waitingforiphone.com

3G Rumor Rundown

There’s been lots of talk about the new mobile Apple device that’s going to appear this summer. Here’s what we know for sure:

• Firmware 2.0 with ActiveSync
• SDK + Developer network
• Cut/Paste/Save (YEAH!)
• Games, games, games.  Did I mention games??

What’s believable speculation includes:

• 3G capable iPhone in black or white with either 16GB or 32GB flash
• 32GB model at $599, 16GB at $499
• Improved mapping/geo-locating application
• Handwriting recognition
• Improved internationalization support
• New applications (ichat, skype, jabber/XMPP, etc)

Other rumors that probably wont come true include:

• Mobile mini tablet with multi-touch
• GPS receiver
• 3G iPhone released overseas first (I would die)
• AT&T subsidy of up to $200/phone on a 2 year contract
• Stream video/audio from iPhone with AirTunes + Airport Wireless or AppleTV

We’ll all find out on June 9th.

AT&T to Close Out its iPhone refurbs

AT&T got a lot of attention this week when it revealed a second iPhone item (dubbed iPhone Black) on its e-commerce website. The speculation is this was the new 3G iphone, rumored to sport a black case instead of aluminum. This is wrong, and waitingforiphone has the real scoop! On May 14th at 9am EDT (1300 UTC) ATT will start selling online the last of its refurbished units in preparation for new stock.

According to our source at AT&T, there is an extremely limited stock on hand for the sale. “We expect the 16GB units to sell out in under an hour,” said an AT&T representative who asked not to be identified for this article, “and we’re going to limit them to one per household. Oh, and these phones don’t work very well on networks other than AT&T.”

Apparently there is some concerns about buyers moving these devices out of the US and onto open networks. Prices are expected to be $349 for the 16GB model and $249 for the 8GB. The 4GB model was discontinued several months ago and is no longer available.

If this rumor comes to pass it will be difficult for anyone to argue a new iPhone model isn’t just around the corner. “We just don’t have a new SKU for the 3G phone yet,” says our mole at AT&T, “so right now your guess as to when it will be available is as good as mine.”