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He believes that Apple is only "trying to protect itself" (from litigation presumably) so the verbiage in the SDK would not be an obstacle. I'm no lawyer, but the clause in the SDK seems pretty air tight to me, so I would take what was said in this interview with a grain of salt. Still, you have to think that developing for the iPhone represents a golden opportunity—so if there is a way, I'm sure someone will find it. [Mac Generation - translated]

Hokay, the iPhone 3Gness makes browsing a whole 2.4x faster than EDGE in Apple's test. (One thing that we can't explain: Why did Apple chose lonelyplanet.com for its performance benchmarks?) The 3G goodness is real: We've been conducting our own testing of AT&T's HSDPA in the New York area (including suburbs) and it really is faster and more readily available than Verizon's EV-DO 3G network. (For a quick primer on different kinds of 3G like HSDPA vs. EV-DO and other mobile terms, click here.) But the iPhone 3G is rated for 1.4Mbps, a nice clip but not the 3.6Mbps downstream that AT&T's HSDPA is capable of. (The carrier loves to brag that it'll have 7.2Mbps by the end of the year.) So why not crank up the iPhone to those better data rates? Turns out, according to AT&T people we talked to, 1.4Mbps is the capped bandwidth for all mobile smartphones on the network for a few reasons.

(UPDATE: AT&T is saying they're not capping the phone at 1.4mbps, but that's what its capable of doing now, due to factors below. There's no difference except intent, and AT&T is careful around words like "Cap" these days.)

A major one is battery life—the faster you burn, the faster your battery dies, so going full steam at 3.6Mbps would cut you well short of that nice round five hours. A second one is cell site congestion and backhaul (carrier-speak for size of the wired dataline that connects cell sites to the actual telecom infrastructure). While everyone at AT&T, from the top down, is adamant that AT&T is "comfortable" with their ability to meet the huge data draw once 3G iPhones hit the streets, it's not like the pipe is unlimited.

AT&T wasn't able to give a breakdown as to how many of their towers have fiberoptic pipes as opposed to slower copper T-1 lines. Nor could they say how quickly they could add capacity to a site that is pummeling their demand expectations, since it varies from site to site. Ones in dense urban areas are loaded up with more backhaul and can handle more users than one closer to the edge of their 3G footprint. Still, generally speaking, more users on a site means more congestion, so if you're slurping from a site that's really slammed, it will be slower. As with all radio technologies, proximity also matters. (Hint: For the absolute fastest speeds, wait until 3am and then go sit right next to your favorite cell site.)

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about 3G, GPS, G-spots or anything else to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

A quick look at the bottom of Apple's iPhone 3G page shows a rundown of what's actually in the box.
Of course, the first major difference, one that Jesus already outed, was the addition of this SIM ejector tool. Beyond that, we were surprised to see that there's no dock listed. This was an included in the box with the original (way more expensive) iPhone. But now, it's a sold-separately accessory, and probably one that could cost $50—the current price of an a la carte iPhone dock. What's even more interesting, is the un-clickable link that describes it: "iPhone 3G Universal Dock Adapter 3-Pack." What the hell does "3-Pack" mean?

The disappearance of the dock from the box, isn't the last thing to change. There is now a whole new power adapter, one that doesn't look as cool. Yea, it might be more compact, but compared to the old included power adapter, one that could be fitted with different heads when traveling the world, this thing looks like it's US-only, and cost a few cents to make. Globetrotters, beware of possible added cost.

So why has Apple cut out the fancy included accessories? It could maybe sorta have something to do with that drastic slash in price. And really, it's not the first time Apple has removed in-the-box accessories when a product got cheaper.

Remember when the 4th Generation iPod came out. Before the cheaper 4G iPod, the 3G was packed with in-the-box accessories. A dock, a wired remote, a 4-pin firewire adapter and a hard-case, were all removed when the 4G took over.

Just as the 4G iPod lacked all those fancy in-the-box accessories, so does the new iPhone 3G. Sure it's not a deal breaker, but it's interesting to see how Apple subtly works its own product costs down, without many of us even noticing.

Apple introduces the iPhone 3G Videoconferencing Kit, ZOMG!

WWDC SAN FRANCISCO—June 11, 2008—Apple® today unveiled the Apple Videoconferencing Kit®, the world's first videoconference accessory for the world's best phone, the iPhone 3G. Using a unique silicon-based mirror material and natural bamboo wood for its handle and base, the Apple Videoconferencing Kit measures an unprecedented 0.5 inches at its thinnest point. Its low weight and unique shape—developed following strict Human Interface tests and anatomical studies—will allow the user to easily hold it in front of the iPhone 3G camera, allowing face-to-face video communication with users all around the world.

"We've built the world's best cellphone—again," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO and famed fried tofu fan. "But it didn't feel... complete. So I said to Phil, hey! Phil, yo! Where's the damn front camera? Can we do iChat AV with this shit? He said we couldn't, but then... then he pulled out his hand mirror and said: 'what about this?'"

Phil Schiller, senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing and Apple's Cool Guy at Large, explained how it all went after that: "Steve thought it was ok, but he didn't like the pink plastic and shiny beads, so we asked Jon to come up with an evolution of the design." The team lead by Jonathan Ive was left with the challenge of making the Apple Videoconferencing Kit a reality: "We wanted the design to feel complete, as a whole holistic experience for the user, something that would talk from the inside, and be pure function. It just feels that way now."

The Apple Videoconferencing Kit ultra-shiny surface allows for an extremely clear image, the best in its class, and can be easily customized using any kind of materials, from stickers to Crayola. It will be available in July 11 for $29.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Indeed, it looks like Apple keeps pushing the envelope. [Other Gizmodo Fake News]

For those of you who don't get it, this is a criticism of the lack of front camera and video conferencing in the iPhone 3G. Looking at the new model, I think it is clear that Apple has decided to milk the current iPhone for another year instead of actually pushing the envelope big time. After all, why rush it when you are still entering the market and you can increase your margins?

While I'm sure that iChat AV-compatible videoconferencing will come to the iPhone, the fact is that Apple has decided we don't need it, expanding the lifetime of the previous generation by adding 3G and new software, in order to get more return out of their original investment. I can't blame them. And it even makes sense from a development point of view, making sure that every step works before taking another. However, as a consumer and gadget addict who wants it all, that doesn't make me happy.

The Gadget: Case-mate's Clear Armor film for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic (80GB and 160GB) or BlackBerry Curve protects against scratches using a military-grade Scotchgard film from 3M.

The Price: $19.99

The Verdict: Yes, yes, we know that the 3G iPhone is here, but if you are anything like me and on the fence about upgrading, Case-mate's Clear Armor will do a good job of protecting against scratches while preserving the natural beauty of your original iPhone, iPod or BlackBerry Curve. However, there is some major bullshit involved with their advertising campaign that put me off. First of all, Clear Armor is basically the same thing that Zagg has been selling for years under the name Invisible Shield. The difference is Zagg uses their own nano-memoryTM technology instead of 3M. However, Case-mate has tried to differentiate by relying on gimmicks like throwing a BlackBerry Curve 8300 wrapped in Clear Armor into a blender to demonstrate its durability. As Giz reader Shaun and others pointed out in the comments on the original Clear Armor post, it appears that the BlackBerry used in the demo is absolutely caked in this stuff.

The other issue I came across involved the application of Clear Armor. The video on the site makes it seem as though it is easy to pull the film off the backing before applying—but the reality is that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, using my gigantic man-hands I managed to tear off the portion of the film that covers the top of the phone on both sets of rear films. All I can say is that it is a good thing that each set of front and back films comes in doubles, because you will probably need them both to get it right. In retrospect, I probably should have used a pair of tweezers or an X-Acto knife to ensure that I got the film off in one piece.

Again, the technology behind Clear Armor is great. I mustered up enough courage to scratch my keys along the back of my iPhone and it came away completely unscathed. However, if you were foolish enough to put your phone into a blender wrapped in a single layer of this stuff, I can guarantee that it would not survive the beating. That having been said, my advice is to stick with Invisible Shield. They offer a lifetime guarantee on their product, they protect a wider range of devices and they are already taking pre-orders for a 3G iPhone version. [case-mate]

[Apple]

We're ready for the 3G iPhone, but are AT&T's 3G networks ready for it? Om Malik raises the scary possibility that AT&T's complete HSDPA network might be newly strengthened, but still might not be robust enough to handle the onslaught of 3G traffic, rendering 3G barely more nimble than EDGE. After a year of waiting for 3G, that's kind of a nut shot right? Consider this: Even last year, iPhone users chugged nearly five times the data of an average AT&T subscriber, and twice as much as other smartphone owners.

It wasn't so harsh on the network, because 55 percent of the data was over Wi-Fi. But with 3G, why wait for a Wi-Fi hotspot, especially since AT&T's 3G is, at least in the NYC area, as blazing as AT&T claims. New iPhone users are going to get on 3G en masse, and pull a lot of data over the air, especially with unlimited data plans. And it's fair to assume iPhone users are going to slurp even more than before since they won't have to hit up Wi-Fi to do data-intensive stuff.

The standard increase in usage from unlimited plans with more run-of-the-mill phones has already been posing problems for operators, forcing a serious need to upgrade the backend.

While that report doesn't focus on AT&T, it's worth noting that two major Korean operators—vaunted for their magical networks—were experiencing degraded voice quality from the data hammer. And AT&T's network didn't have a stellar track record to begin with. So a $199 3G iPhone that moves millions of data-whoring units could be the worst thing ever, at least if you're buying that 3G iPhone for, well, 3G data access. The ball's in your court, AT&T. [GigaOM]

Apple Store Is Down

Best not make any plans today.
The Apple store is down,
new shit is on its way.
A tablet Mac or new SDK.
Doesn't matter,'cause it's Apple, As long as Steve goes slow in the keynote:
"Had a great business year, our future success is clear.

CHORUS

But I have just one more thing to show before I disappear.
And I think it's the most exciting thing that we are gonna launch this year.
Boom it's here."

Listen, Steve, my friends and I
have decided that it's okay that you know (whoa)
that we don't want for you to die.
If it happened the stock would flatten.
So if you go, go slow!
I need a new boat.
"My hair is gone. I'm grizzled gray. Retire you ask? Not today.

CHORUS

'cause I have just one more thing to show before I disappear.
It might be the most important product that we're gonna launch this year.
Boom it's here."

BRIDGE: My head is swimming; my mouth is dry. I hardly can believe that I am worthy to be in this distortion field.

CHORUS

'cause I want just one more thing to own before I disappear.
And my life needs one more thing to glow to add a little cheer.
Oh thank god it's here.

Definitely watch the original iPod announcement, which is kind of surreal—no applause or cheering in a crappy beige auditorium, waiting 10 minutes before you see it—and then check out the iPhone one. Gods aren't born overnight, but they can be fashioned over the course of 6 years, apparently. [Cult of Mac]

Hayashi says that, lacking a more serious camera and stuff like a mobile wallet (actually useful) and LED flashlight, "It may sell modestly as a smart phone or as an upgraded iPod, but it's not quite cutting it as a competitor in our mobile-based culture."

In other words, it needs more features, even though that would result in the kind of feature overload Jobs loathes. And a survey by Japan Railways says that while half of those polled were interested in buying an iPhone, less than a fifth really knew what it is. The Apple brand at work—which might the best thing going for it over there. [Wired]

We also recognize that not every reader gets as worked up about Apple news as we do, so here's a link to a version of Giz avoiding all Apple news. What's new this time? All our international sites will be joining in with live translations, along with some other new tricks (and sacrifices to the Gods of server stability) to make the liveblog faster and better than at Macworld. [live.gizmodo.com]

The new version of the Apple iPhone is set to be sold at significantly lower prices than the existing one, in a tacit acknowledgement by the US technology company that its previous sales strategy was not sustainable. Apple has bowed to pressure from mobile phone operators and agreed they can subsidise the latest iPhone, expected to be unveiled by Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, on Monday.

While the confirmation of the cheaper, subsidized iPhone comes from their own undoubtedly rock solid sources, they don't have specific numbers from them and point to squishy analysts on how much cheaper it'll be, such as speculation it'll be $199 in the US, with a $200 subsidy from AT&T. Either way, AT&T will definitely be bearing some of the costs for us: "Apple has accepted that the new iPhone should be subsidised in the US and western Europe by the mobile operators who sell it to consumers, according to people familiar with the matter."

But $200 does sound right.

Dude, I didn't expect people to camp out for the next iPhone, but I think if anything will drive people to not shower for a day in the middle of summer, it'll be a $200 iPhone. [FT via Ars]

The 3G video chat allows iPhone to iPhone video communications on the fly via the front camera. According to the text, you can also chat with your iChat buddies if you're using Wi-Fi as well. Hot. Hit up Crunchgear for the rest of the pics. The only weirdness that we can see is that the (RED) version has no power toggle. Here's hoping these leaked pics are real, because we're really stoked about that video conferencing feature (3G iPhone toilet chats here we come!). Who knows if they ARE real, however, since they can be faked in Illustrator and then taken pics of with an iPhone camera.

Update: That footnote on the iChat image says to us that iChat is coming for the iPhone (text chat and video chat) AND Windows, with XP2 and Vista as a base requirement. iChat on Windows. That's not unbelievable, following in the steps of Safari this past year. Only makes sense that Apple would want Windows users being able to Wi-Fi video chat with their iPhone buddies.

[Ed Note:Although Chen was diplomatic about it, and they're very pretty, I don't believe these are real for a second. ] [Matt Hickey's Crunchgear]

Anything can happen at this year's WWDC, but chances are most of the Apple faithful out there are interested in either a new Macbook, OS X 10.6 or the 3G iPhone. Again, we don't know for sure what will be unveiled, but given a choice, which one of these products do you want the most?

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[Flickr via The Crunch - Thanks Mark and Mark's brother!]

Having an unlocked iPhone has always been a tradeoff—you can get some cool 3rd party apps but trying to install firmware updates is a huge pain in the ass. Still, the urge to rebel and personalize your phone the way you want is strong—and there will always be a large group of people who will hack their iPhone just because they can. So, the question is, Would you unlock a 3G iPhone even when there are good SDK apps to be had?

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As always, information like this must be taken with a grain of salt. Apple manufacturers rarely discuss their affiliation with the company and there are plenty of manufacturers out there that deal in iPhone knockoffs. However, the information is consistent with earlier rumors about a shrinking iPhone, but even if it is true, I highly doubt it is anything we would see right away—especially if the 3G iPhone is toting around a larger battery and GPS. [iLounge via Electronista]

• Faster Network (3G). The original iPhone wasn't 3G when it launched last year thanks to various issues, two of which were cost and battery life. 3G chips now have increased battery life and lower costs compared to what was out in 2007. It's no 3G iPhone if it doesn't have 3G.

• Cheaper. Apple's already dropped the price of the phone once. Let's see them do it again. With component costs down and Apple capable of using just about the same parts (other than a 3G and GPS chip plus more memory and upgraded processing) as the first version, there's probably some slack to be had. AT&T can also help subsidize the cost down to $199 levels if Apple were to put even more measures in place forcing people who buy phones to sign up for AT&T (and not run off with it to other countries to be unlocked).

• Unlockable and Jailbreakable. Just because the SDK is coming doesn't mean we don't still have a need to jailbreak our iPhones. Jailbreak, for one, because there are still many apps worth using that Apple will frown upon. Unlock, for two, because T-Mobile users and other countries still don't have native iPhone support. Apple will actively fight the unlockers and jailbreakers, but we hope the hacking community prevails in the end.

• Better Battery. The iPhone's battery isn't bad, but if you talk a lot, use a Bluetooth headset, or theoretically use 3G and a GPS, that battery's not going to last a day. Out of all the features a next-gen iPhone can get, an improved battery is the one that will be felt by everybody.

• GPS. The current cellphone triangulation location system is fine, I guess, but it's no GPS. Even if Brian doesn't want it, I do. Place it into a dock that's specially made for your car (places the phone up in your eyeline, charges it, routes audio through your car's speakers) and it'll be as good as a regular GPS. If you're lost on foot, whip it out and locate yourself. It's not as good as a dedicated GPS, but it's good enough that most people won't know the difference. Hell, GPS manufacturers are already scared.

• Improved camera. The current 2-megapixel shooter is decent in ample light, but falls to Ewe Boll levels of visual atrocity when it comes to shooting in low-light. Maybe a flash? Maybe just a better sensor? We want to be able not have to move everyone next to a window to take a shot. Or ripping lampshades off your fixtures. Or bringing a Maglite to bars. While we're at it, why not some digital image stabilization.

• Front facing video camera. AT&T's 3G video calling (video share) service is not so good right now, mostly because it's only one-way. Two iPhones with two front-facing cameras, beaming video to each other like a webcam chat on your desktop would be amazing, and it would go along way into mainstreaming video calling. This would go over well in other countries where video calling is slightly more popular, despite Nokia's reservations.

• MMS and video recording. The iPhone's gotten its multi-recipient SMS feature (something many reviewers docked points off for in their initial reviews) added after the fact, but video recording and MMS sending is slightly more difficult to pull off. We want the 3G iPhone, with its beefed up processing power and improved camera, to give us a feature that's in just about every decent smartphone in the last few years.

• Flush headphone jack. No more lousy adapters just to get our headphones into the headphone port! This should have been the way it was in the first-gen iPhone.

• More storage. The launch storage size of 4GB and 8GB was pretty tiny, and the current 8GB and 16GB is usable, but not great. I'd like to see 16GB and 32GB options in this generation, gradually growing to 32GB and 64GB by the next iteration, and so forth until we can keep our whole computer backup there by the year 2015. Seeing as the iPhone is THE one device you want to carry with you everywhere, you'll need more and more space to shove those pictures, videos and music files.

• Cut, Copy and Paste. We'd like to take content from a website or email and paste it into a form or the address book or a text message. Apple has smart tech that allows you to click on phone numbers in web pages in Safari and call them, but moving general info between apps has been impossible. This is really a no brainer. We need cut, copy and paste in the iPhone.

• Automatic 3G Management. To deal with the battery suck of 3G in the iPhone, I'd love it if it automatically turned on only for active browsing in Safari, watching YouTube videos, looking stuff up in Maps and downloading music from the iTunes Store. For background checks on Mail, Weather and Stocks, it should toggle down to 2G.

• Stereo Bluetooth streaming. Bluetooth audio streaming hasn't picked up in the mainstream on devices because it's just another piece of tech that can run down your phone's battery, but given the iPhone's iPod-ness, it it makes sense to also pipe A2DP stereo music through that BT connection.

• Over the Air Sync. I like Apple's tethered sync system, which also gives you an opportunity to charge your iPhone using your PC. What would also be cool is a secure over the LAN Wi-Fi sync, a la Apple TV and Zune, so you can charge your iPhone in a dock or something but still sync data. Likewise, a PDA-type over the air sync would be great over 3G when you're in the wild. This would skip over all the audio and video stuff, but would keep your calendar in line with .Mac, or your home computer—and also back up any changes you've made on the go.

• Better Reception and Voice Quality. The two are related, but not 100%. Switching an AT&T SIM between a Blackberry, Palm, Sony Ericsson and iPhone shows the iPhone's voice quality to be the weakest. The current iPhone also randomly drops all bars in the middle of calls for Brian Lam on a very consistent basis. Reception is not good on the iPhone. But even when Brian has full coverage, the people on the other end of the line sound like they have marbles in their mouths. I'm sure this is Apple just learning the ropes in the cellphone game. I mean, you might poke fun, but have you heard the reception and call quality on a RAZR?

• A CDMA iPhone For Sprint and Verizon. Look, we know it's not going to happen because of AT&T's exclusivity deal, but half the people in the US wish the iPhone were available on Sprint or Verizon or Alltel or Nextel.

Of course, Apple probably won't put all these features into the 3G iPhone because of two reasons we can come up with. One, they most likely want people to have an upgrade path, and two, they need time to develop these to a usable state. In essence, you should pick a handful of features here that you really want and hope those are those are the ones Apple will put in.

A week ago, Benny and I both made the decision to sell our 8GB iPhones. Even though the iPhone is now a year old, there is still huge demand for it. On a weekly basis, lines form inside and even outside Apple stores, specifically for the iPhone. This dwindling stock of iPhones on the web and in stores makes it a perfect item to sell on eBay, new or used.

Having sold items before on eBay, I knew to check how many iPhones were currently for sale. My search brought back 1,800 auctions. At first I thought, no way would I fetch decent money for my six-month-old phone. But after studying the eBay iPhone market, I noticed something strange. Of the 1,800 iPhones on eBay, a whopping 1,200 are unlocked. And of those 1,200 unlocked, 800 are basically brand new. These new unlocked iPhones will easily reach over $500 for 8GB models and $600 for 16GB models.

But current iPhone owners have, by definition, used iPhones. Turns out, that's OK. In my research, used 8GB iPhone auctions usually ended around $350, which is good money. But by following a few strategies, a used iPhone can easily sell for more than that.

What to Include
Since most of the auctions are for new iPhones, it's best to have the original box and accessories, This will allow the auction to compete with the new ones, and buyers pay much more for a complete set.

Unlocked = $$$
Even if it might be unauthorized, having an unlocked iPhone will bring much more attention. Used unlocked iPhone auctions usually end above $400 for 8GB models and above $500 for 16GB models. And these figures are on the low end of the results, and it's not uncommon for 8GB iphones to sell above $500, like these two, here and here, that sold for $560. So by simply selling a Pwned and unlocked iPhone, a much higher selling price can be expected.

Listing Duration
A week ago when I sold my iPhone, I had originally listed it with a 7-day auction. This was a mistake. 24-hours after my listing was posted, not a single person had looked at it. With over 33 pages of iPhones on eBay, it made sense that no one was going to search all the way to page 33 to see new listings.

So the shorter the listing time the better, and the 1-day listing option was the best. Not only did it put the auction on the 9th page of the search, as opposed to the 33rd, it also provided instant gratification, since it only took 24 hours for the iPhone to sell.

Starting Price/No Reserve
Even if the listing has only 1 day, starting it off at a low amount is smart. By having an auction that starts at $1 with a no-reserve price, it attracts more watchers, and usually brings a higher selling price. Yes, having no reserve could mean that your precious auction item sells for 3 bucks, but it hasn't happened to any of the 8,000 completed iPhone sales on eBay, so why would it happen to yours?

Shipping
It's also smart to say you'll ship worldwide, especially for unlocked iPhones. Most of the unlocked iPhones that advertise worldwide shipping not only attracted more watchers and brought more money but, surprisingly or not, they also usually ended up selling within the US.

Title & Keywords
The most important part of selling an iPhone on eBay is the title, since it basically attracts the buyer. A good title it will bring more watchers, and using popular keywords is the way to go. Stuff like "No Reserve," "NR," "Unlocked," "Jailbroken," "Any GSM SIM," "Original Box" and "Accessories" are just a few. If the auction ships worldwide, then make sure the title advertises this. In this auction, simply stating "Ship Worldwide" brought in $610 for a used 8GB. The more keywords the better, so it's best to add a subtitle for an extra 50 cents. This allows for a whole extra line which will fit much more of the important keywords. Here's a solid, winning title and subtite:

UNLOCKED Apple iPhone 8GB Jailbroken Any GSM SIM
Original Box and Accessories SHIPS WORLDWIDE

For current iPhone owners who have been contemplating selling in anticipation for the new iPhone, you might want to act quickly while it's still a seller's market. Then again, the market may already be flooded.

We have heard rumors that the upcoming 3G iPhone will be thicker because of possible additions like GPS and a larger battery, and we have heard rumors on the other end of the spectrum that say it will be up to 22 percent thinner than the current version. So the question here is: What do you believe? Will the 3G iPhone be thinner or thicker than the current model (and why)?

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Eddings' email address was also listed in the SOA Record of the DNS record. The site was probably purchased by Apple in December 2007. For those keeping score at home, that's a new 3G iPhone and Me.com at this month's WWDC. [MacRumors]

a) The location tech in the current iPhone is much quicker. No matter what chip, even SiRFstar chips in full-blooded GPSes take a while to lock on. When using the very capable N95, I'd often drive across town or walk halfway to my destination before I'd get signal lock.
b) I'd never use an iPhone as a car GPS. Not even with updated software. The amount of work and expertise that goes into a high-end, 5+ generation Garmin is some serious stuff. The logic is all proprietary. It's not easy to do. And GPS antennas need to be somewhat pointed. If it's on your dash, it needs to be on the back. If it's for walking, it needs to be on the front. Which is it?
c) Battery life gets screwed when you keep the GPS on with constant updates.
d) These chips aren't exactly small, although they have been known to fit in things like Suunto watches. That going to make this thing thicker?

No thanks. Don't need it. I'm fine with the current location technology. It works for walking and that's all I need it for.

When the BlackBerry Bold was announced and began drawing tangential iPhone comparisons, I entertained the idea of buying that instead, because of its tactile QWERTY.

It makes me feel a little better to see Apple scouting for design engineers (even if that hire isn't for the 2nd gen iPhone), because hopefully it means they've been working to improve it. And the supposed thicker size of the phone has me hoping they threw a bigger battery in to compensate for the rumored 3G and GPS. I'm really bad about remembering to charge my gadgets, making me gravitate towards phones I only need to plug in once or twice a week.

So will the new tech specs and open apps be enough to sway me to the Steve side of the cellphone universe? I'll know after June 9th. [iPhone on Giz]

It's very interesting, even if one or more of these details could be misinformation given out to different companies to determine which one of them is spilling the beans on Apple's confidential specs. The big difference about the appearance seems to be the ditching of the brushed metal/black plastic look on the back in favor of a more plastic look that approximates metal, like a car, or Iron Man. [iLounge]

If you're buying straight from Apple, it seems like their prices will still be $399 and $499 for the 8 and 16GB models. Fortune's source also says that the phone will have GPS and be 2.5mm thinner, not thicker as previously indicated. And you'll know when the new phone is coming—Apple will cut off shipments of the old phone in order to clear up inventory and give a subtle hint that you should wait before buying. [Fortune]

Update: It looks like Scott Moritz is the same guy who made predictions before that didn't come true. He comes from thestreet.com, who, via Jim Cramer, made the prediction that the iPhone would get 1.5 years of free service. The rumor sounds less credible to us now.