The iPhone 3GS display

Let's review what we know: When we first covered China Ontrade's iPhone 3G 2009 parts—back in May 2009—we thought they looked real. Since they didn't have any track record, we treated it as a rumor. Potentially true, but a rumor. The iPhone 3GS announcement was going to happen that summer, so it was logical that factories had already manufactured parts for the assembled iPhone 2009. That is, in fact, what China Ontrade claimed in their site:

This is great honor for China Ontrade (HK) chinaontrade.com to be the 1st started to supply iphone 3gen 2009 parts directly from factory

In June 2009, the actual iPhone 3GS teardown confirmed that China Ontrade's parts were indeed the real McCoy. Somehow, the Chinese wholesaler's ninjas—who sell spare parts for all Apple iPod and iPhone products—got the next generation pieces one month before the product reached the streets.

Zoom in to see the comparison of the May 2009 and June 2009 parts.

Apple iPhone 4 Generation

Now, China Ontrade is claiming that this iPhone midboard belongs to the next-generation iPhone 4, which in theory is supposed to come out next summer, like all the previous iPhones. If confirmed, this means they have the piece about eight months before the actual iPhone 2010 release. That seems like an awfully long time for any factory to produce parts for a new product. Like every company out there, Apple's products are built just-in-time to avoid stock congestion or last minute changes. They don't have parts ready eight months before release.

Does this mean that a new iPhone 4 may appear in a month too? That seems crazy, and very unlikely. After all, we know that Phil Schiller said that the Apple holiday lineup was set. Some people argue that this means that the holiday lineup is set, but it hasn't been fully announced yet. However, for now we can only speculate about the true meaning of his words, and the fact that Apple called us to tell us an exact quote to publish.

Some may argue that they have important reasons to accelerate the introduction of a new iPhone. One is gaining more strength lately, despite Apple's domination of the cell market: Google's Android. Even while Apple COO Tim Cook dismissed Android—saying that Google phones "are still just trying to catch up with the first iPhone two years ago"—the media mindshare is certainly shifting. Thanks to the latest batch of Android 2.0 cellphones, people are starting to look at Android with different eyes.

For now we can't assume any of this means a new iPhone is around the corner. After all, the 3GS just came out five months ago. The only thing we know is that China Ontrade's claims were true in the past, so it's logical to assume this is an actual iPhone 4 generation part. But this makes little sense given Apple's manufacturing practices and self-imposed yearly-upgrade cycle, so this may all be a publicity ploy. Especially because they claim they will publish actual shots of the product in their web site.

There's one last implication in all this: Maybe this is the real Apple "iTablet" SIM tray, after all. [China On Trade]

Pretty simply, it's a small pocket notebook in the shape of a SIM card, both in unformatted (notebook) and formatted (address book) styles. Each SIMbook costs about $6. [Address Book, Notebook via Nerd Approved]

Not intended for swapping in and out of gadgets, this "embedded SIM" is fashioned from silicon (instead of plastic) so it can be stuck in pretty much any electronic device. Expected to arrive within the next six months, you should pretty much assume that from here on out, every machine you're using could be yapping on its cellphone. [BW via Engadget]

Having absolutely nothing to do with AMD Phenom processors, this Phenom watch is a completely unlocked GSM phone (ready to take any SIM card you've got) while simultaneously functioning as an MP3/MP4 player through a MicroSD port. Other features include a 1.3" touchscreen display, Bluetooth, speakerphone, numeric keypad and a videocamera.

Yes, this cellphone watch handles video when the iPhone still doesn't.

If the SpecialOps' $300 asking price is a little high for your tastes, Phenom has other models available, including the $235 Mi5. None of the models are necessarily inside of impulse buy territory, but hey, no contracts needed! [Phenom via unwired view]

Registration as a developer at the Market costs $25, but after that, you're eligible for the cheap, unlocked goodness. The Android Dev Phone 1 is fully compatible with Android 1.0, and being able to swap out the SIM card effectively breaks the yoke of T-Mobile's not-so-widespread service. It'll also let you flash custom Android builds that work with the newly unlocked bootloader. The phone even ships for free with fancy detailing on the back. Google warns that it's not really meant for non-developers, but we're sure that won't stop even the least adventurous Googler. [Google and Engadget]

Sadly, watch phones still aren't cool, but Dick Tracy called the weekend news desk and approved the heck out of these his and her models from Chinavision. Sporting dual SIM cards, these black and pink pieces of geek arm candy do video and music, take pictures, and feature a touchscreen (complete with mini stylus). They just don't do cool. Unless, of course, you happen to look great in yellow and have penchant for battling wildly exaggerated baddies whose names reflect their physical appearances. Bluetooth headset included for about $148 (discount for buying in pairs—how cute).

[Chinavision]

Would this work for international trips with other Pay As You Go cards? That's the only scenario that seems logical to me, because at this point, you can't buy an iPhone 3G without a contract with AT&T. Being able to use a Pay As You Go card defeats the purpose, as far as I can see. Since you have to pay the monthly rate anyway, why use Pay As You Go?

In any case, if you can think into any useful thing to do with this, Erica at TUAW details how to attach an unlimited 5GB plan to a SIM:

• Call 611
• Select "Buy Features"
• Select "Media Net"
• Select "Unlimited"
• Select "Buy It"

[TUAW]

It is a nice touch, for that we salute you, AT&T. However, it is possible to get a shitty new phone for free with a two year contract, and then prostitute your SIM card around as you please. So, you know, it is a positive symbolic move at best, but we're still wanting more freeness. [AT&T via BGR]

These different numbers can be handed out to friends or colleagues if you'd like to have separate lines or you do business/booty calls internationally. Plus, the SIM includes separate call forwarding and automated away message features.

At about $45, the MAXRoam SIM seems like a pretty good solution for international calls if you don't mind keeping up with a few extra phone numbers. The only catch seems to be a "small monthly fee," which we think is their $3/month fee per line...which seems pretty reasonable. [product via mobileburn]

Other features include: a 2.0 megapixel camera, 2.8" touch sensitive TFT-LCD display, 256MB/64MB ROM memory, MP3 and MPEG4 player, WCDMA modem, Bluetooth, and video call capabilities. Two models will be available the "Dragonfly" and "OMAP' with the latter having a faster CPU and tri-band network support instead of quad-band. Naturally, no pricing information has been released, which is just as well seeing as how this product is unlikely to make its way to the states anytime soon. Bummer. [TechFaith via TFOT]

The Dosh comes in orange, white, charcoal and chocolate, and sells for around 40 bucks. [Dosh via Popgadget]

Blue Sky Squeezes GPS onto a SIM [The Register via UberGizmo]

The phone importer wanted to know why the customer had tried to use the SIM as his own, and why the phone company flipped it in his name ignoring the fact the SIM was under the name "Media Phone".

The phone company wanted to know how I'd manage to send my SIM back, let it get in the hands of a civilian, and most importantly, how I'd racked up an $8000 bill since 2005. I swore I didn't call any 1-900 numbers, and never took them out on trips abroad.

The man who bought the phone just wanted his damn money back.

The whole thing comes to a conclusion as the phone company realizes that the SIM, still under Media Phones, and linked to a random SS#, was being billed for all the press SIMs in the wild sharing the same social security digits. Hence the giant $8000 bill for one month for the 50 press SIMs this carrier has in the wild. So I was clear, the customer was in the clear, and everyone's happy.

But the funny thing is, lots and lots of Editors abuse press SIMs. It's kind of an inside joke of the Phone PR industry, knowing who sent a test phone back with moantones and nasty voicemail messages, thousands of dollars in foreign phone bills. And actually, one of those 50 SIMs on the $8000 phone bill was on its way to being racked up to $2000, which was promptly shut down.

Here's one story:

...in this case we sent it to an editor who was at Cxxxx magazine, back in 2005...we tried to get this particular product back with the SIM but we couldn't (i can't remember if he just didnt send it or he couldn't find it)...it got into the wrong hands somehow (you know how all the magazines have a closet full of gadgets) and it was fine - no crazy use for the last 1.5 yrs UNTIL March when someone went to Mexico and used it like CRAZY to the tune of $1,700 + and counting...just this month - and all roaming calls back and forth between mexico and US...

And another:

we gave a [redacted] (W/SIM) to an editor at OXXXXXX magazine and he actually ended up returning it a few months later. When we sent it back out to another editor they found all these downloaded porn pics (uploaded by this last editor) as well as a few voicemails on the phone/SIM from random people swearing and even one that had a strong sexual message to it.

After we found out about that, we checked the records and sure enough it was abused with 900 calls to sex lines and a few international calls that racked up roaming charges. nothing too bad - but a few hundred dollars worth of calls and downloads. We confronted him about it but he of course denied it all and said maybe someone at the magazine got a hold of it when he wasn't around....

So, it happens all the time. Moral of the story is to download your porn on BitTorrent and make your international calls using Gizmo or Skype. – Brian Lam

Man Buys a Phone With a Magic SIM Inside [Gizmodo]

Yesterday I get an email from the importer, who turns around and tells me they'd sold the phone to someone who'd transfered the active SIM to their name (why?). Two weeks later, they'd bounced some checks, only to find out he'd been billed $6000 dollars for the media account's past due bills.

Now, I didn't use the SIM beyond the occasional phone call, less than 100 dials total, pinky swear. But it was in my care since 2005, so you're talking about nearly 30 months of bills that piled up. I wonder how the rep from the unnamed company transferred the SIM to the customer's name without noticing it was a media account with strange billing mojo and a $6000 unpaid tab?

I'm trying to sort it out now. But I promise you I didn't use it to call Mars or call 1-900 numbers. –Brian Lam

If one of the five numbers then replies with an SMS, the phone locks itself until something happens—the original SIM is put back, perhaps? Other than this lockdown feature, the phone has TV-Out, MP3/WMA/AAC playback, WAP browser, JAVA, and is only available in China/Hong Kong. – Jason Chen

Tianyu B832 [RingHK via Slashphone via Uber Phones]