As promised earlier, the new iPhone 3G has finally been announced by Steve Jobs at the Apple WWDC Developers Conference in San Francisco. The key features the new iPhone brings to the table are integrated a-GPS, 3G, and a cheaper price. And, er, that's it! To be fair, Apple have also released an updated iPhone interface (called, somewhat unsurprisingly, iPhone 2.0), but given that it's also available as a download for existing iPhones, it's not exactly fair to claim this as part of the new phone, any more than Nokia's new mapping application (yup, Nokia Maps 2.0) makes the N95 a brand new phone.

Full details of the new iPhone 3G after the jump.

The good news for consumers is the new price point: just $199 for the 8GB version and $299 for the 16GB version. This now makes the iPhone a much better proposition for the average mobile phone user who'd like to experience an iPhone for themselves, but could never actually afford one. It'll also be available in more countries across the world: over 60, compared with the six countries the original iPhone was rolled out in.

There is, however, a catch. Although the new price point is undoubtedly attractive, the monthly cost of the phone has increased from $20 to $30 - meaning that the carriers are subsidizing it just like they do all the other phones out there.

The iPhone 3G release date is July 11th, and it'll be rolled out in 22 countries all at the same time (which must create some nice logistical nightmares!)

Battery life has actually been improved, despite the addition of a power-sapping 3G radio (300 hours standby time, 10 hours 2G talk time, 5 hours 3G talk time, 7 hours video playing and 24 hours of audio), and there's now full support for the Microsoft Office suite of products.

Better still, there's a new graphics engine, which enables games developers such as Sega (who showed off Super Monkey Ball on an iPhone 3G) to produce Nintendo DS-quality games on an iPhone 3G.

And that's about it really. It is, as we suspected, the iPhone that the original model should have been. The addition of 3G means you can actually use it for web browsing, while an added a-GPS receiver should enable the development of a raft of new location-based services. The biggest advance, though, is with the price, which will enable the iPhone 3G to penetrate the market far more quickly than any of the new features would.

Steve Jobs finished his iPhone 3G intro by claiming: "Just like the first iPhone, this new iPhone 3G is one of the most amazing products I've ever had the privilege to be associated with." Well it would be - it is the iPhone, just with a bit more polish!

My own personal opinion is that the new price point will help keep the iPhone momentum going, but that it's not established enough of a lead over its rivals (who are coming out with their own iPhone killer this year) to stop the chasing pack from overtaking it. This should eb the year of the iPhone - the low price point will see to that - but Apple must ow really come up with the goods next year when they really do release an iPhone 2.0, rather than this attempt, which can at best be thought of as iPhone 1.5.

[Source: Engadget]

The iPhone 2 is due to be announced later today at the Apple WWDC Developer's Conference. Of course, Apple haven't officially announced that the iPhone 2 will be presented at the conference, but it's an open secret that it will be on display, and given that there are no more stocks left of the original 8GB iPhone in either the US or the UK, Apple need to release it real soon if they're to keep the momentum going for their famed Jesus Phone.

Quite what we have to look forward to isn't yet known, but these leaked photos (or fakes? We'll know later today) give us something of a taste for what we can expect.

More details of the Apple iPhone 2 after the jump.

So what do the leaked pics show us? Cosmetically, it's thinner that the original non-3G iPhone, and has stereo speakers on the back. It also comes with a front facing camera, and what appears to be support for Apple's iChat two-way video-chat application. Oh, and it now comes in red, as well.

The pictures come courtesy of CrunchGear, who got them via Apple and AT&T promo material that was sent to them via a tipster. As such, they come from pretty solid source. Increasing the chance of their authenticity is the fact that the features aren't exactly beyond belief. Given the feature wish list of your average iPhone fan-boy, if this was a Photoshopped jobbie, we could expect a nuclear-fusion-powered iPhone with Star Trek-esque transporter button at the very least!

Aside from what we can see from the leaked pics, a few other features have been guessed at over the past few weeks. 3G is a given, but Engadget also speculate that the iPhone 2 will come equipped with tri-band HSDPA for super-speedy download speeds, as well as a-GPS.

So it looks as though the iPhone 2 will not be the revolution that the original iPhone was when it was released last year, but could be the iPhone that it always should have been; in short, a smartphone with a great web browser that will now, finally, have the connectivity needed to surf the web at an acceptable speed.

The Apple WWDC developer's conference starts today at 1pm UK time (currently GMT +1), and we'll bring you full details of the iPhone 2 as soon as it breaks.

[Source: CrunchGear, Engadget]

Just when you thought the Apple iPhone hype had died down, we have surprising news that there are no more 8GB iPhones on sale in the UK. Carphone Warehouse has completely run out of stock, all online stores are telling their affiliates not to promote it anymore (no point, really, as there aren't any to sell!), O2 only have a few more left in their stores, and no more additional stock is expected. What's going on? Is this the end of the iPhone in the UK?...

The answer is both yes and no. Yes in that the current 8GB iPhone has now gone; and no, in that the current 16GB model is still available. Of more interest is the number of rumours that are circulating that suggest that a new 3G iPhone is on its way, possibly as soon as June. A 3G iPhone is an absolute necessity if Apple is to keep the momentum with the iPhone going. It's current success rests largely on its fantastic interface (as well as the hysterical hype surrounding the device), but that will only be a novelty for so long.

Every other mobile phone that's been released in the past year has sported a touchscreen, and it won't be long before the other manufacturers are able to get the software right so that the overall user experience matches that of the iPhone. When this happens, the iPhone's poor feature set will make it look outdated almost overnight, and with no other model to fall back on, Apple's foray inot the mobile phone market could well be brief.

Make way for the 3G iPhone

Fortunately, they know this, too, and so a 3G iPhone is definitely on its way; the only question is when. Apparently development has already been accelerated to meet the needs of us fortunate Europeans, who see 3G as a necessity for mobile Web browsing, simply because, well, it is! Also, we have almost ubiquitous 3G network coverage, so a high-tech phone without 3G is like a Bugatti Veyron running on coal!

One of the reasons 3G wasn't included in the initial iPhone was its effect on battery power. A 3G radio is necessarily heavier on battery consumption than a 2G radio, and so Apple made the decision to go with 2G as the 3" touchscreen already draws significant power from the battery, meaning that battery life would have plummeted. Some reports suggest that Apple hope to get round this for the new 3G iPhone by equipping the touchscreen with OLED rather than the current LCD technology. However, OLED is not a cheap technology, so it remains to be seen what price-point the new 3G iPhone will be set at.

All is expected to be revealed in June, apparently, when the new Apple iPhone OS 2.0 also debuts as well as Apple's online App Store. As ever we'll keep you updated of any more breaking news in the meantime.

[Source: EngadgetMobile, The Register]

Apple has finally announced the release date for the UK Apple iPhone. It will be coming out on 9th November, will be carried by O2, sold via O2, Carphone Warehouse and Apple stores on an 18 month contract, and the 8GB model will cost £269 (or £69 more than it costs in the US).

Despite rumours suggesting the UK iPhone will come with 3G, in fact it won't - it's the same iPhone sold in the US, with just EDGE mobile connectivity.

To help offset this lack of speedy connectivity, O2 have created an agreement with Wi-Fi provider Cloud to provide 7,500 free Wi-Fi hotspots around the country.

In addition, you get unlimited EDGE data for a fixed monthly tariff of £35 (other tariffs of £45 and £55 a month are also on offer, and feature more free minutes and free texts), so at least you don't have to worry about paying for the content you download.

However, there is, of course, a catch...

More details on the UK Apple iPhone after the jump.

The so-called "unlimited" EDGE data does, in fact have a limit - according to the CEO of O2 UK, Matthew Key, "There is a limit: 1,400 internet pages per day would break the deal as part of fair usage agreement."

1,400 web pages - is that a lot? How do you know how many web pages you've surfed? Why put a limit on the number of Web pages you can view (assuming, of course, he does mean Web pages - maybe 'Internet page' is something different!)?

Explaining the rationale behind the lack of 3G, Steve Jobs said "The 3G chipsets are real power hogs. Handset battery life cuts power to 2-3 hours...Our phone has a talk time of 8 hours and that's really important when you want to use your phone for internet and music. 3G needs to get back up to 5+ hours, something we think well see later next year. ... WiFi is way faster than any 3G network. Energy efficient EDGE with better, faster WiFi. That's why we chose it."

Which is odd, as many other smartphones come with 3G, HSDPA and Wi-Fi (such as the Nokia N95), and none of them seem to have a problem. Certainly the users buying them don't have a problem putting up with shortened battery life for much faster downloads.

There's also another problem in that O2 has had to upgrade its network to support EDGE, and it hasn't exactly been able to roll it out nationwide.

Key said "We're investing in EDGE. As many people have noticed, hey I have EDGE! By launch we'll be north of 30% and build from there."

...only 30%?! So you have a slow service that's capped to 1400 web pages that only 30% of the country can use! And forget about trying to use it across the rest of Europe, as most other European countries don't support EDGE either.

So, O2 have secured themselves a 3 year contract with Apple to sell a phone with three year old features that won't be sold for free, with an unlimited data download rate that isn't, that has no 3G, an EDGE service that will only work across a third of the country, and for that they're prepared to give Apple 40% of all network revenues from the iPhone, plus Carphone Warehouse a cut for selling it through their stores.

Combine this with the fact that the iPhone now has a competitor in the shape of the Apple iPod Touch (same device, but without the phone), and you really have to question the logic of this deal. I can see people queuing up to buy it for Christmas, but after that, it'll be as cool as the Motorola RAZR now isn't.

Steve Jobs is one bad ass negotiator! Either that or O2 are simply one bad negotiator!!

[Source: Engadget]

Strauss is convinced that Apple are working on a 3G iPhone, and expects it to be announced at the same time that Apple announces which operator it has chosen for the iPhone in each European country in which it will be sold. According to EETimes, this announcement "...is expected imminently, and could come as soon as this week."

Why wait for the iPhone, though, when you can get the same user interface in the Apple iPod Touch, which is out now and much cheaper.

More details after the jump.

The latest speculation suggests that Orange will get the iPhone for France, T-Mobile for Germany, and O2 for the UK. Vodafone seems to be clearly out of the running, with Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin complaining that "it's a 2G phone, not 3G. When it's a broadband phone we will be interested in carrying it."

No bad feelings there, then!

In response to losing out on the iPhone, Vodafone have launched their own music site with over 1,000,000 tunes to download, and will be pushing the Samsung F700 as an alternative to the iPhone.

This might not be such a bad idea. The iPhone is pretty weak as a phone compared to other smartphones out there, with its glorious user interface the only major selling point.

However, the same interface is now available on the new Apple iPod Touch, which includes a web browser and Wi-Fi. In fact, it includes the entire iPhone operating system, everything, in fact, except the ability to make a phone call!

So my advice would be to get an Apple iPod Touch for your music needs, and get a decent smartphone, such as the Samsung F700, Nokia E90, Toshiba G900 or one of the HTCs, for your communication needs.

[Source: EETimes]

This will house your iPhone (or iPod, for that matter), and let you control it no matter where you are in your house - assuming you have your home fully networked, of course!

Conveniently, the price is a mere $200, which is exactly the amount that the iPhone was reduced in price by...uncanny!

[Source: MediaMentalism]

Using a Web browser over a crawling GPRS or EDGE connection is not a pleasant experience, no matter how fancy the user interface.

All this might change for the European version, though, with rumours predicting a 16GB iPhone being released onto an unsuspecting public, with HSDPA connectivity.

More details after the jump.

You can blame Engadget for fanning the flames of the rumour mill again, but they make a pretty strong case. Apple's recent $200 price drop for the US iPhone was a bit odd so soon after its launch, but it's proved that enough people will pay $600 for a mobile phone. It also gives Apple $200 to spend on its new iPhone, safe in the knowledge that it'll still sell at this price point.

So what can you get for your $200? Well, Engadget have done the calculations, and reckon a tri-band HSPDA radio plus an extra 8GB of NAND flash will still give you loose change, meaning Apple really can drop a super-iPhone on Europe later this year and really out-manoeuvre the competition.

The current rumour slates Apple Expo on September 25th as the launch date and venue for the new European iPhone. We'll keep you posted, as always.

[Source: Engadget]

For people who've yet to buy one, this is, of course, great news, but it's not exactly a great way of rewarding the thousands who spent days queueing in all weathers to get their hands on one when it launched.

More importantly, why do Apple feel the need to reduce the price so drastically so soon after its launch? Is it not selling as well as they hoped? Even Sony waited longer to reduce the price of its much criticised PS3, which hasn't exactly been looking like a hot cake in the sales figures.

Although good news for new iPhone buyers, I doubt we'll see this price reduction in Europe when it's first launched over here later this year. However, give it a few months, and we should see the price come down nicely (just after Christmas is my guess), which doesn't exactly give much reason to become an early adopter of the thing!

[Source: Engadget]

So if you want to know all about the iPhone (and I do mean all about it - even the name of the companies that make all the semiconductors that power the thing!), go check out their iPhone review now.