Earlier today a beta version of iCloud.com accidentally leaked 2 new web apps, Notes and Reminders, presumably coming to iCloud web-portal. These apps make perfect sense to be on iCloud.com, as they already sync over iCloud across iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices, and Apple has added them as apps to the upcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

The Reminders and Notes web apps weren't functional, nor was the login, and Apple quickly pulled the beta content offline. In other words, we weren't supposed to see this yet.

If we were to guess, WWDC 2012 would be the logical place for Apple to debut new iCloud features. That's where Steve Jobs debuted iCloud itself last year, and now more than ever the WWDC keynote is Apple's biggest software and services stage.

Unfortunately, there's no sign of Photo Stream yet, which would be nice given the impending loss of MobileMe galleries. Nor is there any sign of iTunes in the Cloud or iTunes Match online access yet.

That's when it will start to become really interesting.

Source: Steve Troughton-Smith

iOS developers on the west coast might be just a little bit peeved that WWDC sold out before they were even awake, and even more may have been cut out from the fun today as Apple canceled some tickets. Luckily, another event called the Indie Developer Lab has been put together for the same time (June 11 - 14) and only a few blocks away from the Moscone Center at The Box (it's fancier than it sounds). Tickets are considerably cheaper at $100/day as an early bird special, compared to $1600 for the whole four days at WWDC.

The show will host a contest called the IDL Remix, where groups of one to three developers will be given some rough source code, and they have to turn it into a polished final product. There's no mention of what the prize is, but it should be a fun little exercise nonetheless. Otherwise, you'll be able to code away in a nice, relaxed environment with lots of other clever programmers to meet and help you out.

The guys organizing this show are @kinkadius, @natetrue, and @flawlessfox of JailbreakCon. So, IndieDevLab may also be a good place to talk about operating outside of the Apple-approved ecosystem, if you're into that sort of thing.

If this sounds like your bag, you can register via the link below.

Source: Indie Dev Lab, via @kinkadius, @natetrue, @flawlessfox

This morning Apple has apparently canceled some WWDC 2012 tickets, claiming that they are "ineligible" because individuals aren't supposed to buy more than one. Of course, companies with teams of developers are allowed to buy more than one, but some combination of using the same address and Apple's system not working the way it's supposed to has flagged legitimate tickets for cancellation. Much to the rage and consternation of developers. Apple is apparently reinstating the purchases but needless to say, it's been a dramatic day for some iOS developers.

The Worldwide Developer Conference sold out after two hours of being on sale. That's with zero advance notice and a 5:30am PDT start time. If a developer was unfortunate enough to be in a bad time zone, or simply away from a computer when they went on sale, tough luck. WWDC policy prohibits the transfer and resale of tickets, which prevents scalping but compounds the problem for developers who missed the tiny window of availability.

That's led to some opportunists still trying to pull of sales on eBay, and to some desperate developers offering to change their name to that of the original purchaser (and pull jury duty!) in order to get access.

Have you had any problems getting your WWDC tickets? Have you been unpleasantly surprised by one of these e-mails from Apple? Developers, how important is WWDC attendence to your business? Let us know in our iOS Developer and Designer Forum

Source: TNW, eBay, Craigslist

Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) was announced earlier this morning, at 5:30am PDT, with a ticket price of $1600... and it sold out in less than 2 hours.

It took Apple 10 hours to sell out last year, so this is five times faster. Though it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, it took only 28 minutes to sell out Google IO 2012.

For paid developers, a ticket gives entry to the keynote, the non-disclosure covered lectures, and most importantly, the labs where Apple engineers can help with problems and get and give feedback on issues.

However, there's so much going on at WWDC that many, many people go without a ticket just to meet up with other developers and members of the Apple community.

WWDC 2012 takes place from June 11 to 15. Jump into our Developer and Designer Forum and let us know if you'll be there, ticket or not!

Apple's annual developer conference is once again set for June -- we probably won't see an iPhone 5 but could iOS 6 could make an appearance?

Apple has announced that it's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) will take place this year from June 11 - 15, 2012. As usual, WWDC will be held at Moscone West in San Francisco, CA. Tickets are $1599 and will likely go FAST. (They sold out in 10 hours last year.)

“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”

In order to attend, you have to be a paid member of the iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program, or Mac Developer Program, and you have to be 13 years of age or older.

WWDC is highlighted by a keynote presentation that in years past included the introduction of the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4. Last year's WWDC 2011 keynote didn't include any hardware announcements, but did include the unveiling of iOS 5 and iCloud, and the release of the iOS 5 beta. It was also Steve Jobs' last Apple keynote appearance.

We don't expect a new iPhone at this year's WWDC either, but we'll hopefully see a developer preview of iOS 6, and perhaps more on iCloud and associated services as well.

Jump into our Developer and Designer Forum and let us know if you'll be there!

Full press release below.

CUPERTINO, California—April 25, 2012—Apple® today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 11 through June 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At this year’s five-day conference, developers will learn about the future of iOS and OS X®, allowing them to build incredible new apps. WWDC will also feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers as well as the popular Apple Design Awards, a showcase of the most outstanding apps from the past year.

“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”

Developers will be able to explore the latest innovations, features and capabilities of iOS and OS X Mountain Lion and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance, quality and design of their apps. Developers can even bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best-practices to enhance their apps.

Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2012 include:

• more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies;
• 100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
• the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented;
• engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
• Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

Please go to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) to purchase tickets, as well as for updates and more information.

Developers who are unable to attend this year’s conference can access and watch all technical sessions from the Apple Developer website (developer.apple.com/videos) as soon as they are posted for free.

Apple has announced they will be holding an iOS 5 Tech Talk World Tour for 2011, giving developers an opportunity learn more about iOS 5, iPhone and iPad UI design sessions, adopting iCloud storage and more.

We’re taking iOS 5 on a world tour and we want you to come along for the ride. Learn from Apple experts as you take your apps to the next level with the exciting new technologies in iOS. Space is limited, so register today.

Apple will be holding training sessions for the Tech Talk World Tour in the following cities beginning in November and ending late January of next year.

• Berlin, Germany
• London, UK
• Rome, Italy
• Beijing, China
• Seoul, South Korea
• Sao Paolo, Brazil
• New York City, New York, U.S.
• Seattle, Washington, U.S.
• Austin, Texas, U.S.

We posted some notes and video from the 2009 Tech Tour, and it looks like this will be another great resource of information for iOS developers. Any developers out there planning to attend?

Source: Apple

9to5Mac posted some thoughts on what they think happened with the more ambitious iPhone 5 update that some were expecting to be announced at Apple's Lets Talk iPhone event earlier this month.

The iPhone 4S as you see it was originally planned to be released at WWDC with iOS 5, like every iPhone before it [...] But something happened around February of this year that threw everything off. Apple was still integrating the Siri team and code into iOS and it was going much slower than planned. At the same time, Apple’s iPhone 5 (teardrop) plans were moving along on or ahead of schedule and the first prototypes were testing well. With mid-October being the earliest possible date of a Siri-fied iOS being ready – with “Apple-levels” of polish –Apple had to look at its options.

This could explain the iPhone 5 case leak-a-palooza we saw just before the iPhone 4S announcement.

TiPb's own sources are split on this, with some saying Apple had planned iPhone 5 as the new iPhone, and iPhone 4S as souped up iPhone 4 for the mid-range market. Others insist iPhone 4S was the plan all along, and no redesign was ever in the cards for this year (or at least, wasn't considered for long).

9to5Mac's sources expect the redesigned iPhone to be announced in summer of 2012. TiPb's still hearing fall 2012, but this far out Apple can and will keep plans as flexible as possible.

Hit the link below for a full breakdown.

Source: 9to5Mac

It looks as if iOS 5 may still be coming packed with the rumored Nuance VoiceOver technology even though it wasn't given an official mention during Monday's WWDC keynote.

If you look closely at the image above presented during the iOS 5 portion of the keynote, you'll notice a few interesting tidbits pertaining to iOS VoiceOver integration.

• VoiceOver action support
• VoiceOver item chooser
• Option to speak text selection

This implies that Apple and Nuance may not have been fully prepared to show off their iOS 5 VoiceOver system in time for the keynote, but that it's still in the pipeline and should be ready to go this fall when iOS 5 drops. It's unclear whether Apple will allow 3rd party apps to take advantage of these new features or if it will only extend to system apps.

What do you think, will we see Nuance/SIRI VoiceOver technology baked-in to iOS 5 or are we just wishful thinking?

Apple has posted a video of today's keynote at WWDC 2011 on Apple.com. This is where Apple announced iOS 5 and iCloud. So grab some popcorn, get your geek on, and tell us what you think!

Updated! The keynote is now also available for download via iTunes as well.

Apple - direct iTunes Download

Apple - Streaming Version

Apple has announced the iCloud app Photo Stream - it brings the cloud to photos. When a photo is taken with one of your devices, it will be sent to the cloud and then to all other devices, including the Apple TV - automatically.

Photo Stream may be an individual iCloud app, but it is tied into the already existing Photos app on iOS devices. There will now be a new album called "Photo Stream". On a Mac, you will find it in iPhoto, and on a PC, it will be the Pictures folder.

Apple will store the most recent 1000 images in the cloud for 30 days. Move them into a different album on your Mac or PC to save them permanently.

We're excited about Photo Stream. How about you?

Safari is getting a huge update with iOS 5, which will include a new Reading List for later reading of interesting articles, tabbed browsing (finally!) and Safari Reader for a distraction-free view of the webpage or article you're reading.

Reading List is a huge addition, letting users save an interesting article for later, much akin to Read It Later or Instapaper. Just tap the Reading List button and you're presented with all the articles you've recently saved.

Tabbed browsing is just how you'd expect it to be in Safari, with a look and feel the same as Safari on Mac OS X. This is a much-welcomed addition.

Safari Reader is a button you tap to clear all distractions and view the article in a text-only view with inline images. It's going to make reading on Safari painless, especially when you're on a site with a bunch of annoying and distracting ads.

We're looking forward to these additions in Safari for iOS 5 -- what about you?

If you are looking to kill a little time waiting for Steve to take the stage for his WWDC keynote why not to spend some of that time in our forums speculating with other forum members? In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven’t already, head on over and register now!

• WWDC expectations

• What feature do you want to see included with iOS 5?

• It's very probable that we will not see any announcements regarding a iPhone 5 but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it.

• Did I mention we are giving away a white iPhone 4?

See you in the forums!

Almost 15 years ago, in a rare WWDC 1997 Q&A session, Steve Jobs talks about thin clients, the dangers of being too proprietary, the need for keyboards on mobile, not dating Larry Ellison, if Apple could ever compete with Microsoft and Intel, and having his home directory everywhere.

I have computers at Apple, at Pixar, at NeXT and at home. I walk over to any of them and log in as myself. It goes over the network, finds my home directory on the server and I’ve got my stuff, where ever I am. And none of that is on a local disc. The server…is my local disc.”

Video after the break. Interesting in light of what we might see on Monday, no?

[The Tech Bench via 52Tiger]

CNET reports that Universal Music Group has finalized a deal for Apple to offer streaming music through their new iCloud service. Apple will announce iCloud at WWDC next week, which will reportedly cost just $25 per year after an initial free trial period.

the service initially will be offered for a free period to people who buy music from Apple's iTunes digital download store, allowing users to upload their music to Apple's computers where they can then play from a Web browser or Internet-connected Apple device.

The company plans to eventually charge a subscription fee, about $25 a year, for the service. Apple would also sell advertising around its iCloud service.

Music publishers are set to complete deals with Apple by tomorrow, which is the final negotiations needed before the service goes live. According to The LA Times, Apple will be sharing 70% of subscription costs with the record labels, with 12% going to music publishers. Apple will walk away with the remaining 18% to pay for supporting and maintaining the service.

An additional note is that Apple may use iCloud to eventually stream movies, TV shows and more further down the road.

though the service is initially focused on allowing consumers to store their music on Apple's servers, the Cupertino, Calif., technology company ultimately envisions the service to be used for movies, TV shows and other digital content sold through iTunes, said a person knowledgeable of the company's plans.

So who's ready for some iCloud action? And do you think $25/year is a solid price-point to get users on board? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

[CNET, LA Times]

TechCrunch has word that iOS 5 will include an all-new, completely revamped notification system with widget support to boot.

The other big news for iOS5 — and yes, I’ve completely buried the lede here, thanks for reading! — two things: completely revamped notifications and widgets.

We've previously heard that Apple was planning on giving iOS notifications a major face-lift, and Apple did hire the man responsible for webOS' elegant notification system, so this really could be the next generation improvement a lot of us have been hoping for.

Throwing cold water on those holding out for new iPhone hardware, however, they once again suggested Apple has no plans of bringing a new iPhone to the party at WWDC.

Apple is pushing for journalists to come to WWDC because the software announcements will be huge (and they likely know that journalists hearing there will be no iPhone 5 announcement may choose to stay home instead this year). And the changes will be vital for all developers in the Apple ecosystem(s) to know about.

In addition, rumors that Nuance technology would be fully baked into iOS 5 doesn't sound likely according to their sources, but they're still hearing iCloud will be in full effect at the announcement.

There are plenty of great iOS notification concepts floating around, but we'll have to wait for WWDC to get a real grasp on the new system and what kind of widget support will be included.

What do you think it could look like?

[TechCrunch]

Electric Pig claims Apple PR has been inviting top UK journalists to WWDC next month and guesses it's... to have them there for an iPhone 4S launch. WWDC takes place June 6 through June 10 and this is where Apple is set release iOS 5.

A source tells us that Apple’s UK iPhone PR team is approaching journalists from major publications to fly out to the event in San Francisco next month. The obvious conclusion would be that Apple is announcing a new iPhone. Or rather, an updated model. The iPhone 4S is slated as a stop-gap before the appearance of a true, ‘&%!*, they’ve done it again!’ game-changer next year.

So far everything TiPb and other blogs have heard makes it sound like there'll be no new iPhone hardware until this fall, but Electric Pig thinks otherwise. We're guessing it's to see iOS 5, which should be a big deal. What do you think, is iOS 5 the most likely bet or could an iPhone 4S be the secret card in the deck?

Electric Pig

According to GigaOm, Apple has confirmed Steve Jobs will be giving the Keynote presentation at WWDC 2011, despite being on limited duty during his third medical leave. For the last 3 years, Apple has introduced new iPhone hardware (from the iPhone 3G to last year's iPhone 4 at WWDC, however, unofficial word is that there'll be no new iPhone until the fall this year. Since, also unlike previous years, there was no iOS preview event this spring, an iOS 5 announcement and probable beta release will likely be our high point. (There will no doubt also be Mac OS X Lion news as well.)

iOS 5 is rumored to be a big update for Apple, everything from a new leap to the cloud to a substantial re-write, so it'll be great to see Steve Jobs doing what he does better than anyone else in the industry -- running the show.

What do you want to see?

Note: We can't find the official announcement they refer to... yet. Make of that what you will.

UPDATE: GigaOM seems to have the date wrong as well, June 7th was the 2010 keynote. [@BenjaminZEMayo] Could be a misfire on their part. Still looking into it.

UPDATE 2: GigaOm misfired. Apple hasn't yet announced the Keynote speaker for WWDC 2011. Likely a miscommunication based on last year's WWDC announcement. [The Loop]

[GigaOm]

Will we get an iPhone 5 in June? We've gotten a new iPhone announced at WWDC every year since 2007 yet right after Apple announced this year's WWDC rumors started to fly it would be new hardware free. Could these rumors be based on inside information, or could it just be en vogue to predict delays on all Apple products? iPad 2 was delayed, right? Only no, it wasn't. Now rumor has it iOS 5 is delayed and iPhone 5 are delayed. Only will they be?

If there isn't any inside information at play here than the crux of the "iPhone 5 delayed" rumors is Apple emphasizing software and not hardware in their WWDC 2011 announcement press release. Apple puts out one of these WWDC announcements every year, so let's take a look:

• WWDC 2010: Apple emphasizes iPad development and iPhone OS 4 (iOS 4), we get iPhone 4 [PR link]
• WWDC 2009: Apple emphasizes Snow Leopard and iPhone OS 3.0 development, we get iPhone 3GS [PR link]
• WWDC 2008: Apple emphasizes OS X Leopard and iPhone OS X, we get iPhone 3G [PR Link]
• WWDC 2007: Apple emphasizes OS X, we get iPhone (pre-announced at Macworld) [PR link]

All those press releases emphasized software, no hardware, and yet we still got a new iPhone. Every year. So again, if Apple isn't leaking news that there's won't be an iPhone 5 at WWDC in order to re-set expectations, then a WWDC press release in and of itself is meaningless as an indicator.

Rumors are fun. Rumors fill news cycles. However there's a growing pattern of rumors about Apple product delays that just seem... increasingly inorganic. Rumor. Link. Smash rumor. Link. Rinse. Repeat.

iOS 5 and iPhone 5 may well be delayed. But I'll believe it when I don't see it.

UPDATE: Both TechCrunch (which has a mixed record) and the Loop (which has a good record) are saying no new hardware, including no iPhone 5, at WWDC this year.

UPDATE 2: John Paczkowski from All Things D is also suggesting expectations be re-calibrated.

Apple has just confirmed, via a press release that the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event will take place June 6 through to June 10 at San Francisco’s Moscone West.

“At this year’s conference we are going to unveil the future of iOS and Mac OS,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “If you are an iOS or Mac OS X software developer, this is the event that you do not want to miss.”

While there have been rumors of iOS 5 not being released until the fall Apple typically shows off the final version of their new software at WWDC, and if they hold to pattern we should see the introduction of iPhone 5 as well. Let us know what you think in the comments!

[Apple PR]

Earlier this morning we told you about rumors of the iPad 2 being "delayed" until June, but Jim Dalrymple from The Loop claims the rumors are completely false. He states that in addition to the iPad 2 being on track he also doesn't believe the other rumor making the rounds today -- that iPhone 5 would be delayed until September either:

The Internet is buzzing this morning with separate rumors that Apple’s iPad 2 and iPhone 5 will be delayed. The fact is, neither rumor is true. From what I’ve heard this morning both products are on schedule and will ship when they are supposed to. Only Apple knows exactly when that will be, but the products are not delayed.

The Loop usually has fairly accurate sources so we're going to side with him on this one. With how on-track Apple usually is with their release schedules, especially when it comes to their yearly iPhone updates, these rumors don't seem to hold much weight.

What do you think, will we still see iPad 2 this spring and iPhone 5 this summer?

[The Loop]

From the Forums is a great way to see all of the hot topics in our iPhone and iPad forums. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now!

• WWDC is finally here, lets hear your last minute predictions!

• It is highly possible today you will be able to pre-order the next iPhone via Apple's web site, will you be pre-ordering?

• For your chance to win your very own 4th generation iPhone from TiPb be sure to visit this thread - TiPb 4th gen iPhone (iPhone HD/iPhone 4G) give-away!

• Want to talk next generation iPhone carriers and plans? This would be the forum to do to it in - iPhone and iPad Carriers and Plans.

See you in the forums!

Apple has updated their WWDC 2010 page to indicate that their yearly developer-centric event has sold out. In 8 days.

Wow, that was fast.

WWDC takes place June 7-11 in San Francisco and, if the patterns established over the last three years holds true, the next generation iPhone will be announced during the Keynote, along with the information about the final version of iPhone OS 4.

Apple.com has just put up this year's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC 2010) page, and as suspected the dates are early -- June 7-11 at the traditional Moscone West venue in San Francisco.

For the last two years, Apple has also used the even to debut new iPhone hardware and release dates, with the iPhone 3GS in 2009 and iPhone 3G in 2008. The iPhone 2G was announced at Macworld in 2008, but its release date was made public at WWDC as well. All that to say it's fairly likely WWDC 2010 will not only give us our first official look at the 4th generation iPhone (iPhone HD, iPhone 4G, iPhone G4, whatever floats your moniker boat), but word on when we'll get it as well.

While the iPhone has only been part of WWDC for 3 years, given the app-centric nature of the artwork (above) its fair to say it'll be given the lion's share of attention this year.

UPDATE: It's iPhone OS-centric to say the least. Apple Design Awards, the Mac need not apply, and the course tracks listed are predominantly iPhone OS (iPhone, iPad). That's clearly where Apple is shifting their attention, at least for this year, and given their increasing iPhone OS earnings, it should come as no surprise.

The shot's been sounded people, the race to the next iPhone is on!

[Apple]

While Apple announced 7 tent-pole features for iPhone OS 4 (iPhone 4.0) including multitasking, folders, mail enhancements, iBooks, Enterprise features, Game Center social network, and iAd mobile advertising platform, it's important to remember we won't get the final feature set for iPhone 4.0 until Apple's World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) this June.

Last year Apple showed off a lot of features for iPhone 3.0 in March, but it wasn't until WWDC that we saw features specific to the new iPhone 3GS hardware -- video recording, VoiceOver, compass, Voice Memo app, etc.

If iPhone G4 (not 4G!), also likely introduced at WWDC in June, has extra hardware like a front-facing camera, we won't see Mobile iChat video announced until then...

A "corporate event" scheduled for Monday, June 28 to Friday, July 2, 2010 has set the internet speculation level to red, as it sounds like the only Moscone Center reservation capable of being next year's Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) -- the event whose keynote has for the last two years featured the introduction of new iPhone hardware.

In 2008 Steve Jobs held up the iPhone 3G (1,2). In 2009 Phil Schiller showed off the iPhone 3GS (2,1). Jobs is back, 4th generation iPhone (3,1) rumors are progressing right on schedule, so... Yeah, we're excited. (And who knows, maybe an iTablet won't be as mythical by then either?)

Apple officially announced WWDC dates in March. Apple also typically holds iPhone Software Sneak Preview Events in March. We're just saying... 2010 is almost here. Bring the future!

[via 9to5mac]

Once again it is time for another From the Forums. A weekly post in which TiPb takes some of the many good threads from our forums to put into the spotlight. To join in on the forum action be sure to register, it's a painless process - we promise.

If you are like me, you are sick and tired of hearing rumors about an iPhone coming to Verizon. Well here is yet another rumor that started in the Crackberry forums that has now found it's way onto our forums thanks to Duvi - iPhone on Verizon Soon? Now I can't speak for everyone here at TiPb but I can honestly say I do not see this happening anytime in the near future. Thoughts?

This next thread started by KaiZeRKhan, is actually a question that I get asked quite a bit - Do you ever get bored of your iPhone? I've had a ton of phones along with my iPhone and the reason the others always end up sold is that I get bored with them, not the iPhone. How about you?

The last thread for today is one that has been spotlighted here before. We figured with WWDC approaching fast why not toss it in one more time - Will Apple reveal the new iPhone at WWDC? Did I mention this one has a poll and so far it's 38-14 in favor of yes, we will see the new iPhone introduced at WWDC.

See you on the forums!

UPDATE: Full super-rumored specs list, via Engadget after the break!

ORIGINAL: Palm Pre announces a release date and all of a sudden iPhone and Apple blogs have to rumor up a next generation iPhone release date? Yep, that's how we roll... right over the news cycles.

So when's the rumor? July 17, 2009. And no, no idea if that's an international roll-out like last year. Speaking of which, Apple introduced the iPhone 3G at WWDC 2008 and had it on sale July 11, so a similar pattern this year makes the kind of sense that does, even if July 17 just also happens to be the default date on every iCal instance in the world...

As to specs, pretty much what we've seen rumored already, 32GB, 3.5mp camera, video recording, digital compass, OLED screen, and here's a kicker -- illuminated Apple logo like the MacBooks.

How does that sound to you? Perfect timing? To soon? Too late? Too many crazy rumors, bring on WWDC already?!

[TUAW via AppleiPhoneApps]

• 32GB and 16GB storage (up from the current 16GB and 8GB models)
• $199 and $299 price points to be maintained
• 3.2-megapixel camera (up from the current 2-megapixel camera)
• Video-recording and editing capabilities
• Ability to send a picture & video via MMS
• Discontinuation of the metal band surrounding the edge of the device
• OLED screen
• 1.5 times the battery life of the current models
• Double the RAM and processing power
• Built-in FM transmitter
• Apple logo on back will glow
• Rubber-tread backing
• Sleeker design
• Built-in compass
• The camera, GPS, compass and Google map combined will identify photo and inform about photo locations
• Turn-by-turn directions

Business Insider is quoting Piper analyst Gene Munster as saying:

No New iPhones [at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference]. As indicated in today's press release, we believe Apple will focus on the new version of Mac OS X, Snow Leopard at WWDC. While some investors may be expecting Apple to launch redesigned iPhones at WWDC, we do not anticipate the launch in early June. Rather, we expect Apple to host a special event in late June or early July to launch a family of iPhones. We continue to expect multiple models, possibly a high-end iPhone with improved specs from the current version and a low-end version with lower capacity and fewer features along with a reduced pricing plan. Such a model could also be used in Apple's launch of the iPhone into China as soon as the end of summer '09.

Analysts are about as accurate as weathermen when it comes to predictions one month out, so take this with the usual Mac Pro sized grain of salt. Apple has used the last two WWDC events to showcase the iPhone, and introduced the iPhone 3G and MobileMe at WWDC 2008. If they stick to pattern, we should see an update on iPhone 3.0, the next generation iPhone, and perhaps a MobileMe refresh at WWDC 2009.

However, WWDC being an developer-focused event, it's not impossible Apple will focus on their Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard and iPhone OS 3.0 exclusively, leaving the hardware for a sexier consumer event later in the month.

As to a family of iPhones, we still don't see Apple breaking the software platform, which means a low end iPhone could only be a low-storage iPhone 3G (8GB?) at $99?, with the next generation unit (at 16GB and 32GB, along with other new features) taking the established $199 and $299 positions.

As TiPb anticipated, Apple today announced that the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) Keynote will be given by their Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing and other executives. In other words:

You. Get. Schiller. If Aaron Sorkin wrote the cliffhanger leading up to this year's WWDC keynote, that's the dialog a still-on-leave Steve Jobs would have just spit at the heavens from deep within the empty Times Square Apple Flagship "cathedral".

Phil Schiller did an affable job of keynoting Apple's final Macworld appearance back in January, but with everyone and their rumor blogs pretty much convinced we'll see the next-generation iPhone again take center stage, will expectations be impossibly high?

How badly do we want to see Phil Schiller pull something from his jean pocket?

The other iPhone-related executives, we guess, would include Scott Forstall for iPhone software, perhaps alongside Greg Joswiak from marketing. No doubt Bertrand Serlet, no stranger to WWDC, will be there for the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard portion.

(Steve Jobs is still said to be returning from his leave of absence at the end of June)

Not sure when this went live, or how I missed seeing it the moment it did, but the snippet of video on Trism that Apple showed off in their iPhone 3.0 Sneak Peek Event is up in full on Apple's developer site, and it's brought along some friends. The full list includes:

• Werner Jainek of Cultured Code (Things)
• Dr. Ge Wang of Smule (Ocarina, Leaf Trombone)
• Steve Demeter of Demiforce (Trism)
• Christina Wick of AOL (AOL Radio, AIM)

The videos show not only some great insights into the personalities behind some of our favorite apps, but the development process as well.

(Via Cocoia on Twitter)

In 2008, Apple's WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference) heralded our first look at the iPhone 3G, iPhone OS 2.0, Mobile Me, and the App Store. In 2007 it was... WebApps. Okay, scaling, we get it. But that means 2009 should be gangbusters, right? iPhone hardware rev 2,1? iPhone OS 3.0? And... only Jobs knows for sure, but we're sure it will warrant at least a couple Booms! (Where by "sure" we mean "hope").

First things last, however, we need a date, and so far we have two possible candidates according to Apple Insider: May 16-22 or June 6-12.

If it's May, Steve Jobs will not have returned yet from his leave of absence and Macworld Final Keynoter Phil Schiller will likely take center stage. June... could be great timing for a triumphant return. Apple has historically held the event as late as August, but June seems the favorite. Of course, we're also hoping for a pre-WWDC sneak beta peek this month (on the 24th?!) so developers have the time to adapt any changes Apple may be planning to hardware or OS.

Anyone placing any bets on when -- and more importantly -- what we'll be seeing?

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Rene Ritchie and Brian Hart join us as we run down all the big news from WWDC. Surprisingly, the iPhone 3G seems to have been shown up by the iPhone 2.0 software update for many of us!

Here at TiPb we’ve covered 10 things we thought Apple needed to fix in the next iPhone. With the anticipation of the iPhone 3G, the rumor mill went crazy with things like video conferencing, different models, etc. all but confirmed at one point in time. We even ran a bunch of our own predictions.

And well the Jobsnote was yesterday, and though we got the biggies: 3G, GPS, flush headphone jack, and a $199 price point, but we also missed out on a lot of stuff we thought we would be getting already.

Read on to see what we didn't get in the iPhone 3G!

Here’s the quick hit list:

• A Better Camera – we’re still stuck with the 2 megapixel camera with no flash, no zoom, and a tad bit slow. I personally think Apple missed a great opportunity to place themselves ahead of the curve in camera capabilities.
• Video – I’m personally not a big fan of video recording, it’s just too shaky and amateur-ish for me. But this would be sweet if they had integrated Youtube uploads.
• Bigger Storage Size – Just 8 & 16 GB? What about the current iPod Touch’s 32 GB? Couldn’t manage to fit it in?
• MMS – A lot of people use this popular yet limited technology. Missing out on it when pretty much any phone can do it is disappointing.
• Note Syncing – I guess this could be remedied by MobileMe? But in theory this is an easy feature to do, no?
• Cut & Paste – Sigh. This is probably the single, biggest issue that has been missing in the iPhone since its release. Can’t we get acknowledgement that this is in the works, at the very least? Come on Apple, throw us a bone.
• A2DP Bluetooth – Yikes. The world is going wireless and Apple is left behind. The iPhone is the best music player on the market, you would think they would have included support.
• Release Date - July 11th? I can wait a month but what were those rumors floating about IMMEDIATE launch doing? Not even Mid-June? It's not like you guys updated much...I kid, I kid.

What do you guys think? Did Apple miss a great opportunity to leap the entire smartphone field? Any features missing that Apple should have included? Wireless-n? iPhone nano? Why do you think Apple kept upgrades to a minimum? How do you feel about the iPhone 3G ‘the morning after’?

Since 2.0 STILL hasn't been released, we're still having our Wait-a-Thons! Comment on this post for a chance to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card. We need those apps, Apple!

Accidentally fall asleep when developers went over 190832 apps during the keynote? Numb your mind and index finger by maddeningly refreshing your browser? Miss all the apps that were showcased in the iPhone? Fear not, TiPb will give you a quick nitty gritty update on the lot.

• eBay - A fairly basic eBay app that didn't really showcase any advancements from the basic web app. Sure it was nice and integrated but really, isn't an eBay webapp good enough? Certainly, they could have gotten someone better to demo their app.
• Loopt - A location-based social networking application. Now this is kind of cool, it displays your friend's location on a map and works with other platforms. Basically, I imagine it to be similar to Boost Mobile's Where You At?
• TypePad - A mobile blogging app that is pretty straightforward. The interface looked similar to the iPhone's E-mail client and well, at least you can add photos via camera or photo roll
• Mobile News Network - Basically enables viewing videos and pictures of news stories from various sources. It also allows you to directly report the news if you have a first hand account of something
• Band - This is a fun app, basically a collection of virtual instruments: piano, drums, bass, 12-bar blues 'instrument'. I've seen iterations of 'Band' in the jailbreaking scene and it makes for good fun
• MLB.com - This app is nice! It gives iPhone users direct access to video highlights right after they happen! It also displays a live detailed scoreboard for quick updates on baseball games.
• Modality - A medical application used to easily learn names of body parts, etc. Mildly useful for me, incredibly useful for doctors I presume
• MIMvista - Another medical application that takes advantage of the iPhone's screen to zoom in, out, and scroll around. Basically, an interactive way to view medical imagery?

image credit: iPhoneBuzz

Headline says it all, don't it? The iPhone 3G is going to be released on July 11th, 2008. It will be $199 for the 8 gig version, $299 for the 16gig version. It will come in black and white (in the 16 gig anyway). It has 3G speeds for data, 2.8 times faster than EDGE. It has GPS. It will have 3rd party software.

Mark your calendars!

For those who don't know, Slingbox is a TV streaming device that allows users full control of your TV set at home through the internet. It's basically a combination of technological prowess and fairy dust that enables this VERY sweet product to "just work". Meaning if you're a Dodgers Fan on a business trip in the East Coast, you can watch their games as if you were in your own living room. If you saved the season finale of Lost to your PVR, you can watch that too. 

Now that convenience is coming to your iPhone. Which is fitting since SlingPlayer Mobile has been available for WinMob, Palm, and Symbian for some time now and we all know none of those platforms offer a screen quite like the iPhone. Though it's still very, very early in development, Sling has a proof-of-concept version of SlingPlayer Mobile running on jailbroken iPhones.

SlingMedia will also be holding live demonstrations of SlingPlayer Mobile on the iPhone and iPod Touch for those attending WWDC. Their Product Manager Vicky Shum will be at the Starbucks at 120 4th Street, San Francisco (across from the Metreon) between 10am and 4pm Pacific Time on Monday, June 9th. The demo is open to everybody, so if you're in the bay area for WWDC feel free to check it out!

Thanks MegaZone for the tip and Rob for the heads up!

Not evil twin to theiPhoneBlog.com Week in Review, not an invasion by Fake Steve, This Week in Smart Phone Schadenfreude brings you all the feel-better news you need about the smartphone world outside Apple’s current media dominator. (Who knew there was such a world? We were just as surprised! Inelegant, interface challenged, keyboardy, crashy, single-touchy place — best not to linger…). Join us as we mock review the big news from last week at our sister sites. Everybody loves sibling rivalry!

In this week's edition: Nothing. Seriously. It's like there's some event on Monday that's blotted out the smartphone sun...

(Okay, fine, maybe there's some small something or other we can dig up. Hit the read link...)

Breaking: TiPb Welcomes Messrs. Lazaridis, Ballmer, and Colligan!

More fake breaking news, as we've received no tips reporting that the head honchos over at RIM, Microsoft, and what's left of Palm have done nothing all week but wire up fiber channels and practice hitting "refresh" in anticipation of our live meta blog coverage of the WWDC keynote on Monday.

When reached for non-comment, dead-pan funnyman Lazaridis said, "C'mon, I need to know what Apple's new phone looks like this year so I can figure out what RIM's will look like next year!"

Monkey-Boy dance phenom Ballmer didn't chime in with, "We'll be selling 3 friktillian smartphones with Windows Mobile Se7en on by 2012, and we're going to need to know what else to copy beside Multi-touch!"

Colligan, however, when awoken from his 5 year stasis, never remained cool, "We have no interest in duplicating the iPhone. We're about to release our 19th version of the Treo 600, and we've got 37 more where that came from!".

Alrighty then...

ATTN: Crackberry.com, RE: Coming Back Around...

Confession: We make a little fun of RIM's well-publicized and hugely embarrassing network outages (see, we did it again right there). But last week, when .Mac went down and we here at TiPb reported it pro-forma as the nothing little insignificant blip on an otherwise perfectly clear iPhone sky that it was, Crackberry.com wasted no time, and spared no level of glee, in NOC'ing it up, and twisting it into some big brouhaha.

Bulletin: A .Mac outage probably effects exactly 3 iPhone users. If that. We don't like to publicize it, but even Dear Leader doesn't really use the service (he's using the new one already, which is why they needed some massive super secret upgrade you may be hearing about at a little developers conference you may have hear about, b'okay?) Anyway, .Mac going out is like the 300th ranked ISP in Bavaria going out -- barely anyone noticed. They were all busy with setting up their new Exchange or MobileMe accounts for Monday.

Payback: However, you noticed, and we noticed you noticing, so we called up our "friends" in Waterloo and convinced the former Canadian Tire cashier whose hand's on the giant red NOC-off lever that, since everyone on the planet will pretty much be iPhone-only this weekend, it would be the perfect time for a "scheduled" outage. Poor kid. We're talking hook, line, and voice-cracking sinker...

We're not sure what Crackberry addicts pop when the push is down (our guess -- Solitaire on Win95), but enjoy the weekend!

Microsoft Out the Gates and High on Life

Or something! First up we have Microsoft (probably Ballmer), who according to WMExperts.com is sending letters (probably cut out of a soon-to-be-extinct magazine and stick-glued onto unsold Vista boxtops...) to their partners desperately reassuring them that Windows Mobile 6.6.6 (or 6.1, whatever the latest -- and by that we mean most currently behind schedule -- release is) will somehow still be relevant come Monday after El Jobso drops the iPhone 2.0 bomb.

Er... yeah... Not sure how to break this to you, but Windows Mobile 6.x wasn't relevant after iPhone 1.0 back in January 2007. And instead of trying to get Windows Mobile Se7en up to iPhone 1.0 standards, you might want to think outside the little beige box and shoot for something innovative your own self?

And no, spreading rumors of a Blu-Ray Xbox 360 in some attempt to "steal Apple's thunder" is not innovative. A giant, red-ringing, PowerPC, noisy, inelegant gaming machine, no matter how we loves us our Gears of War, suddenly getting the technology that beat the stuffing out of your own HD-DVD format years after Sony released it in the PS3 just doesn't crossover the same news circles.

But here's an idea: maybe call that friend of yours Bill. You remember him, the one you no longer need but may still use? (Leastways he could help keep you from blurting out your envy towards the iPhone's admittedly top-tier browser experience...)

Government Tracking Treo Users

TreoCentral.com is claiming that the US government is tracking cellphone users. Since some of us aren't in the US, or in Government, we have no way of knowing whether this is true or not, but since we grew up on everything from Orwell to the Matrix, we kinda just assumed it already.

What's particularly disturbing, however, is that TreoCentral.com reporting this makes us think the US Government is tracking Treo users as well.

Why?

Is it for anthropology, like when the Discovery Channel finds some lost, never before contacted Amazonian tribe and wants to study their behavior? Is it that they think tax dollars are well spent analyzing a people untouched by mobile technology since 1999?

Dunno. But we sure hope Dr. Jones doesn't get a shunning for his troubles.

And in No Other News

HTC finally got around to still not releasing their HTC Touch Diamond, which early reviews say just crackles on EDGE, given its lack of support for North American HSPA. Not a problem though, as it seems the OS is slow enough that you can barely notice...

Points for consistency, but you had to know slapping an extra layer of OS on top of WinMob and then chipping down the radio was putting the advertising spin before the handset, right?

Honestly, its like one of those TV cop shows where the tip lines are finally thrown wide open and everyone and their alien-proof tinfoil hat starts flooding with the calls...

First up is Engadget bringing word that the Australian NDA box and the Gizmodo iPhone (Red) and related images mentioned previously are, to quote Elaine from Seinfeld: "Fake, fake, fake... fake..."

Next up both DaringFireball and the Macalope heckle the comedy stylings of the CNN/Dow Jones-come-lately Apple pundits and their... er... seeming total lack of anything approximating industry-required knowledge:

Apple appears to be making room on the iPhone for flash memory, which means an end to Apple’s standoff with Adobe that’s kept iPhones from easily viewing a plethora of Internet videos. Apple has said that Adobe’s flash media player, which is on hundreds of other phones, doesn’t perform up to Apple’s standards for the iPhone.

Confusing NAND flash-memory storage with Adobe Flash video, eh? Gruber hits with some "flash bulb" mockage, while the 'lope gets closer to my heart with some Barry Allen and Gordon style "Flash" comic reference. Luckily, no one went with the sleazier, if more obvious, trench-coat and goulashes-style "Flasher"...

Lastly, Apple Inside claims Apple is pushing developers to charge for what the developers want to offer as free applications, if not now than sometime in the future. Some suggest this is an effort by Apple to cover the bandwidth and transaction costs of the App Store. I don't buy it. They give away tons of free, bandwidth intensive content on iTunes already like HD video podcasts.

The rumor seems to say Apple is pushing for dual versions, limited-functionality free versions as demos, with full versions as commercial -- paid for -- apps.

Uh... That's pretty much the share-ware model already...

Another round of pre-WWDC mayhem:

First up, Ars Technica reported that AT&T followed the Apple Store's lead in being sold out of the current generation iPhone (2007) model. Did Apple really underestimate demand so uncharacteristically and dramatically, or are they learning to wean consumers earlier this time? And any wonder the old iPhone's market share has dropped, given that its been getting harder and harder to buy one over the last few months? Moday should fix that...

Next up, Apple Insider spread the unabashedly crazy-sounding rumor that UK's O2 might subsidize the iPhone 3G to the extent of making them "free upgrades". This links into other rumors of an ultra-low (~$200) price point for the iPhone 3G, with O2 willing to eat even that cost in an effort to attract tasty service-consuming users.

Lastly, Engadget works the bugs out of Google Translate enough to let us know that Reuters Italy has said that while co(?)-exclusive iPhone carrier Telcom Italia might not be selling the iPhone 3G early next week, they will most definitely probably be potentially announcing it. Wouldn't be waiting for someone else to do that first, now would they?

With WWDC only a weekend away, is it any surprise the rumors are flying faster than ever?

First up is Forbe's Brian Caulfield [who kindly corrected a blunder and provided a direct link to his story with tons o'pics-- many thanks!] with word of yet more mysterious boxes, this time at supposed current iPhone manufacturer Quanta. While some are labeled "iMac", 20 others are in plain brown wrappers (no jokes!), with employees either unavailable or unwilling to dish the dirt. Of course, they could be anything... or they could be iPhone 3G's or iTablets!

Next up we have the Flickr posted WWDC banners, which show the newly re-named iPhone OS X, which means either it's the latest addition to everyone's favorite band of mutant superheroes, or its been rebranded to match it's big desktop banner (bannered no longer as Mac OS X, but as OS X Leopard... for now...)

Lastly is iDealsChina (also via Apple Insider), who previously leaked the Griffin "iPhone 3G" molds, now claiming Apple has made some last minute case changes making the next generation device 2mm (0.08 inches) shorter and 0.5mm (0.02 inches) thinner than the leaks previously showed. Anyone need a ton of suddenly scrap plastic?

What's going to power the next generation iPhone 3G? Infineon again? Insider Intel? A curveball from PA Semi? And more importantly -- when are we getting our hands on one?! What do YOU think?

To give you some help, here's a HUGE roundup of all the iPhone 3G chipset and ship date rumors. Epic-style. Because let's face it, roughly 0.01 seconds after Steve Jobs pulled the first iPhone from his pocket back at Macworld 2007, and someone, somewhere, put aside their childlike sense of wonder long enough think: "Nice! What's the next gen going to be like?"

Complementary, contradictory, obvious, confusing, all but confirmed or from left field via outer space, the rumors have flooded the internet ever since. It's become almost impossible to keep track of them all. But we're going to try!

One week from today Steve Jobs takes Moscone Center stage for the sold-out WWDC keynote, and according to everyone and their newsfeed, announces the iPhone 3G. In eager anticipation, every day this week, TiPb wil be rounding up a different set of next generation rumors, from 3G to GPS, release dates to price points, colors to casings, 2.0 software to .Mac .Me services, and this weekend we'll wrap it all up with a look into the WWDC/iPhone 3G Crystal Balland a roundup of the very best of YOUR predictions.

So come on, let’s get in on!

[Digg it!]

WWDC -7 and Counting: Of Baseband Chips and Release Date Trips

Categorically unrelated much? Here's the thing: the rumors swirling around the iPhone's 3G chipset and the iPhone 3G's release date, much like how the terms iPhone and 3G have become inextricably linked as the de facto name for the next generation Apple handset, always seem to show up together. So that's how we're going to tackle them.

Now, we don't really know anything for certain. Not that Jobs is going to be announcing the iPhone 3G. Not that it's going to be officially called the iPhone 3G. Or even that it's even going to be 3G (though at this point it really has to be!). All we have is rumors. Tons of them. More of them than perhaps for any event in Apple's history, and in the tech industry, that's saying a lot. Enough rumors to stun a blogsphere.

The current iPhone operates on the GSM networks 2.5/2.75 G (Generation) technology known as EDGE, which provides for data speeds roughly analogous to the dial-up internet connections of yore. (We joke only slightly). 3G GSM cell networking uses the more broadband-like HSPA, and while I mentioned before that you can never say certain, it's pretty much certain the next generation iPhone will support 3G. But which 3G chipset will it use exactly, and when will this iPhone 3G be released?

Let's start at the beginning and work our way forward:

September 18, 2007: At the "Mum's No Longer the Word" iPhone launch in the UK, Steve Jobs gave Apple's first public comment on 3G and the iPhone:

I think we’ll see that hopefully late next year.

Boom. The 3G rumor mill was on!

September 20, 2007: Intel demonstrated a next generation MID (Mobile Internet Device) proof-of-concept that resembled what can only be termed an iPhone "Stretch" based on their then 45nm Silverthorne/Moorestown, now called Atom architecture, which could integrate functionality like 3G. The interwebs lit up, and Intel Inside looked like a possibility for iPhone 3G.

Nov 29, 2007: Once again proving they could make a leaky bucket seem airtight, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson confirmed Jobs "guesstimate" of an iPhone 3G in 2008, though without the "late" part:

You'll have it next year.

February 28, 2008: Analysts and suppliers brought word from Asia that first generation iPhone 2.5 G baseband supplier Infineon was ramping down production of their S-Gold-2 chips in anticipation of a switch to 3G by mid-year.

That made it a two chipset rumor race, though this one seemed more credible than Intel's from the get go.

March 6, 2008: This was SDK day. The big one. Steve Jobs and Co. officially announced iPhone 2.0, with immediate beta, and general release in "late June", which in Apple parlance would roughly translate to June 30, 11:59 pm. But does 2.0 mean new hardware? Does it mean 3G?

March 13, 2008: Skipping right over the 2nd generation iPhone to the 3rd, the Inquirer went back to the Intel MID, predicting Apple would jump from ARM as they had PowerPC, and lent some more weight to the chip-now-known-as-Atom getting into the iPhone (at some point).

March 14, 2008: Pouring fuel on the fire of mid-year release rumors, Apple officially lit the June match by announcing their annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) would run from June 9 to 13, and prominently featuring the iPhone as the second bridge/track, next to the traditional Mac focus.

WWDC began to get more and more interesting...

March 25, 2008: Digg founder Kevin Rose used his massively popular Diggnation Podcast to say the 3G HSPA iPhone would arrive in a few months. Rose, of course, had been wrong in his predictions for the first iPhone...

March 26, 2008: More analysts, more Asia, led to reports that Apple may have already placed orders for up to 10 million iPhone 3G handsets from manufacturers. That meant things were moving quickly, and an introduction could be sooner rather than later.

March 29, 2008: And yet more! This time the rumors said 10 million iPhone 3G's from longtime Apple supplier Hon Hai, some perhaps as early as May (probably test units for carriers), and release in June. Word also came that the New York Apple Store was sold out of current gen iPhones.

April 1, 2008: "Foolish" timing not withstanding, Apple Stores suffered the first in what became a series of current generation iPhone shortages, leading to increased order times and then reports of complete sell-outs.

April 3, 2008: Gizmodo "did lunch" with AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega, and when pressed about the release of the iPhone 3G, de la Vega leaked:

Let me repeat what I said: I think that you’re going to see our integrated devices be 3G devices in the not-too-distant future, and I mean months. That should be clear enough.

April 6, 2008: Apple's go-to review guy, none other than Uncle Walt Mossberg, off-handedly quipped that the iPhone 3G would be released in less than 60 days (by June 6). Mossberg later retracted the quip, but the timeline, so close to WWDC's keynote on June 9, seemed a little too convenient...

April 9, 2008: Jailbreaking wizards ZiPhone deep dove the iPhone 2.0 Beta 3 firmware and came up with strings referencing SGOLD3, which was immediately linked to Infineon's S-Gold-3 chips, one of which supported 3G. Not conclusive, but inching closer...

April 10, 2008: TG Daily reported that the iPhone 3G would indeed debut at WWDC, and went so far as to offer price points at $399 for 8GB, $499 for 16GB, and potentially $599 for a huge 32GB model.

April 16, 2008: Deeply discounted iPhones began to appear in the UK via O2, mirroring discounts available from from T-Mobile in Germany, and followed by Orange in France as well. Euro-liquidation in preparation for the 3G onslaught?

April 18, 2008: Word came from Asia that Infineon would provide the 65nm 3G chipset for the next generation, to be manufactured by UMC. Seemed like a done deal, but then...

April 23, 2008: The interwebs woke to the shocking news that Apple had purchased Palo Alto Semiconductor (PA Semi) for $287 million. PA Semi, from the guys who spun us the DEC Alpha and StrongARM, focused on super efficient mobile chips, suddenly creating a potential 3G love triangle for the iPhone, and making Infineon less of a done deal than it had appeared. Or did it? 3G may never have been, or may never ever be, part of the PA Semi package, and other ideas rapidly surfaced for their potential in the iPhone, primarily as proprietary, special-purpose chips.

April 28, 2008: More for the heap, as Engadget reported that Foxxcon (aka Hon Hai), manufacturer of the first generation iPhone, was ramping up the 3G assembly line for the end of May, with production of 3 million units expected for June, and 25 million during product lifetime.

April 29, 2008: Rogers' announced the iPhone will be coming to Canada "sometime later" in the year. This began a tsunami of similarly short and vague iPhone announcements across Europe and for the first time in Asia, Latin America, Australia, and Africa. Most significantly, many of these were countries where 3G not only made sense but verged on being a deal-breaker.

May 5, 2008: derStandard.at reported that Austria(!) would shortly be serving as the testing ground for the iPhone 3G.

May 6, 2008: Amid rumors galore, a leaked memo from AT&T revealed that once again employees were instructed not to take vacation between June 15 and July 12 due to an expected big bump in traffic from a new promotion... Hmmm...

May 12, 2008: AT&T's website suddenly showed an "iPhone Black". They later claimed it was an error, but the reasons given were nonsensical.

May 13, 2008: Surprising absolutely no one, Apple announced that Steve Jobs, joined by a team of execs, would be keynoting WWDC on June 9. More and more, all rumors led back to that date.

May 15, 2008: Fed up with AT&T hogging all the leaky glory, 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. That is not, however, because of the Intel chip, but because of the larger display used in the new iPhone.

Intel tried to claim it never happened, but others in attendance's take on the comment was:

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.

Was Intel still in the running?

The same day, banking on a Jobsnote announcement of the iPhone 3G to make history, WWDC sold out for the first time in history.

May 20, 2008: Gizmodo reported that "people in the know" said the iPhone 3G would be announced on June 9, day and date of Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote.

May 21, 2008: InfoSync claimed confirmation that the iPhone 3G would be announced June 9, and further added that AT&T would have it available for sale roughly 10 days later -- June 19 or 20.

May 23, 2008: Import Genius analyzed data from thousands of U.S. customs declarations for Apple, Inc. and found 188 "electric computer" containers of a product never before imported by the company. What could that be...?

May 26, 2008: In a move eerily reminiscent of last years original iPhone launch, AT&T is reported to be hiring temps to bolster their ranks from June 16 - August 16, under code-name "Summer Project Pro".

May 28, 2008: Though everyone expected an iPhone 3G announcement by WWDC, based in part from leaks by Ma Bell herself, AT&T CFO Rick Lindner decided to play coy about pricing details, telling the media:

There’s not been a product announcement. There hasn’t been any pricing decisions made. That’s yet to come.

June 1, 2008: In a move amazingly reminiscent of last year's pre-original iPhone "Fine Edge" project, which boosted 2.5 G speeds, AT&T began an upgrade to boost the speed of their 3G HSPA network. Coincidence? Not.

UPDATED:

June 5, 2008: Fortune’s Brian Caulfield (via Apple Insider) had word of yet more mysterious boxes, this time at supposed current iPhone manufacturer Quanta. While some were labeled “iMac”, 20 others were in plain brown wrappers, with employees either unavailable or unwilling to elaborate.

June 6, 2008: Apple Insider kept up with the box news, and showed packages arriving in Australia with ominous "under NDA" and "do not open until June 10" warnings.

Your Turn!

So there you go, now it's your turn. Tell us what YOU think will power the iPhone 3G. Current supplier Infineon? Powerhouse Intel? Recent acquisition PA Semi? And when will we be getting an iPhone with that chip? WWDC like everyone expects? Late June? July? Sometime before the holidays?!

And after you're done telling us, don't forget to head over to our iPhone Blog's super Wait-a-Thon spectacular where you could win an iPhone 3G of your very own, with whatever chip's in it, on the very day it's released!

Continue reading Part 2: What’s the iPhone 3G Going to Look Like?
Continue reading Part 3: What Surprises Will Be in iPhone 2.0 Software & Services?
Continue reading Part 4: What 3rd Party iPhone SDK Apps Will Be Available Launch Day?
Continue reading Part 5: What Will the iPhone 3G’s Hardware Features Be?

Adding further fuel to the fire that Apple Inc. will drop the 3G bomb on June 9th, during CEO Steve Jobs' Keynote address, InfoSyncWorld is claiming that, once announced, the 2nd generation iPhone will be made available via AT&T roughly 10 days later, on approximately the 18th or 19th.

InfoSyncWorld further speculates on HSDPA, GPS, Mobile TV, and other oft-cited iPhone 3G rumors.

And with the time left before WWDC growing shorter and shorter, when it comes to speculation and rumors, no doubt we ain't seen nothing yet!

Read

Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Steven "the Hannah Montana of Tech" Jobs!

No sooner did Apple official announce that their iConic CEO would once again be keynoting the 2008 World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) then the event sold out. First time in history.

(Of course the odd rumor here or there about the release of some doohickey called the iPhone 3G might also have something to do with it as well...)

Don't have your tickets yet? Not to worry! The Jobsnote will no doubt be available via Apple.com and iTunes, the latter of which will also be posting videos of the sessions for ADC members post-event.

Read

We all knew it was coming. How could it not? Steve Jobs' keynotes are the legendary, iWork-app defining, AOL Data Center crashing, prediction proliferating, rumor piling, blog bursting, universe denting tech events of our time. But now Apple has gone and made it all nice and official-like:

On Monday, June 9, a team of Apple executives led by CEO Steve Jobs will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address, Apple today announced. The keynote showcases two revolutionary development platforms: Mac OS X Leopard and OS X iPhone, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.

And of course, I'm still betting he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little (all black?) device; the iPhone 3G. C'mon, give me a "boom".

Read

3G rumors will never die; just multiply!

Engadget's been on the iPhone the last couple of days like Andy Ihnatko on Internet pants, and they show no signs of slowing down what with this latest 3G rumor:

Tgdaily is the one making waves today, claiming that we'll see next-gen 8GB and 16GB iPhones debut at WWDC this June for $399 and $499, and that the iPod touch will always offer twice the storage at any given price point. The new units are said to feature revised casings that eliminate the current model's "plasticky" feel...

TG Daily's industry sources allegedly told them, but could not confirm, a 32GB model at $599 as well. Envious of all the Mac Book Air attention, iPhone 3G has also apparently crash-dieted to become 2.5mm thinner. Lastly, those hoping for a removable battery will apparently be disappointed as 3G will remain an inney, not an outey.

That the iPhone has one NAND slot to the iPod Touches 2 slots makes the latter bit pretty much a given (gotta but the cell radio somewhere!), and I don't believe the iPod line has ever had user-switchable batteries, so likewise. Thinner is wicked obvious, though with increased battery demands may not make sense. Price points for the iPod line have also been semi-predictable, with the iPhone pretty much fitting in ever since the initial price-drop.

As to the date?

I'm still on the WWDC bandwagon for the announcement of 3G, with shipping to follow some time later (6 weeks earliest, Thanksgiving latest). Guess we'll all have to wait and see, and if you haven't already, head on over to our 3G Pool and pick your date!

I'll admit, I was hoping for a full-blown SDK; I had surmised a widget-based application stack earlier but foolishly abandoned it in the hopes of a full-blown SDK, if not just for the sake of games. More after the end of WWDC to follow!

Haha, just kidding. It looks to be another busy day here at phone different.

Odds are very good that he'll remind everyone about the iPhone too. I suspect he'll probably put some of the lingering questions to rest about the iPhone. Hopefully he'll tell us what day we have to get in line to purchase one. Since it's WWDC, I'm guessing that he'll announce some sort of SDK and official capacity for third party apps. Otherwise it would be like rubbing developer faces into mud: "Here's a groundbreaking platform that changes everything that you can't be part of! Besides buying one! And switching to Cingular!" Not likely; or at least, not for long. Personally I think we'll see 3rd party applications in iTunes the day the phone is out.

via Wired