Now here's an interesting rumor for today: an Apple enthusiast blog claims the new Apple iPhone will ship on July 17 according to their inside source. iPhone 3.0's feature set also slipped out, which includes beefed-up storage and an OLED display.
The Apple iPhone Apps blog says the new iPhone (which we all expect to be announced on June 8 at the Apple WWDC conference) will ship on July 17 and the device will sport some spanking new features, said to outshine the Palm Pre, coming on June 6.
The full iPhone 3.0 feature set includes:
- OLED screen
- 3.2 megapixel camera (with geolocation)
- Double the RAM and processing power
- 150 percent more battery life
- Built-in FM transmitter
- Rubber-tread backing (for better grip)
- Apple logo on the back to light up (MacBook style)
- Built-in compass
- Turn by turn directions
The rumor also says that the current 8GB and 16GB iPhones will be replaced by 32GB and 16GB (which was rumored previously) while maintaining the $199 and $299 price points. As part of a new styling, the metal band surrounding the edge of the iPhone is said to go as well, helping to improve signal reception.
Almost all the features above have been speculated previously in a way or another, so putting them together in the iPhone 3.0 wouldn't be surprising. The newcomer though is the OLED screen, which is quite an interesting addition. OLED screens use much less energy than LEDs, and they also eliminate the glare one gets in direct sunlight.
Leaving skepticism aside over the source of this rumor, this feature set for the iPhone 3.0 looks like a natural improvement over the current hardware. If indeed all these specs will make it into the final iPhone 3.0, running of course on the 3.0 software update and sprinkled with some cheaper data plans, I think we might just have another winner.
Again, if the July 17 shipping date proves to be true, this means the new iPhone will come a just over month after the Palm Pre. Main point -- the price difference: $199.99 after (the ever-annoying) rebate for an 8GB Palm Pre vs allegedly $199 for a 16GB iPhone 3.0. Which one will you get?
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