This doesn’t mean that other competitors won’t catch up or include key innovations of their own, however for the time being the iPhone 4 and the newly named iOS4 is packed with innovation useful for everyday consumers and tech enthusiasts alike.
It may be easy for many people within the press – including the Apple naysayers – to look at today’s announcements and complain that there was anything truly innovative announced. Statements like these miss the broader picture of not only what Apple is doing but what Apple is doing for the technology industry at large. That being said, I want to highlight several things that require a deeper look.

Battery Life

Creating devices that don’t need to be recharged every few hours to every few days has always been a challenge for the industry. As manufacturers create more sophisticated technology onlookers are always skeptical of the affect on battery life these new innovations will have. This was true of many of the first few generations of iPhone, it’s true of many of the latest Android devices and many others.

Apple, however, with several of it’s latest product releases has made an all-hands-on-deck effort to solve this problem and release products with unparalleled battery life. The iPad for example is one of those products that when used one marvels at how long the battery goes. The latest MacBook Pro’s with all the latest silicon is still capable of 8 hours or more of computing.

With the iPhone 4, Apple has once again shown their commitment to delivering industry leading battery life in a mobile device. This is done thanks to the combination of the powerful yet efficient A4 processor and streamlined software enhancements in the new iOS.

Capture

The 5-megapixel optics introduced in the new iPhone hardware are an improvement over previous generations however there are still devices on the market with high resolution cameras. The newly supported ability to capture 720p HD video ranks with the more capable Android devices on the market but the real difference is the new iMovie application for the iPhone.

Again, at lasts week’s Wall St Journal conference Steve Jobs pointed out that he saw other devices than just the traditional PC becoming more then just consumption devices but having elements of productivity. He is proving this out with the iMovie mobile application that will give consumers the ability to now create home movies with their iPhone and instantly share those creations with friends and family. This has the potential to revolutionize how we think about creating home movies. This will also contribute greatly to the massive amount of digital data creation we are anticipating over the next five years.

The other interesting element is how iMovie was written to take advantage of touch computing, something I wrote about a few months ago. Apple has demonstrated again the way touch adds a unique element to the creation and creativity process by making it more intuitive. Again, demonstrating how touch computing may very well be how current and future generations create content in the years to come.

Getting some FaceTime

And there’s one more thing. If we weren’t already convinced that today’s keynote was 100-percent about the iPhone the “one more thing” sealed the deal. I know many people who were speculating it would be about Apple TV, or about a hardware update for the iPad. Instead Steve introduced a new application called “FaceTime” that utilizes a new camera placed on the front of the new iPhone. The purpose of this is obvious: video conferencing.

Yes other parts of the world like Korea, Japan and other parts of Asia are already doing this; Europe too. They have much faster pipes and cell infrastructure then we do, which is why Apple is leading the way in laying the groundwork for this technology in the US.

Apple FaceTime on iPhone 4:

At first, however, FaceTime will only work iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 and, for 2010 at least, only over WiFi not 3G; still, Apple is releasing a new set of standards that will allow for cross-platform video conferencing on mobile devices. Developers can also take advantage of this new set of standards and APIs to take advantage of this new front facing camera and can utilize this new hardware addition in creative ways. The only real bummer out of the gate is FaceTime’s limitation to WiFi, but we hope that over time AT&T or other carriers that the quadband GSM iPhone 4 may support can take advantage of this technology over the air.

Hnads-on with FaceTime:

Video conferencing and Tele-Presence has been a big buzz word around the industry the past year. Consumers have been slow to adopt many of these technologies but it seems that Apple is once again in a position to assist in bringing consumer video conferencing to the mainstream.

I believe the experience and Face Time application will be one of the primary innovations included in this phone that will help drive sales of this new device. Many of the innovations will challenge the rest of the industry to make products that meet a range of consumer demand and consumers will benefit. Most of all, I’m very excited to see how developers take advantage of this new hardware and what new consumer experiences develop because of it.

Ben BajarinLive from WWDC10 – hands-on!

Vincent Nguyen iPhone 4 hands-on:

You can pick up the 16GB model, in either white or black, for a paltry $199. As for the 32GB model, you’ll have to put down $299 to get your hands on it. Of course, those prices are with a new, two-year agreement, so keep that in mind, too. AT&T is changing things around to make sure that current iPhone owners can get their hands on the new model, and if you’re contract is set to end in 2010, some time in that year, then you’re automatically eligible for the new model.

The device will be on sale on June 24th, and it will be up for pre-order starting June 15th. As we’ve said in the past, the iPhone 3G is officially retired, and right now the iPhone 3GS, in its 8GB capacity, will only be $99. The iPhone 4 is going to launch in five countries: United States, France, Germany, the UK, and Japan. After that, and by the end of September 2010, the new iPhone will be in 88 countries.

It will feature new accessories, like a dock which will cost you $29.99.

But the most important part: iOS4 will be hitting the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G on June 21st. Unfortunately, if you’re on the iPhone 3G, you won’t be getting the full suite of updates. The update will be free to those owners, too. The iPod Touch, aside from the first iteration, will also get the update to iOS4 for free.

Check out our liveblog for all of the updates as they happen!

There’s a bit of a snag, though. While everyone would probably love to run around their city, using that AT&T 3G they know and love, to make all those video calls, Steve Jobs announced that the calls will be only made over WiFi for now. You can access a video call, from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 that is, even from a regular on the fly, though, so that’s definitely interesting.

It features “amazing video and audio quality,” and that probably goes a long way due to the WiFi connection. It’s apparently WiFi-only in 2010, and the carriers “need to do some work” before it can get anywhere else. We imagine that’s something AT&T would want to work on, pretty quickly, as it’s one of the features that many people out there want, and want it right now.

Check out the SlashGear Liveblog to stay up to date!

Apple are expecting to take 48% of the whole mobile advertising market, and wants developers to try it out. He apparently thinks that it will be a great success for them, too. And, considering the platform, and how many devices it would be on, that’s probably pretty accurate. Apparently they’ve $60m committed for iAds from advertisers in the second half of the year.

As for partners, here’s who you’re looking at (so far): Nissan, Citi, Unileve, AT&T, Chanel, GE, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Geico, Cambells, Sears, JC Penny, Target, Best Buy, Direct TV, TBS and Disney all onboard! Now, keep in mind that this is all still breaking, so stay tuned to the liveblog to keep updated as it happens. And, we’ll have a video demonstration of iAds soon enough, so stay tuned for that, too.

Press Release:

Apple to Debut iAds on July 1

Over $60 Million in 2010 Commitments from Leading Global Brands

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced it will debut its iAd mobile advertising network on July 1 on iPhone® and iPod touch® devices running its iOS 4 software platform. iAds combine the emotion of TV advertising with the interactivity of Internet advertising, giving advertisers a dynamic and powerful new way to bring motion and emotion to mobile users. iAd will kick off with mobile ad campaigns from leading global brands including AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup Company, Chanel, Citi, DirecTV, GEICO, GE, JCPenney, Liberty Mutual Group, Nissan, Sears, State Farm, Target, Turner Broadcasting System, Unilever and The Walt Disney Studios. Apple has iAd commitments for 2010 totaling over $60 million, which represents almost 50 percent of the total forecasted US mobile ad spending for the second half of 2010.*

“iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod touch users–a highly desirable demographic for advertisers–and provide developers a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low cost applications.”

“iAd will allow Citi to reach millions of people on their iPhone and iPod touch,” said Lisa Caputo, executive vice president and CMO, Citigroup. “iAd gives us a remarkable level of creativity for creating ads to connect with our current and future customers in a more interactive style than ever before.”

“iAd is going to revolutionize mobile advertising,” said Rob Master, North American media director, Unilever. “With iAd, we’ve been able to create some of our most powerful and compelling ads ever. iAd is the perfect mobile format to reach and engage with our customers.”

iAd, which is built into iOS 4, allows users to stay within their app while engaging with the ad, even while watching a video, playing a game or using in-ad purchase to download an app or buy iTunes® content.

Developers who join the iAd Network can easily incorporate a variety of advertising formats into their apps. Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive an industry-standard 60 percent of the iAd Network revenue, which is paid via iTunes Connect.

iAds require iOS 4, which will be a free software update via iTunes 9.2 or later for iPhone and iPod touch customers. iOS 4 will work with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and second and third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB).

*Percent of forecast based on an annual run rate basis, starting on July 1. US Mobile Display Advertising forecast from the report by JP Morgan, “Nothing But Net–2010 Internet Investment Guide,” January 3, 2010.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone, iPod touch and iTunes are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

There are upwards of 1,500 new features being released with iOS 4. Things like Folders, Unified Inbox, and Multitasking (which we’ve seen before) are coming along for the ride. As Steve Jobs put it, they weren’t the first on the market with multitasking, but they took the time to make sure that it is done right. If you don’t, then you kill your battery, and that’s just not a good user experience.

The other new features include Retina Integration with all of the applications — developers don’t have to do anything to make it work. The enhanced camera, obviously, as well as plenty more.  Stay tuned with the liveblog, because it doesn’t look like Jobs is ready to quit any time soon.

Update: iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPod touch 2G+ owners will be able to install iOS4 from June 21st

iMovie for the iPhone is written specifically for the smaller, mobile device. There’s a big preview screen that goes on top of what you’re working on, and a timeline underneath. It looks a lot like iMovie for Mac, which isn’t surprising at all. You can pinch to alter the timeline scale at your will, and you can also record video directly into the iMovie app, or you can simply import recorded videos whenever you want.

You can apply themes, toggle music on and off, and use your iPod library as your music selection. You can export video in 360p, 520p, or 720p HD. iMovie will be $4.99 in the App Store. “If we approve it!” announced Jobs when he walked back on stage.

Keep up with the live coverage at our liveblog: http://live.slasghear.com. It’s still coming!

External controls include volume up/down, mute, there’s a front facing camera, micro-SIM, camera with LED flash, microphone on the bottom with the 30-pin Dock Connector and speaker. On top is the headphone jack and a second microphone for noise cancellation, plus the power button. It’s 9.3mm thick – that’s 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS and the thinnest smartphone on the planet. Glass front and back; stainless steel edging. “Closest kin is an old Leica camera.”

“This is the iPhone 4.”

And with that, we’ve got the next iteration of the iPhone family of devices. Stay tuned, as more is coming!

http://live.slashgear.com for all the updated news as it breaks!

Press Release:

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today presented the new iPhone® 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, images and video. In addition, iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time–in a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 100 new features and 1500 new APIs for developers. iOS 4 features Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform. iPhone 4 will be available in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan on June 24, starting in the US at just $199 for qualified buyers with a two year contract.*

“iPhone 4 is the biggest leap since the original iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “FaceTime video calling sets a new standard for mobile communication, and our new Retina display is the highest resolution display ever in a phone, with text looking like it does on a fine printed page. We have been dreaming about both of these breakthroughs for decades.”

FaceTime is as mobile as your phone, so you can see your loved ones and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Using FaceTime is as easy as making a regular voice call, with no set-up required, and you can instantly switch to the rear camera to show others what you are seeing with just a tap.

Apple’s stunning 3.5 inch Retina display has 960 x 640 pixels–four times as many pixels as the iPhone 3GS and 78 percent of the pixels on an iPad(TM). The resulting 326 pixels per inch is so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when the phone is held at a normal distance, making text, images and video look sharper, smoother and more realistic than ever before on an electronic display.

iPhone 4 is the thinnest smartphone ever–9.3 millimeters–with an all-new design and build quality like no other mobile device. The front and back are made of aluminosilcate glass, chemically strengthened to be 30 times harder than plastic, more scratch resistant and more durable than ever. The front and back glass have an oil-resistant coating that helps keep it clean, and encircling iPhone 4 is a highly finished stainless steel band made of a custom alloy that is forged to be five times stronger than standard steel.

iPhone 4 features a new 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a 5x digital zoom, a backside illuminated sensor and built-in LED flash that allows you to take amazing pictures even in low light and dark environments. iPhone 4 lets you record and edit incredible HD video and the popular tap to focus feature now works while recording video. You can use the iPhone 4′s LED flash for both still photography and video recording. The new iMovie® app for iPhone lets you combine movie clips, add dynamic transitions and themes and include photos and music, and users can buy it for just $4.99 through the App Store right on their phone.

iPhone 4 is the best mobile device ever for games and entertainment, with access to tens of thousands of games and entertainment apps on the revolutionary App Store. Every iPhone 4 has a built-in 3-axis gyro that when combined with the accelerometer provides 6-axis motion sensing such as up and down, side to side, forward and backward and pitch and roll, making it perfect for gaming. Developers can access the gyro using the new CoreMotion API to make games and other apps that go well beyond what other mobile devices offer.

iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. With over 100 new features, it includes Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform. With Multitasking, users can now instantly switch between any of their apps while preserving battery life. With Folders, users can easily organize their apps into collections by simply dragging one app on top of another. A folder is automatically created and named based on the category of apps selected. Users can change the name of any folder at any time. In addition, users can now customize their lock and home screens with an array of supplied wallpapers or with any of the photos on their phone.

The new iBooks® app will be available for iPhone 4 as a free download from the App Store and includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBooks app will sync your current place in a book, along with any bookmarks, highlights and notes you have created, between copies of the same book on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch®. iBooks users can also now read and store PDFs right in iBooks. There are now over 60,000 books available in the iBookstore, and users have downloaded over five million books in the first two months.

More than five billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 225,000 apps are available to consumers in 90 countries. Almost 100 million iPhone and iPod touch users around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.

iPhone 4 delivers an amazing seven hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi and up to six hours on 3G, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback.** iPhone 4 is powered by Apple’s new A4 processor that provides exceptional processor and graphic performance along with long battery life. iPhone 4 features a second microphone and advanced software to suppress unwanted background noise for improved call quality when in loud places. iPhone 4 also offers 802.11n Wi-Fi networking and adds quad-band HSUPA to provide 7.2Mbps downlink and 5.8Mbps uplink capability.***

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 4 comes in either black or white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model in both Apple and AT&T’s retail and online stores, Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores. iPhone 4 will be available in the US, France, Germany, Japan and the UK on June 24 and customers can pre-order their iPhone 4 beginning Tuesday, June 15 from the Apple Online Store or reserve an iPhone 4 to pick up at an Apple Retail Store. iMovie for iPhone will be available on the App Store for just $4.99 (US).

Also on June 24, a new iPhone 3GS 8GB model will be available for just $99 (US). iOS 4 software will be available on June 21 as a free software update via iTunes® 9.2 or later for iPhone and iPod touch customers.****

iPhone 4 will roll out worldwide to 88 countries by the end of September. iPhone 4 will be available by the end of July in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

*Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.

**Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

***Speed is dependent on cellular network capability.

****iOS 4 is compatible with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, second and third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB). Some features may not be available on all products. For example, Multitasking requires iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 or third generation iPod touch (late 2009 models with 32GB or 64GB).

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone, iPad, iMovie, iBooks, iPod touch and iTunes are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Reed Hastings came up on stage to talk about Netflix, and what it means to get it on your iPhone. Obviously one of the first things he wanted to bring up was how it was going to work on the go, and he informed the crowd that it’s going to use an adaptive bitrate technology, to make sure that if you switch “networks,” (like your 3G connection, to WiFi, for example), that the streaming isn’t ruined because of the transition. Ultimately, mobility isn’t sacrificed, and for something like the iPhone, that’s huge. As for a release date, Hastings was happy to announce that it’s coming as a free download to the iPhone App Store in the Summer.

Now, one of the biggest complaints about the iPhone’s lack of Flash is the fact that you can’t play Flash games. Luckily for the Cupertino juggernaut, you only need to create an application to get around that. And now Farmville is coming to the iPhone. “Farming for the iPhone.” It will allow you to sync up to your Facebook, and it will use push notifications to inform you of changes as they happen. It’s due out at the end of June.

For up-to-the-minute coverage, check out our liveblog: http://live.slashgear.com. And keep your eyes here for the news as it happens!

We’ll obviously have full coverage on the SlashGear frontpage, but join us at http://live.slashgear.com/ to follow along with all the news as it happens!

Of course, we’ve seen things like this happen before, and had AT&T tell us that the system isn’t a clear-cut thing but “based on a variety of factors (length of contract, payment history, etc.) unique to each customer’s account.”  We’ll be live-blogging the whole WWDC 2010 keynote, so if you want to know whether what Steve Jobs announces is actually worth another two years of your cellular loyalty, join us at http://live.slashgear.com/ at 10AM PT (1PM ET).

We’ve already pulled together the biggest Apple rumors in our summary article this past weekend, but with a few hours still to go until things kick off in San Francisco, who knows what else might leak out.  For the first time, we have a really good idea of what Apple plan to announce, so it’ll be interesting to see whether Jobs acknowledges the earlier leaks (and if his infamous RDF means that the audience will still applaud madly at an LED flash).

Remember, today’s keynote sees the debut of our nifty new push-commenting system, which allows you to share your own perspective on what Jobs takes to the stage to announce this morning. We’ll be kicking things off at just before 10AM PT, so join us at http://live.slashgear.com/!

After the cut… iPhone HD, Safari 5 with lashings of HTML5, iPhone OS 4.0 and more!

The iPhone HD is tipped to have a higher resolution, 960 x 640 IPS display making for the crispest graphics on a smartphone to-date, together with a choice of black and white casings.  It’s also expected to be slimmer and more squared off than the existing iPhone 3GS, with a higher resolution main camera – complete with 720p HD video recording and an LED flash for the first time – and a front-facing camera for video calls.

Of course, while that seems as good as locked in, there’s no shortage of other rumors to contend with.  Steve Ballmer may not be on stage, but the persistent talk of a Verizon iPhone continues to circulate.  Still, that’s not expected to arrive until later in 2010.  Meanwhile there’s talk of Safari 5 making its debut – though sometime during WWDC, rather than necessarily at the keynote – complete with new RSS functionality, faster JavaScript, the addition of Bing Search to the options, improved HTML5 support and new developer tools.  Considering HTML5 is already going to be a big part of the WWDC developer sessions, the new browser looks increasingly likely.

Finally, we’re expecting news on when exactly we can expect iPhone OS 4.0, bringing with it multitasking, background processes for certain key functionality like streaming audio and navigation, new media playback controls, file sharing and more.  Full details on OS 4.0 here.

As always, our liveblog system is auto-updating thanks to some nifty push technology, so you’ll always see the latest news as it’s added and it won’t bog down your browser.  We’ve also added in a push comments system this time around, so that readers can add their own feedback to the keynote.  We’ll be kicking things off just before 10am PST tomorrow morning (1pm New York; 6pm London), Monday June 7th 2010, at http://live.slashgear.com/, so join us for all the news!

Meanwhile Windows Mobile – set to be replaced by Windows Phone 7 by the end of the year – and BlackBerry OS each dropped two points, though RIM’s platform does still hold the top spot at 35-percent.  User satisfaction seems to be higher among iPhone OS owners, too; in pure percentage terms, twice the number of current Android users said they’d be keen to try an iPhone as their next device, as current iPhone owners said about Android handsets.

Apple is due to announce a new iPhone – tentatively dubbed the iPhone HD – at their WWDC 2010 keynote tomorrow, Monday June 7 2010.  SlashGear will be liveblogging the whole event at http://live.slashgear.com/ so join us at 10am PST!

Of course, the answer to that question is probably “never”, since Apple are expected to announce the new, fourth-generation iPhone HD on Monday, June 7th.  SlashGear will be there to liveblog the whole WWDC 2010 keynote, so join us first thing Pacific time at http://live.slashgear.com/!

If you’re desperate for an iPhone 3G, AT&T’s advice to its salespeople is to ring around for any remaining stock that might be lying around.  Still, we’d recommend waiting until after Monday; you might not want to plump for the new iPhone HD, but it seems likely that Apple will keep on an iPhone 3GS 16GB as their $99 entry-level model.

June 4, 2010

iPhone 3G 8 GB is Out of Stock

Effective immediately, iPhone 3G 8GB is Out of Stock.  Please refer all customers to iPhone 3GS 16 GB and 32 GB models.

FAQ:
Q:  When will we receive inventory for iPhone 3G 8GB?
A:  At this time, we do not know when more iPhone 3G 8GB will arrive.

Q:  Are there any iPhone 3G 8 GB available in COR if my customer can purchase there?
A:  Check with your local COR stores to see if they have any inventory available.

The court has appointed a “special master” – a supposedly impartial, unpaid agent – to sift through the computers and identify only those materials they believe relevant to the iPhone HD case.  A court order prevents the identity of that “special master” from being revealed, though Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s lawyers did come to an agreement with the district attorney as to the procedure being followed.

The process could take up to two months, and in the meantime nobody has been charged with any crimes.  Lawyers will be allowed to protest any evidence turned up by the examination, before the judge decides what will be passed on to the district attorney.

As for what Johnson – and Verizon – are looking at for the future of mobile devices, the focus is perhaps unsurprisingly on video, buoyed by the carrier’s expected roll-out of 4G LTE in 25 to 30 markets this year.  Initially the focus will be on modems and integrated wireless chipsets for notebooks, but 4G handsets will follow after that.

Thanks to PowerBookMedic.com, we’ve got a small plethora of handset images to whet your appetite this afternoon. Unlike the previous white iPhones Apple’s released, it’s looking more and more like the company has decided to make the entirety of the handset white, and not just the back cover. That will either be a welcomed addition, or something that most people shy away from. Other than that, we’re still seeing the flat back, round corners, and shiny sides that we’ve come to know and love.

We’re still eagerly anticipating the official announcement, and hopefully you are, too. If that fits the bill, then you should already be aware of SlashGear’s live coverage of the event, coming up on June 7th, right? Of course you are. And hopefully you’ll tune in for yourself, so you can stay abreast of the announcements as they happen. You can find the legendary liveblog at http://live.slashgear.com. We’ll be waiting.

[via MacStories]

The rumor’s coming from a trusted source talking directly to Boy Genius Report, who says that the CDMA variant of the magical and revolutionary iPad is currently being tested on Verizon’s network. The source also made mention of LTE in some capacity or another, but BGR points out that they were not able to verify this part of the rumor on their own. But, if an LTE-based model does exist, it would probably come out later, after whatever it is Apple is working on now.

A Verizon Wireless iPad probably wouldn’t make the scene until the end of the year, which would also correlate to when those Verizon iPhone rumors suggest the smaller device would ship, too. That would mean there would be two data-intensive devices hitting the wireless network simultaneously. We’ll go ahead and suggest that this would be pretty much catastrophic to Verizon’s network, and hopefully everyone even remotely close to these rumored projects has thought about that extensively.

[via Boy Genius Report]

The interview with Steve Jobs opened with some recent news regarding Apple surpassing Microsoft in market capital. Steve Jobs was quick to comment, saying, “It’s surreal, but it really doesn’t matter.” Curious answer, if you ask us, but at the same time it would seem to make a lot of sense. After all, the market capitalization is always changing, and even as the story broke, Microsoft continuously inched closer. The numbers are always changing, in favor and against every company out there, and despite the fact it is a momentous occasion for the Cupertino-based company, we can see why he’d want to shrug it off, and keep his focus on what’s coming next.

It didn’t take long at all before the conversation turned to Flash, Adobe, and Jobs’ recent “essay/letter” that was sent out a few weeks back, and how Apple felt about the company and their product. One of the more interesting quotes from Jobs would have to be: “Apple is a company that doesn’t have the resources that everyone else has. We choose what tech horses to ride, we look for tech that has a future and is headed up.” He goes on to say that sometimes you have to pick the right horses, and according to Jobs, HTML5 is the right horse. Adobe’s Flash may have had its time in the limelight over the past several years, but that’s not stopping HTML5 from rising, gaining more traction, and ultimately taking over.

We should note that Jobs compared Adobe’s Flash with HyperCard, stating that it was “huuuge” in its day, but we all know what happened there. Furthermore, Jobs went on to say that Apple didn’t pick a fight with Adobe; in fact, he never expected it to turn out the way it did. “We’re not trying to have a fight with Adobe. They came after us… we were getting tired of being trashed by Adobe in the press.”

When it comes to Flash, Apple and Steve Jobs do not believe it makes the perfect Internet experience that Adobe and its advocates preach. Jobs is trying to make a great product, and he (along with Apple as a whole) does not believe that Flash aides them in this cause. That’s why they chose to leave it out, plain and simple.

Of course, the lost iPhone came up. Just as we should have always expected it to. The story itself is one that we all know too well, and Jobs even considers it to be an amazing story. He doesn’t come right out and say it, but he basically equates it to a mystery story, with its devilish plot twists and everything else in between. He admitted, just as he had done before in other venues, that the iPhone that was found, and subsequently sold to a particular entity, was indeed a prototype being tested in the wild. He adds that it’s still up for grabs whether or not it was found at the bar, or stolen out of the person’s bag. That’s something we imagine won’t actually get decided upon; but if it does, it will come out of the police report that will follow the investigation that the District Attorney is still following up on.

We’ll tie together the talk about Foxconn, Microsoft, and Siri right here. First and foremost, Jobs wanted to make sure that everyone knows that the factory is not a sweatshop. By any means. He points out that the facility, which seconds as an entire city with upwards of 400,000 employees, has restaurants, theaters, swimming pools, and other things to make the experience better. “For a factory, it’s a pretty nice factory.” As for being in a platform war with Microsoft, Jobs had some enlightening words on the matter, after being asked by Mossberg whether or not he views the situation as another platform war. “We never saw ourselves in a platform war with Microsoft . . . Maybe that’s why we lost.” Jobs adds that he and his company just wanted to make good products, and focused only on that. When he was asked about whether or not he felt “betrayed” by certain entities at Google, Jobs replied, “My sex life is great.” Which, for the most part, completely destroyed that line of questioning. As for Siri, Jobs pointed out that it isn’t a search engine, and that his company has no plans to get into the search business. He chalks Siri up to being an AI company, and that’s it.

Jobs did a good job of defending the wireless carrier showing off Apple’s iPhone. He said that for what it’s worth, AT&T is doing a great job. Especially considering “they deal with way more data traffic than anyone else.” He went on to point out that he believes if the iPhone had launched on any other network here in the States, the capacity that it did, that network would have done the same thing under the pressure. Bold words for the strengthening of AT&T’s network, even on just a “belief” basis, but it looks like Apple still has a lot of faith in the second largest wireless carrier here in the States.

The obvious question about an iPhone appearing on a new network came up, just as everyone knew it would. When he was confronted about it, Jobs remained stolid, unmoving. If you had to guess an answer based just on his facial reaction, you’d probably get the same answer he gave vocally. When Mossberg asked if there would be advantages of to having two [carriers] in the US, Jobs replied, “There might be.” And, more directly, when asked if there was an iPhone coming to a new carrier, Jobs simply said that, “You know I can’t comment on that.” Very vague wording, if you ask us, but at the same time we’re still weary.

Probably one of the most interesting parts of the conversation, though, came out when Jobs admitted that the iPhone began as a tablet. In fact, Jobs charged Apple with creating a tablet first, but when their first incarnation of the hardware, together with the software didn’t equal up to what Jobs wanted, he changed the plan to a phone. And, as the old saying goes, the rest is history. “My God, this would make a great phone,” he reportedly said, before the tablet idea was shelved.

As for the iPad, Jobs said that despite the range of tablets that had come out before it, they had to essentially start from scratch. They couldn’t use a stylus, and they couldn’t use a PC OS, so they had to make something brand new. As for what it means for the publishing industry, he went on a wide array of points. But, while he believes that the iPad is going to do quite a bit, if not most of the work in of itself, to save the publishing industry as its own industry, he wanted to make very clear that, above all, he wanted to make sure that the print industry can’t fail. To the point, he said, “I don’t want to see us descend into a nation of bloggers. I think we need editorial oversight now more than ever.” Strong words, but it’s obvious that he believes the old world of print media, or media in general, still holds a place in this world, and that if Apple can aide in its survival, then that’s exactly what Apple will do. Quite a large weight on their shoulders.

App Store rejections came up, and Jobs was quick to defend his baby. As well he should be, as he points out that Apple supports an open platform in HTML5, but that the App Store itself is on a “curated platform.” Also known as iPhone OS. They have to judge each application that comes into the App Store, and doing that causes some problems. Unfortunately, based on their explicit rules, even the applications that probably shouldn’t be denied get blocked sometimes. And of course, these are the applications that make the news. “We have a rule that says you can’t defame people,” says Jobs, noting that political cartoonists by virtue of their profession sometimes defame people. The cartoon app was rejected on those grounds, he adds. “Then we changed the rules, and in the meantime the cartoonist won a pulitzer. But he never re-submitted his app. And then someone asked him, “Hey why don’t you have an iPhone app?” He says we rejected it and suddenly it’s a story in the press. Bottom line is, yes, we sometimes make mistakes, but we correct them.”

“People are using apps way more than they are using search,” says Jobs. “So if you want to make developers more money, you’ve got to get the ads into apps. But the mobile ads we’ve got today rip you out of the app.” This very telling quote is from a question regarding iAds, the new venture from Apple that will debut in iPhone OS 4.0. The main goal of the platform is to make developers more money, as it makes the ads part of the application, and not something that’s necessarily “separate,” and therefore more obtuse and obtrusive. He wants to change ads, because he believes they aren’t good enough at the moment.

In the end, there was a Question and Answer part, and while there were some good questions, we feel like we should end on somewhat of an entertaining note. Jobs was asked by someone in the crowd, “Steve, we love our iPhones, but our concern is that we can’t make a phone call on it. Is someone working on that?” Jobs replied: “You can bet we’re doing everything we can do. … I can tell you what I’m told by reliable people: to make things better, people reallocate spectrum and they do things like increasing backhaul and they put in more robust switches; and things in general, when they start to fix them get worse before they get better. If you believe that things should be getting a lot better real soon.” Hopefully you weren’t expecting any kind of iPhone HD announcement tonight — WWDC is right around the corner, and that’s where the big news will hit. Of course, you need to also remember that we’ll be there, liveblogging the whole thing, which you can find at http://live.slashgear.com, and you need to be there to be caught up on all things Apple.

[via All Things D]

They also believe the panel to be an IPS screen – with improved viewing angles than regular displays – as is used on the iPad.  As for how they came to their figures, they basically counted up the three-pixel sets and extrapolated from there.

In all, there’s talk of twice the horizontal and vertical pixel density in comparison to the current generation iPhone 3GS, which adds up to around 320dpi.  That means super-crisp on-screen graphics and text, hitherto unseen in the smartphone market.  We’re expecting Steve Jobs to take to the WWDC 2010 stage to announce the iPhone HD next week, and we’ll be there liveblogging the whole event.

[via IntoMobile]

According to Ashok Kumar, an analyst for Rodman Renshaw, the Verizon Wireless iPhone certainly exists. And, after checking with his sources at manufacturers, it looks like ASUS’ manufacturing extension, Pegatron, is indeed planning on making iPhones in time for a release by the end of this year. We had already heard that Pegatron could be doing the manufacturing side of a CDMA-based iPhone, and this does fit right into the program, but maybe that’s just too comfortable. The truth is, we’re still waiting to hear some kind of official confirmation from AT&T or Apple that that 5-year exclusive deal still means anything or not.

Sadly, this does fit right into Verizon’s plans, if they stick to their holiday “big release” strategy. Both the original BlackBerry Storm and Motorola DROID were released in time for the holiday season, and while we know that two new Droid devices are hitting shelves in July, we imagine that an iPhone would be a bit “bigger” in perspective, so the later date launch would make sense. Unfortunately, we don’t think that we’ll hear a Verizon-tuned announcement at WWDC this year, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tune in just in case. We’ll be there, bringing you our legendary liveblog front and center at http://live.slashgear.com, so stay tuned.

[via Electronista]

A crafty Ninja fielded some new photos of the MobileProtect plan over to Boy Genius Report, and unless these are some ridiculously good counterfeits, it looks like AT&T is all set to start protecting people’s investments. The protection plans will be provided by Asurion (which tends to run all insurance for every major wireless carrier out there, in the States), and you will be able to order them from Apple’s App Store, and the $13.99 per month charge will be billed directly to the credit card on file with Apple.

Now for the bad parts. Just like with any other cell phone covered by insurance, the iPhones will have a deductible. It starts at $99 for an 8GB iPhone 3G, and climbs all the way up to $199 for a 32GB iPhone 3GS. Of course, if you don’t have any insurance on your handset and you’re forced to buy a new 32GB iPhone 3GS, that’ll set you back $699, so take that for what it’s worth. Also, you’ll have to have upgraded, or picked up a new two-year agreement with a new iPhone to fit into the protection plan’s requirements, so all those current iPhone owners out there won’t be able to take advantage of this deal. Hopefully you’ve got AppleCare. What do you think? Is this worth it? Or just another way for AT&T to get some more money?

[via BGR]

At least, that’s the basic idea. The patent shows that you’d be able to either play a music track, or watch a movie, and pause it on one device, like Apple TV, and then resume from where you paused on your iPod Touch or iPhone. It would sync the data in the cloud, making sure to save your spot so you don’t miss a beat (or minute of video).

It’s not as mind blowing as we would like, but it certainly opens up the door for keeping our media on the go, just as much as we are. And, we’ll just go ahead and assume that it’s not nearly as complicated as the picture would lead us to believe it would be. Considering this talk about the upcoming Apple TV, and how it all plays so well with the iPhone HD, we are certainly excited to see if this makes it to the market any time soon.

[via Apple Insider]

Thanks to Microsoft’s official Twitter, we can safely say that Ballmer won’t be making an appearance at WWDC. Furthermore, he won’t be showing up on Dancing With the Stars, either. And no, he won’t be riding in the Belmont, either. So, consider us relieved to see the hysteria calm down, but a little disappointed that we won’t have something a bit more “shocking” to cover at this year’s WWDC.

Not that the announcement of the iPhone HD isn’t great and all, but we would have loved to see Ballmer and Steve Jobs on the stage together, discussing things we never would have guessed they’d discuss together. Maybe next year. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tune into SlashGear’s liveblog of the whole event, because we’re pretty sure there’s going to be enough there to keep you satiated (at least for a couple of minutes). So join us June 7th at http://live.slashgear.com.

[via Microsoft's Twitter]

16.8%, according to the report from Katy Huberty, from Morgan Stanley, writing in a research note published today. She theorizes that nearly 17% of people currently on Verizon Wireless would upgrade if given the opportunity. Huberty says that there is “substantial pent-up iPhone demand within the Verizon installed base,” and went on to add that 16.8% of customers were “very likely” to buy an iPhone if given the chance.

Curiously enough, that almost 17 percent is higher than the current 14.6% interest in the iPhone for AT&T customers, and “well above the overall iPhone extreme interest of 7.5 percent.” Huberty also claims that, over a two-year period, Verizon Wireless would sell anywhere between 7 and 8 million iPhones. Interesting numbers, but that doesn’t make a Verizon iPhone any more real, or any more likely to get announced at WWDC in just a couple weeks. But, keep in mind that we’ll be there live to tell you all about it, so if something incredible does happen, you’ll see it here, first.

[via Digital Daily]

On top of that, and perhaps what’s a bit more telling, is the fact that Apple has stopped shipping the handset to AT&T. Yes, these two things obviously go hand-in-hand; but, like the chicken and the egg, which came first? Was Apple already not sending handsets before AT&T stopped placing orders for them? Either answer would be quite revealing.

So, start the speculation wheel, ladies and gentlemen. Does this mean that the iPhone 3GS will get dropped down in price here in the near future? Or, will Apple make a rather bold move, and drop the iPhone 3GS just like it seems they’re doing to the version before it? Either way, looks like they’re trying to get rid of stock, and by not replenishing it, that’s the best way to do it. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more. Not that we have long to wait, considering we’ll be live at WWDC this year, so stay tuned, won’t you?

[via Boy Genius Report]

A September timeframe would, it’s pointed out, fit in with earlier talk of a Verizon launch for the handset, and of course a CDMA iPhone would be happy with either network.  Still, there’s plenty of doubt around what has become a common source of false rumor and speculation, and we’ll be holding off making any Sprint purchase plans until we hear it direct from the horse’s mouth.

[via PhoneDog]

As for what we’re expecting, frequent leaks over the past couple of months have made a squared-off next-gen iPhone – tentatively predicted to be the iPhone HD – look all the more likely.  The handset is expected to have a higher-megapixel main camera together with a new, front-facing camera, as well as a higher-resolution touchscreen.

We’ll find out for sure on June 7th, so join SlashGear at http://live.slashgear.com/ for all the details Steve announces as they happen.

Press Release:

Steve Jobs to Kick Off Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 with Keynote Address on Monday, June 7

CUPERTINO, Calif., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs on Monday, June 7 at 10:00 a.m. This year’s WWDC sold out in a record eight days to over 5,000 developers.

The five-day event running from June 7 to June 11, is focused on providing advanced content for skilled developers across five key technology tracks: Application Frameworks; Internet & Web; Graphics & Media; Developer Tools; and Core OS. Apple engineers will deliver over 100 solutions-oriented technical sessions and labs. WWDC 2010 gives an incredibly diverse community the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPhone®, iPad(TM) and Mac® developers from around the world.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

© 2010 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, iPhone and iPad are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

The answers, unsurprisingly, are upbeat.  Steve reckons there’s “not a chance” that Google is leapfrogging Apple with the direction in which they’re taking Android, and as for WWDC 2010 despite the existing iPhone HD leaks we’ve seen he still thinks we “won’t be disappointed”.

Google wasn’t shy in taking pot-shots at Apple last week, outlining their dread of a mobile world where one man, one company and one device controls the ecosystem.  They also saved a few choice criticisms for Apple’s underwhelming multitasking system, with Vic Gundotra describing it as “bolted on”.

SlashGear will be liveblogging the WWDC 2010 keynote on June 7th, so join us at http://live.slashgear.com/ for all the news as it’s announced!

If authentic – and stranger things have happened in the run-up to a new iPhone launch – then it suggests Apple have once again lost control of their supply chain.  This is the most leaked iPhone to-date, and it’s looking more and more likely that there’ll be little in the way of hardware surprise come WWDC 2010 next month.

[via Engadget]

The Best of R3 Media

Android is Innovation for Everyone: There’s no doubt that Android is on the rise. It’s pretty much everywhere right now. (Even our TVs.) But, we’re like the rest of you: we want proof. So, thankfully Google today gave us a brief run down of how they’re mobile Operating System is doing. And, just to make a long story short, it’s doing very well for itself. They’re looking at 60 Android-compatible devices, from 21 OEMs, in 48 countries, on an unprecedented 59 different carriers. They’re also selling 100,000 Android-based devices every day. So yeah, pretty good for themselves. [via Android Community]

Meet the Versace Unique: We’d say it’s unique (maybe we already did), but the truth is, well, okay, maybe it is. It’s manufactured from hand-crafted pure ceramic or handmade lacquers, you can choose from an 18K yellow gold finish, or having a 316L grade stainless steel inlay. On top of that, with no pun intended please, the touchscreen is protected with a single sheet of sapphire crystal. Unfortunately, the uniqueness comes to a sudden halt when you realize that LG is actually providing the software. Go check out its purple goodness, it’ll definitely make your night. [via SlashPhone]

The Dredge Net

Steve Jobs Isn’t a Fan of Google’s WebM: Open source is a good thing. Just ask Google. But, not everyone wants to jump on the open-source bandwagon of the moment. Point in fact, Steve Jobs has a plan, and unfortunately for everyone who wanted Safari to start including WebM in the future, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. In a terse reply to someone brave enough to email the question to Jobs himself, Jobs basically said that WebM is weak, incomplete, and heavy with patent issues. Of course, this won’t be the only thing we hear of Jobs’ opinion on WebM, but it’s definitely an interesting start. Stay tuned for more, certainly. [via Apple Insider]

White iPhone HD gets a Nice Render: Despite the fact it’s ridiculously fake, and right now there’s not even a slightest bit of confirmation that the iPhone HD in white even exists, but that didn’t stop someone from setting it up in a three-dimensional render, and showing it off to the world. And for that, we thank them. Because, if the iPhone HD in white actually looks like this, consider us a little bit more sold on the hardware. We don’t have long to wait, so let’s hold tight, and see what Apple announces here in a few short weeks. [via Mac Stories]

The AT&T Palm Pre Plus Gets Unlocked: It’s brought to you by the NextGenServer SIM unlock method that broke cover last month. And, just as we’ve seen with any other unlocked phone showing up here in the States, you’ll be able to use the AT&T Palm Pre Plus with T-Mobile USA, or TELUS up there in Canada. However, don’t expect 3G speeds if you’re using it on T-Mobile. Go crazy with your 3G downloads if you find yourself on TELUS, though. The unlock costs $37, so figure it out for yourself if that’s worth it to you. [via PreCentral]

These cases were sent to Hardmac from one of their sources over there in China. Apparently, manufacturer Shenzhen Soonleader Electronic Co. is ramping up some production of these iPhone HD cases. As you can see from the images, there’s definitely some room being made next to the camera for what we assume will be a flash (just as we’ve seen before). And, perhaps a bit more convincingly, there’s some space cut out on the sides for the new hardware buttons that the iPhone HD is apparently going to introduce.

Now, these could be some very intuitive designers over in China, just going off the images that they’ve seen leaked all over the place. Or, this could very well indeed be yet another nail in Apple’s iPhone HD coffin, giving some more proof of what the body is going to look like. Very interesting, to say the least. Though, it’s not like we have long to wait before the official announcement.

[via Mac Rumors]

It’s white. It’s not like that’s a new color option for Apple’s iPhone. It’s been pretty popular since its adoption with the iPhone 3G. Popular enough to have an iPhone 3GS model, too. But, unlike the previous version before it, the iPhone HD, if it does come in white, looks like the whole thing (or at least what we can see of the front bezel/frame) would come in the lighter shade. The photos are unconfirmed at this point, and this would probably be pretty easy for someone to fake, but we realize it’s not all that unlikely.

And, as if it didn’t get any crazier, a source with Verizon Wireless, speaking to Boy Genius Report is apparently suggesting that the new iPhone, when it does indeed launch on the biggest wireless carrier in the United States, would offer up simultaneous voice and data. You know, like AT&T has been pounding into our heads that the iPhone can already do on their network. This would be possible by Verizon utilizing VoRA, or Voice-Over Rev.A. That would also mean that the iPhone for Verizon wouldn’t be an LTE device. Then again, if it is, they could juse use VoLTE, or Voice-Over LTE. Apparently Verizon is currently testing the VoRA option, and what better way to show it off to the world than with the iPhone, right?

[via Electric Pig; via Boy Genius Report]

First up, new wallpapers! Yeah, yeah, we know, you were expecting more, right? What? New wallpapers to show off to all your friends isn’t exciting? What about the ability to send a mass message, to everyone you know? You could tell them you’ve got new wallpapers on your iPhone HD. How awesome is that?

Okay, okay, the good stuff: remember tethering? You know, that feature that Apple brought with iPhone OS 3? The same feature that AT&T told everyone would be coming, but never delivered on? Well, it looks like Apple wants to put their foot down on the whole situation, as they’ve included a new setting in the Settings menu: Tethering. Now, this doesn’t mean that the feature is actually coming, but it’s surely one step in the right direction. We’ll have to wait and see what AT&T has to say, but hopefully they’ve got their network ready for the included feature.

[via Gizmodo]

A Microsoft marketing exec in Saudi Arabia has let loose with the fact that Project Natal is set to ship in October. The device is also said to be launching globally all at the same time. MSI is set to show off its new tablet at Computex running Windows 7. The company also has a Tegra 2 M Pad in development.

Lenovo unveiled a tiny nettop that is perfect for those wanting a HTPC that takes up barely any space. The machine is called the Q150 and is small enough to slip into a pocket. Quirky’s latest crowd designed gadget is an iPad desk called the Quirky Cradle. The desk has a rotating section for turning the iPad between viewing modes.

Sony unveiled the Alpha NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras this week and put the cams up for pre-order. The cameras are interchangeable lens cameras with DSLR quality minus the DSLR bulk. Another supposed Apple iPhone HD prototype leaked in Vietnam this week. Later speculation has raised some concerns that the photos may have been doctored and might be fake.

Speculation is running rampant ahead of E3 next month that Sony might be unveiling a new PSP 2. The PSP Go has not been popular and with sales taking a beating at the hands of the DS and the 3DS on the horizon it’s about time Sony updated the tired PSP. Sprint and Walmart unveiled a new prepaid wireless service kicking off this month called Common Cents. The plan rounds your calls to the lowest minute for more savings.

Rumblings about a CDMA iPhone are stirring again. The rumors this time claim that Pegatron has received an order that would amount to millions of iPhones for CDMA networks each year. A crazy DIY knob control for the iPhone turned up late in the week. The thing is weird and uses some sort of conductive tape to give rotary control of zooming.

The WiFi sync app for the iPhone was rejected by Apple for unknown reasons. The app can be had on the Cydia store if you have a jailbroken device. If you have more money than taste, a seriously gaudy iPad from Stuart Hughes called the iPad Supreme turned up Friday. The thing is housed in gold with a diamond Apple logo for $190,000.

iBUYPOWER unveiled a new somewhat portable gaming desktop this week for the gamer who likes LAN parties. The machine is called the LAN Warrior II and starts at $999. The affidavit that has been sealed during the Gizmodo iPhone HD saga has finally been unsealed by the judge in the case. The documents are now available for perusing.

There was some speculation floating around about who, or how many people for that matter, at Apple had decided to report the missing device to the San Mateo police department. According to the documents, it was Apple as a company, and not one particular person who went through the process. The document also clarifies how Apple went about requesting the iPhone HD prototype back, and what Gizmodo’s response was: Steve Jobs personally contacted the site’s Editorial Director, Brian Lam, to have the device returned. Lam agreed to return it, but only if Apple would manifest a document saying (and proving) that the iPhone HD prototype was indeed Apple’s.

Brian Hogan, who is reported as being the person to find the Apple prototype in the Redwood City bar and subsequently sold it to Gizmodo, is now labeled as a suspect in the investigation. Furthermore, Hogan and another one of his roommates, identified as Thomas Warner, did their best to hide Hogan’s computer, thumb drive, flash card, and the serial number stickers from the back of the iPhone HD prototype. The police later found all of these things, strewn about the bushes of a local church, and in front of a convenience store. Hogan’s other roommate, Katherine Martinson, is the one who turned Hogan into the authorities. Apparently she was worried she would get caught up in the situation after Hogan plugged the iPhone HD prototype into her computer.

Money wise, as it always comes down to money, Hogan claims that Gizmodo paid him upwards of $8,500 dollars initially, and then he received another bonus once it was confirmed that the iPhone HD prototype was indeed Apple’s property. It’s also mentioned that Hogan was reportedly seen showing his roommate, Warner, a box with $5,000 in it. In the end, though, there have not been any charges filed yet, but reports suggest that those could come at any time now. And, as the affidavit suggests, those that will be seeing charges filed are clearly named. We will keep you updated as soon as more finds its way out.

[via Wired]

The carrier will have the smartphone as an exclusive for an unknown period of time, likely either three to six months, but it will apparently arrive on Sprint in CDMA form in Q4 2010.  Expect the Bold 9800 slider to drop mid- to late-way through June, bringing with it BlackBerry OS 6.  The handset was spotted in the wild earlier this month.

When the images from the Vietnamese blog were brought to the world’s attention, the software wasn’t activated. In fact, they admitted that they couldn’t even get the current version of iTunes to recognize it outside of recovery mode. And then, suddenly, today they start saying that they could, actually, get it turned on. And sure enough, it’s running iPhone OS 4. Well, some sharp-eyed individuals used their skills to pick apart the image, and they found some very disheartening things.

For example, on the left-side of the device, it seems that the space between screen and bezel is far too thin, and therefore leads most to believe that it was a bad judgment call from the person who sent it through Photoshop. And then there’s supposed to be a grey strip that extends the length of the screen, but that does not. So, if these are to be believed, then it looks like the iPhone HD prototype over the seas, which might’ve been running iPhone OS 4 at some point in time, is not actually running anything at all. A real shame, if you ask us.

[via Mac Stories]

Update: We’ve heard from a trusted tipster that this is, indeed, a mocked-up image, rather than a real device.

Of course, it could be that the screenshot has been Photoshopped directly onto a non-functional prototype image, in which case this is the same as we’ve seen before.  The Taoviet forums are lurching up and down so – in combination with patchy automated translations from Vietnamese – it’s tricky to figure out exactly what is being shown here.

In addition, Engadget have apparently had it confirmed that the “N90 PRO2″ markings seen on the phone do indeed refer to it being an older prototype of the “N90″ codenamed development devices.  We’ll keep an eye out on Taoviet to see if the pages leap back into life.

[via Engadget]

As for timescales, with the impact on Pegatron’s financial reports expected in August or September, it again sows the seeds that Apple may announce both GSM and CDMA handsets later this year, for a simultaneous release on both AT&T and Verizon in the US.  The company is expected to announce the fourth-generation iPhone – aka the iPhone HD – at WWDC 2010 in early June.

Of course, this could all be guff ahead of Pegatron’s official spin-off from ASUS, which is expected to be finalised on June 1st.  Indeed, the manufacturer has apparently been seeing order cuts from existing clients; a good Apple rumor would likely do them – and their share price – the world of good.  SlashGear will be liveblogging the WWDC 2010 keynote, so join us then for all the details – CDMA or otherwise!