schiller. That's their product cycle, and that's what Apple has done for the first three versions. Could they be planning an early surprise? Gizmodo thinks pressure from Android (technically Android hardware manufacturers like HTC and Motorola in this case, we suppose) might get them to ramp up faster. However, a great iPhone 3.2 (which we've still not seen beta nor screenshot of) could relieve pressure on the OS side.

So is it real? Perhaps, and could well represent the current state of the art of 4th generation iPhone prototyping. Is it what we'll see when the actual iPhone (insert new brand name here) ships? Eh, it's just a midboard so it's hard to get terribly excited unless/until some hardware whizzes figure out the dimensions must mean a 16:9 display, or it's 8 feet high or something...

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

UPDATE: Video has been posted, check it out after the jump!

ORIGINAL: New images have surfaced purported to be Apple's third generation iPod touch, showing a top, center mounted camera for the presumed-to-be-announced in September product revision.

To catch up, we've heard the new iPod touch would have a camera and mic, and potentially come in at 16GB/32GB/64GB for $199/$299/$399. Now, as to the picture above...

Real? Fake? Really fake? There are certain constants in this Apple 'verse, including spec and image leaks prior to, and in anticipation of, any new Apple event. So either way, we're right on schedule!

[via MacRumors, thanks for the tip Gregg!]

Turns out that leaked black bezel that made the internet rounds prior to the iPhone 3GS' rounds was... actually for a Creative Zii Egg. Says CNET Asia provides the picture, and MacRumors the short version:

The Zii Egg is a multi-touch iPod touch-like device that runs Google's Android operating system. The device, though, bears a strong resemblance to the leaked bezel images, suggesting that it had simply been mislabeled all along.

[Insert Price is Right fail music]

Hey, at least now we know. Though, admittedly, the nearly intoxicating swarm of pre-release rumors are much more fun than the cold, headachy, post-release rumor smashing that followers...

Way back in February a matte black next generation casing (for what's now known as the iPhone 3G S) made it's way around the internet. No one knew if it was real or not, and since WWDC introduced the iPhone 3G S with the same glossy finish as the previous generation, doubts -- they were raised.

According to Macrumors, however, the FCC ID and model numbers exactly match those released on the official, glossy, iPhone 3G S.

Yeahbuwhat?

Did Apple flirt with matte and change its mind? Did problems arise in with the mass production of the matte versions? Are the matte versions being held for some sort of holiday roll out?

Panic's Cabel Sassar (via DF) wonders on Twitter whether it just might have been one of Apple's infamous canary trap -- information left out to see if it gets leaked, and to catch the source of the leak. Tom Clancy, meet Steve Jobs...

Either way, somebody at Apple thought matte was an option. Are you sad we didn't get it?

Curiouser and crazier is our motto of the moment, as we get what could be our third (3rd!) carrier leak of the day, following the T-Mobile Austria faux pas highlight an iPhone 32GB and the Vodafone Australia early EOL notice for the 16GB.

This one, according to PhoneArena.com, comes courtesy of and AT&T, which -- if accurate -- is offering to take in your as yet non-existent iPhone 32GB and give you $355.00 towards a trade in for last year's BlackBerry Bold.

Okay...

MacRumors has been keeping tabs on Chinese forum Weiphone, and says -- in addition to the screen shot above -- the following specs have been leaked about the next generation iPhone, widely believed to be announced in just under a month at Apple's annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC):

• Model number MB717LL
• 600MHz CPU Speed (up from 400MHz)
• 256MB RAM (up from 128MB)
• Digital Compass and FM
• 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus
• 32GB size
• No major changes in battery, screen and external casing.

Do we believe it? Some parts seem in line with other rumors we've been hearing, but who knows? (Other than Steve Jobs and his closest minions, of course). No doubt, we'll be seeing more and more of these as WWDC approaches. So, for our purposes, we'll just ask if this resembles the next gen iPhone you want?

With a Schiller-confirmed June product cycle, it's a bit early for iPhone Next-Gen case leaks, innit? Not that time or likelihood will stop the internet. MacRumors says:

This new iPhone case is said to "shed its glossy appearance for a matte black look" and also introduce a new case-back made of metal. [iPodObserver] seems confident in the photo and reminded readers that they were also responsible for publishing an early back-case photo of the iPhone 3G.

Has Apple ever done matt finish anything? And would Apple really milk the 16GB capacity in a next-gen iPhone? Or would they do 16GB and 32GB next time, the way they did 8 and 16, and 4 and 8 for the previous generations? And will this simply be another iPhone 3G, or will include any (or all) of the guts we've been clamoring for in an iPhone HD?

First questions first, though, is this for real?

Internal comparison photos after the break!

iPhone 3G Casing [via iFixit]

Leaked/Rumored iPhone Next Gen Casing

Dieter thinks the screws and slot for the rumble/vibrate motors match. What do you think? The next iPhone or simply the next Chinese iClone knockoff?

Given how kick-in-the-crotch fake the last supposed leaked memo from Rogers (the Canadian GSM monopoly and exclusive iPhone 3G carrier) was, I'm taking this with a Rockies-sized grain of salt. If even remotely accurate, however, it looks like:

In order to unbrick the iPhone in store (which is a requirement of the iPhone Sales Process), you must have iTunes version 7.6.3b4. Installed on your computer. This version has a special 'Activation Only Mode' that must be enabled and used in store.

For complete details, including the unbelievable but very Rogers-like ban on all forms of publicity, posters, and promotion (no advertising until 13 weeks post-launch?!), and more telco-related acronyms and contractions than you can shake your head at, check out the read link.

Read

Confession: Yes, when one of these crazy AT&T or Intel rumors come up, I draft a rumor-smasher just as soon as I finish the post. Chalk it up to experience.

Case in point: yesterday we (and everyone else in the blogsphere) reported that Intel Germany Geschäftsführer Hannes Schwaderer done let slip word of an Atom-powered iTablet. Or done did he?

"No Intel exec has said anything about any future Apple product, Atom processor or otherwise," an Intel spokesperson told AppleInsider. "I think that’s important to note as everyone speculates on future products from Apple."

And more awkwardly:

“Intel knows nothing over future products of other manufacturers and can therefore over it also nothing say,” press spokesman Mike Cato told ZDNet

Of course, just like AT&T leaking and un-leaking the iPhone Black, this could just be Intel desperately spinning damage control following a "phone call" from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

So, basically, either the interwebs have gone slappy-happy bonkers with pent-up pre-WWDC mania, or a large-screen, Atom-powered, iChat'ing iPhone Tablet 3G Black is coming our way very, very shortly?

MacRumors, source of the original hubbub, is standing firm on the latter, and offers up further corroboration-by-way-of-translation:

"PCGH-Editor Daniel Waadt was there as well an can attest, that Schwaderer referred to the iPhone as an example for the use of the atom-processor from Intel. The Intel CEO mentioned furthermore, that the display on iPhone 2 would be bigger than on iPhone 1 (although it is already quite big). iPhone 2 is also thinner than iPhone 1."

My bet? iPhone 3G sans-Intel takes stage at WWDC, ships sometime soonish thereafter, and while an iTablet certainly exists, and certainly furthers Apple's mobile WiFi platform and App Store program, we won't hear about it until sometime between Thanksgiving 2008 and Macworld 2009. Only way it makes sense anytime soon is if Steve Jobs smells blood in the water and is willing to sacrifice short-term roadmaps for the ultra-mobile kill.

What do you think?

ReadVia

True story: before the iPhone, Apple's multi-touch screen mobile efforts were focused on a tablet-like device known internally as Safari Pad. But when El Jobso unleashed his awesome powers of prediction, he saw cell phones coming on so strongly, he shifted Apple's gears -- and mobile OS X Touch development efforts -- to what became the iPhone.

Since then -- heck, since way before then, probably back since Jobs first axed the original Apple ultra-mobile, the Newton -- rumors have persisted that Apple was still working on the iTablet/Safari Pad/Mac Touch. And since the iPhone back in January 2007, every time a Jobsnote is scheduled, the interwebs explode with rumor that this time, at last, the dream machine will finally be released.

Well, this time we may have more than just rumor and hope to go on, as Intel Germany Geschäftsführer Hannes Schwaderer let slip that:

There is an iPhone with Intel’s new Atom chip. The device is slightly larger than the current version, Schwaderer said. That is not, however, because of the Intel chip, but because of the larger display used in the new iPhone.

Okay, so possible Non-Disclosure violations aside, does "slightly larger" mean tablet sized to anyone the Apple rumorati? And how does this factor in to previous rumors of the next-gen iPhone being Infineon powered, never mind Apple's recent purchase of PA Semi and its mobile PowerPC architecture?

More and more questions, with less and less time remaining before WWDC...

What do you think? Could this be this year's One More Thing...?

Read

I see a 3G iPhone and it will be painted black
No more aluminum just plastic on the back
How do I know and why will El Jobso certainly freak?
Cause AT&T has once again gone and sprung a leak

Cat's out of the bag and there's no going back
Published on their website something called the iPhone Black
So 2.0 is coming and it'll be on one of them
While others struggle to iClone Apple's gone to the next gen

3G, business, gaming, and App Store fully packed
I look to June and I want my iPhone Black!

[To the tune of, and with profound apologies to, the Rolling Stones: Painted Black]

Read

We've seen accessory makers spill the beans on upcoming products before. In the Treo space, an accessory maker went so far as to put their demo unit on a convention show floor. There was also the "fatty nano" rumor that seems ludicrous right up until the moment that Apple released precisely what the accessory maker had leaked. Things on the iPhone side are, of course, quite a bit more hush-hush, so apparently what these accessory makers have is just some rough dimensions, according to iLounge:

Companies overseas have already started working on products for this one, which is basically the same size as the current iPhone, but has slightly different curves, coloration, and materials.

We also get confirmation of the tip-top "Black and basically the same" rumor. The glossy black plastic is apparently quite a bit fancier than what you're imagining, and toss in a very slight taper across the back as well. A few slight adjustments to the location of the various sensors on the iPhone and the story looks pretty complete and pretty legit.

Oh, yeah, looks like color options besides black might be thrown into this heady mix of iPhone 3G stew as well. MMmmmmm ....HSDPA.

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) is running some screen shots of what may well be our first glimpse of the iPhone's App Store.

Pretty much what you'd expect if you combined the Wi-Fi Music Store with apps, the shots came TUAW's way via a tipster. Seems said tipster claims that, after repeatedly stabbing away at the App Store button (does that mean he was running the SDK beta??) and failing to connect, lo and behold he got through.

UPDATE: iPhone l33t hax0r Erica Sadun went poking around the storeBag.xml from Apple's public iTunes server and found the following:

There appears to be a new service, labeled "p2-panda" [note: p2 might stand for "purple", the iPhone code name] that offers access to the same functionality that Cory reported on last night. Specifically, the panda calls include StoreFront listings, Genres, Top Fifty listings, and Updates. If nothing else, this independently confirms functionality seen from those screen shots.

Be sure to check out her complete post for more geeky goodness!

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My my - some interesting happenings over the weekend. First, iPhone app developer Tiny Code (more on that mysterious link in a moment) pulled their apps off of installer.app, saying the following:

Tiny Code no longer produces fixes or applications for firmware 1.1.3. We can’t say much, but we are working with Apple and with their SDK for the next firmware release and SDK applications and we shouldn’t be missed for long. We will no longer update our Installer.app repo for legality reasons and you should see us soon on iTunes.

They said this at http://tiny-code.com, which if you visit you'll note is now redirected at the iPhone Dev Center. This, it turns out, was something developer "Kelly" did in order to, well, stop the tsunami of questions that followed his statement. It also turns out Apple was none too pleased about the leaks in the above statement.

Leaks? Yep:

1. "shouldn't be missed for long" sounds a lot like "that event that's coming on February 26th"
2. "you should see us soon on iTunes" sounds a lot like "iTunes is definitely going to be the way that these apps get distributed, sold, and installed."
3. Next to the statement above was "Now targeting fw 1.1.4 Alpha 2." Oops.

Each of the three above "leaks" is a surprise to exactly nobody who's been watching the iPhone news with any degree of attention lately, but nevertheless Apple did some hand-slapping, as Kelly explains in this MacRumors forum post

One: Yes, I have a copy of the Apple SDK for the iPhone targeting firmware 1.1.4. Two: Yes, Tiny-Code.com was ordered to be removed from operation by Apple, Inc because by releasing firmware versions and stating I had possession of the firmware and SDK was apparently a violation of the Non-Disclosure Agreement I agreed to when I accepted a copy of the SDK and firmware. Three: Yes I was wrist-slapped by Apple and won't be included in any further firmware beta's or testing/coding.

Yeouch.