iPhone OS 4.0 could see ‘imminent’ release, developer hints

Evidence continues to suggest Apple could soon introduce a new version of the iPhone operating system, this time with an alleged high-profile developer claiming their software was just updated for iPhone OS 4.0.

Rick Broida with CNet’s iPhone Atlas said Friday that he received an e-mail from a “prominent app developer” regarding an update to the iPhone operating system. “Just wanted to give you a heads up that we’ve submitted an updated app for the new iPhone OS 4.0 software,” the e-mail allegedly said. Additional details on the supposed software were not given.

Earlier this month, it was alleged that Apple’s rumored Jan. 27 event could include the introduction of iPhone OS 4.0. One report claimed the new software developer kit includes a “simulator” that makes it easy for developers to adapt to different screen resolutions.

Apple is widely expected to introduce its long-rumored tablet device at the event later this month. This week, one rumor claimed that Apple has not issued any updates for the iPhone in some time because the next version has many tablet-related references that the company did not want to leak in advance of its planned unveiling.

Also this week, one developer contacted AppleInsider when a single handset using iPhone OS 4.2 appeared in his Pinch Media statistics for an iPhone application. The identifier could theoretically have been faked, and it’s not clear why a new version of the iPhone OS being tested would skip the 4.0 distinction.

Apple tablet supply chain points to Q2 launch

Suppliers for Apple Inc’s new tablet computer have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings for it next month, sources said, implying a second-quarter product launch.

AVY Precision Technology Inc, a Taiwanese manufacturer of covers for electronic products, will begin production of the cases in February, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

TPK Solutions, an unlisted touch screen panel maker also based in Taiwan will also supply panels for the product, a third source said, on top of those already being manufactured by another Taiwan company, Wintek Corp.

“Production of the cases will begin in February, so everything points to a second-quarter launch right now,” said one of the sources. “It doesn’t take that long for the company to assemble the PC together, but a second-quarter shipment date is what we’re looking at now.”

The sources declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Apple’s spokesman would not comment. Officials at AVY and TPK also declined to comment.

A barrage of manufacturers are jockeying for attention ahead of Apple’s widely expected announcement of a 10- to 11-inch tablet computer in late January, which analysts say could redefine the nascent category much as the iPhone did for phones. Apple has not publicly confirmed its existence.

Hewlett-Packard Co, Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc and Lenovo Group Ltd were among the global technology names that launched thin, touchscreen, multimedia devices this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

These wireless gadgets can stream video, download music, surf the Web and play games, aiming to win over consumers by bridging the gap between smartphones and laptops.

Some analysts doubt consumers would take to tablets or slates, which join a market crowded with netbooks, e-readers, smartphones and laptops of all configurations.

Most technology companies do their own design work in-house, but outsource much of the assembly and manufacturing to companies based in Asia, which operate large production facilities in lower cost countries.

Next-gen iPhone rumored for April

The next iPhone will appear as soon as April and will include a host of upgrades that include a dual-core processor, improved graphics, video chat, an OLED display, plus – and this one is hard to believe – a removable battery.

Or so say two reports out of Korea on Tuesday, one from The Korea Times and the other from Telecoms Korea, which cites the Korean-language Etnews. The former relies for the most part on sources at Korea mobile provider KT, while the latter adds details from a mole at Apple Korea.

A KT source has built-in cred, seeing as how the company is South Korea’s second largest mobile phone carrier and Apple’s Korean iPhone supplier. They’re a successful partner as well, with 220,000 iPhone 3GS sales by the end of last year, according to TKT, including 60,000 sold in their first weekend of availability at the end of last November.

Although both reports refer to the upcoming Cupertino smartphone as the “iPhone 4G” or “4G iPhone,” it’s 99 per cent certain that the “G” refers to “generation” and not 4G wireless broadband capability as, for example, Sprint and Clearwire brand their WiMAX service.

The original iPhone was announced in January 2007 and shipped in June of that year. The iPhone 3G was announced in June 2008 and shipped in July. And the iPhone 3GS was announced and shipped in June of 2009. Ipso facto, the next iPhone would be the fourth generation, hence iPhone 4G.

But even without a 4G broadband speed bump, KT’s iPhone has some enticing tricks up its unsubstantiated-rumor sleeve. According to a source that TKT identified as “a high-ranking KT executive,” the new phone will have – as The Reg reported last March as a possibility for the iPhone 3GS – an OLED display, as does Google’s new Nexus One.

The same exec also said that the new iPhone would have what TKT refers to as “live video chat functionalities,” which the Etnews’s Apple Korea mole clarified by saying that the phone would have two camera modules, one front-facing and one peeking out the back as in all previous iPhones.

One tidbit that seems out of character for Apple would be the TKT source’s assertion that a removable battery for the phone “is highly likely.” Seeing as how Apple has sealed all its batteries tight inside devices from the first iPod through the latest MacBooks we find this detail highly unlikely.

When the first sealed-battery MacBook was introduced one year ago, an Apple rep told The Reg that the trade-off for a lack of a user-replaceable battery was the ability to fit more battery cells inside that laptop, thus allowing for longer battery life between charges. Since the Etnews’ Apple Korea mole claimed that the new iPhone would have “up to double” the battery life of the iPhone 3GS, we find a move to removable batteries questionable.

Another oddity in the KT exec’s story is that the company plans to offer the new phone to large corporate clients as a “litmus test” in April, then open general sales in June – a sequence not seen in previous Apple dealings

The KT exec also told TKT that the new iPhone would have a dual-core processor and higher-resolution graphics. Whether that rumored processor upgrade would be based on the ARM Cortex-9 MPCore or ARM11 MPCore, a chip arising from Apple’s own acquisition of PA Semi back in 2008, or something else entirely is of course both unknown and – without Cupertino spilling the beans – unknowable. Likewise the chip providing improved graphics, although Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX Series5XT GPU comes to mind.

Higher-resolution graphics seem a safe bet for the next generation of iPhones, seeing as how the current iPhone’s display is a behind-the-curve HVGA 480-by-320 pixel, 3.5-inch TFT LCD, while that pesky upstart the Nexus One enjoys a lovely WVGA 800-by-480 pixel, 3.7-inch AMOLED.

Of course, rumors – even those claimed to be from informed insider sources – are to be taken lightly. But if this one is true, here’s hoping that Apple doesn’t tag its next phone with the name “4G” – there’s enough confusion in the tech world as it is. ®

Apple Mac Tablet unveiling in September, Available in November for $699-$799

It seems that soon Apple will release the most anticipated thing after their iPhone – Apple Tablet. Unnamed source says that one of factories in China has recently started the production.

Some more rumours about 2009 iPhone.

Apple iPhone Apps, a site with no known track record (which is also down right now) just leaked a July 17 release date and a bunch of specs for the next iPhone. They look fishy.

The July 17 release could technically be possible, since it’s on a Friday and Apple’s been releasing their iPhones on Fridays, but the specs are weird.

• 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

So what’s weird? The OLED screen, for one. The 1.5x battery life, for two. And a rubber-tread backing/sleeker design for three. It’s still quite cost-prohibitive to use OLED screens on devices, and it’s difficult to see how Apple could shrink down the size of the device to make it “sleeker” while at the same time making the battery 1.5x. Maybe because they’re using an OLED screen?

It’s all very pie in the sky, so don’t take it as literal proof that the next iPhone will have this. And the rubber tread backing may or may not be this leaked image from MacRumors, which isn’t quite rubber, but more of a matte feel than the current version.

Blackberry Storm 2 may hit Verizon stores in June.

As if June wasn’t packed enough with new smartphone launches, there are rumors that the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 may just hit Verizon Wireless stores in the same month.

BlackberryOS.com says it received a tip from an “insider” (a senior-level Verizon employee, apparently) who says Verizon has been training its tech support on the Storm 2 all week and that they’ve been told to be ready to support the smartphone by the end of May. Though the tipster could not give a specific release date, she said it would be out by the end of June at the latest.

The next-generation Storm was confirmed by RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie in early May, though he did not provide much information about the device. There’s some speculation that the new Storm will forgo the SurePress touch screen and will have Wi-Fi.

Perhaps Verizon was feeling a little left out of the party with Sprint’s Palm Pre launch and the imminent iPhone announcement. And while hope springs eternal that the BlackBerry Storm 2 will be better than the first, what does this mean for current BlackBerry Storm customers?

iPhone OS 3.0 to feature voice control and feedback

Sources speaking to Ars have discovered evidence of new voice control features coming to iPhone OS 3.0. Apparently going by the code name “Jibbler,” it looks like it will provide not just voice synthesis, but also voice recognition for the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0.

Not much information is known at this time, but according to our own people familiar with the matter, Jibbler appears be an enhancement to the iPhone SpringBoard application, the Finder-esque app that acts as a launcher and will support the newly announced 3.0 Spotlight search. Jibbler may be controlled via the iPhone headset—button squeezes could be used to record short voice segments from the user, which Jibbler will then interpret. Voice synthesis can then be used to give the user a response, similar to the latest generation iPod shuffle, which can “read” playlists and track names—the difference being that the iPhone hardware itself could handle real-time voice synthesis.

Our sources turned up references to classes and methods named VSSpeechSynthesizer, VSRecognitionSession, SBVoiceControlDisableHandlerActions, SBSensitiveJibblerEnabled, and SBVoiceControlSoundCompletion. SB refers to SpringBoard, and VS likely refers to Voice Services. The separate Voice Services classes leave open the possibility that Apple may eventually allow access to these services via the official SDK. There’s no indication whether these voice features will be tied to newer hardware expected this summer or if the features will be compatible with existing iPhone hardware.

Besides the coolness factor that the voice control features add to the iPhone, they also bring the promise of voice-controlled dialing, a feature that other phones have had for some time. Also, it could aid in hands-free operation for safety in certain situations, like driving, and act as an assistive user interface method for those with some sight impairments.

by arstechnica.com

4G IPhone Could Be on Verizon

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg took advantage of a recent chat with the Wall Street Journal to talk a bit about Apple. Seidenberg said that Apple never wanted to make a version of the iPhone for Verizon’s CDMA network, since it wouldn’t be able to be as widely distributed as the GSM-based models it eventually produced. Uh, yeah, Ivan, thanks for joining the rest of us over here in the nation of Duh.

Mr. Seidenberg also addressed the notion of Apple Inc.’s iPhone ever coming to the Verizon Wireless network, saying it is more likely that Apple would be willing to work with the carrier under the fourth-generation, or 4G, network, which follows the same technology standard as AT&T Inc.’s 4G plans.

That technology, which we’ve discussed before, is called LTE and is the next step along the GSM standard after the current 3G incarnation. Among U.S. providers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will all be transitioning to LTE for their 4G networks, a process expected to happen over the next few years. Rival Sprint is meanwhile planning on using a version of the WiMax standard for its next-generation infrastructure.

This shows a bit of a softening towards Cupertino on the part of the Verizon CEO. Back in June 2008, he told the Financial Times that “Steve Jobs will eventually get old,” adding that Apple was still a small player in the mobile industry and the iPhone was unlikely to become a mass-market hit.

Of course, that was right around the launch of the iPhone 3G. Several million handset sales later, perhaps Seidenberg is rethinking his dessert plans, and eyeing a piece of that sweet Apple pie.

iProd – nothing interesting?

Yesterday we’ve been running through some DeviceClasses in windows registry and found interesting thing: iPod have strange Prod_ prefix in device name. So the “iProd” string spotted in new iPhone 3.0 firmware may be just something that is pointing to some internal thing about iPod and iPhone.

Apple Buying 3.2- and 5-Megapixel Sensors For Next iPhone

Taipei’s DigiTimes filed a report today that suggests the next version (or versions) of the iPhone will have much more powerful cameras. I can only hope that this is true.

Today, DigiTimes reported the following:

OmniVision has received 3.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders for Apple’s next-generation iPhone, according to market sources. The company is also said to have secured 5-megapixel CIS orders for another Apple product expected to be launched later in the year.

DigiTimes has nothing to back this up, and Apple certainly hasn’t confirmed it.

The iPhone, as we know, has a 2-megapixel camera, which lags some of the competition, such as the 3.2-megapixel camera on the BlackBerry Storm. One of the many hoped-for upgrades for the next generation iPhone is a better camera. If Apple truly is buying OmniVision’s 3.2- and 5-megapixel camera modules as DigiTimes suggests, it would appear to be confirmation that Apple plans to level up