iPhone Rumour: Real or Fake? Another Next-Gen iPhone “Leak” Hits the Web!

Italian site iSpazio has posted up a couple images they received from tipster who claimed they’re shots from Apple’s development web server showing off pages that feature the next-generation iPhone (presumably what will go up post-WWDC keynote).

Of note, they highlight the Voice Memos app from iPhone 3.0 and — wait for it — a front facing camera, presumably for the oft-rumored Mobile iChat. As always, there’s no way to tell if these are real or fake.

The second image (after the jump), which features tethering, however, perplexingly shows off the iPhone 2.x, NOT 3.0 home screen layout. Roh-roh Raggy. That one has us immediately calling shenanigans…

All in favor?

iPhone Facts: Report: Missing iPhone Prototype Pressured Chinese Worker to Commit Suicide

We’ve heard plenty of stories about Apple employees getting fired for leaking secrets, but imagine how much pressure is on the company’s partners to keep products hush hush.

A Chinese publication reports that a 25-year-old employee of Foxconn, who manufactures Apple’s iPhones in China, committed suicide after losing a prototype of the fourth-generation iPhone.

Foxconn worker Sun Danyong was handling a shipment of 16 iPhone prototypes, and one of them went missing, according to ND Daily. Then, Foxconn unleashed its central security division to investigate Sun. Unable to take the “unbearable interrogation techniques,” Sun jumped from a 12-story building on July 16, according to the report.

Foxconn has issued a statement apologizing for the incident. The letter admits that the chief of Foxconn’s central security division, surnamed Gu, may have used “inappropriate interrogation methods,” including possible beatings, searching Sun’s house and holding Sun in solitary confinement. Gu is on suspension and under internal investigation, according to Foxconn.
In a statement provided to CNET, Apple confirmed Sun’s death.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” an Apple spokeswoman said. “We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”

Apple is infamous for operating with a level of secrecy comparable to the Central Intelligence Agency. However, as Apple’s product line expands and accrues more partners, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the corporation to guard its secrets. In the case of Foxconn, it’s clear why the company would exert so much pressure on its employees to protect Apple’s secrets: The manufacturer would not wish to lose this valuable partnership.

iPhone Rumour: T-Mobile Accidentally Posts Secret iPhone 3G S Specs

Apple has flatly refused to tell anyone just what chips lie inside the iPhone 3G S.

In fact, while Apple insists that the “s” in 3G S stands for speed, it could equally well stand for secrecy. But T-Mobile in the Netherlands apparently didn’t get the memo, and has gone ahead and posted the hardware specs on the product page for the new models.

The relevant numbers are 256MB RAM for the OS, double that of the 128MB in the original iPhone, and a 600MHz processor, up from the pedestrian 412MHz of the first two models. The added RAM alone probably makes a huge difference — if you have ever added memory to a Mac you’ll know how much OS X loves it some extra gigs to play around in. And that processor neatly leapfrogs the second-gen iPod Touch’s 532MHz. It also shuts up anyone comparing the iPhone to the Palm Pre, which has the exact same number of megahertz: 600.

Of course, this never really mattered — as soon as the iPhone goes on sale it will be torn apart like a gazelle being set upon by hunger-crazed lions and the innards cast across the floor for all to see. We wonder just how long the T-Mobile site will keep this information up.

iPhone Rumour: New iPhone to be called "iPhone Video?"

Further fueling the iPhone fire (try saying that one five times fast), TUAW has received an anonymous tip stating that AT&T's support website will be updated with "iPhone Video" as one of the model choices when choosing Apple as the phone manufacturer.

While I only see the original iPhone and 3G choices on the support site now, it stands to reason that this photo may have been taken from a screen showing unpublished support content. Click the image for the full-res photo.This adds to some already interesting news, reported earlier by AppleInsider, that new model placeholders have begun appearing in inventory for Carphone Warehouse, a retailer that resells the iPhone.

These models were labeled with a "V3", which could simply mean Version 3, or the V may also stand for "Video" or "Video 3G". Other retailers have also recently reported additional entries or placeholders showing up in their inventories, and many carriers have also received end of life notices for the current 3G models. So even if a new model isn't announced at WWDC, it's a pretty safe bet that Apple has something in the pipeline.

iPhone Rumour: More Apps, More Problems

Apple’s phenomenally successful iPhone application store surpassed 30,000 apps available for download Thursday afternoon, despite an increasing number of complaints from peeved developers in recent months.

148Apps, an iPhone app review site that has been keeping count of apps in the App Store, said Apple surpassed the 30,000-app milestone at 1 p.m. PDT.

This is rapid, remarkable growth, considering just in December, iPhone fans celebrated the App Store surpassing 10,000 apps. The App Store launched in July 2008 with just 500 apps available.

But of course, the more crowded the app store gets, the more difficult it is for Apple to keep iPhone developers satisfied. Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt lists a number of recent issues developers have been clamoring about regarding the App Store:

Delays in getting applications approved in the App Store. And in extreme cases, Apple doesn’t tell developers anything at all.

Delayed payments. At times, Apple has been late on paying developers, violating the App Store’s contract, promising payment within 45 days.

A refund policy that could potentially make developers go bankrupt. That is, Apple requires developers to issue refunds if a customer demands it within 90 days of purchase. But when the developer returns the money, it must return 100-percent of the app’s cost. The developer loses the 30-percent commission fee that Apple takes with each sale.

App Store piracy has been around since the App Store’s launch, and some peeved developers are complaining that Apple needs to help combat the problem.

Developer complaints are aplenty, but clearly they’re not enough to deter tremendous growth of the App Store. Would you put up with the above issues knowing you could make $600,000 in a single month with an app? I probably would.

iPhone Rumour: Video: Unlocking the iPhone 3GS

Over the holiday weekend, iPhone hacker George Hotz released a jailbreak solution for the iPhone 3GS.
(To clarify: jailbreaking is not the same as unlocking, but rather a hack to allow you to run unauthorized applications. Jailbreaking, however, is required in order to perform an unlock.)

The Dev-Team Blog, who regularly posts iPhone hacks and unlock tutorials, has taken the extra step and published a video demonstrating its unlock solution for the iPhone 3GS. Check it out above.
The unlock tool kit is dubbed ultrasn0w, the same program used to unlock the iPhone 3G. One warning: If you somehow obtain an early copy of iPhone 3.1, an upcoming software update for the iPhone OS, do not install it because it will kill the unlock.

What are you waiting for? Hack away!

Video Link: http://vimeo.com/5431060

iPhone Fact: Apple Rolls Out iPhone 3.0 Operating System Upgrade

Apple on Wednesday released iPhone 3.0, a major upgrade for its iPhone operating system, delivering capabilities customers have demanded, such as multimedia messaging, copy and paste and universal landscape mode.

The operating system, which Apple previewed in March, became available for download at 10:10 a.m. in the iTunes Store.

The update is free for owners of the original iPhone as well as the current iPhone 3G; iPod Touch users must pay $10. Users wishing to upgrade must plug their device into their computer with the USB dock connector and then load iTunes 8.2 (80MB), where they can download and install iPhone 3.0 (230MB).

iPhone 3.0 (which some have confused with the third-generation iPhone, iPhone 3GS), addresses many complaints about the current and previous iPhone operating systems. Despite iPhone 2.0’s introduction of the iPhone’s phenomenally successful App Store for distributing third-party applications, many Apple critics have blasted the iPhone for its lack of a basic copy-and-paste function, among other shortcomings. iPhone 3.0 adds copy-and-paste functionality and many new features that will give immediate benefits to end users, regardless of which applications they use.

Here are some other noteworthy end-user features:

MMS support. (One major caveat: AT&T customers may be in for disappointment, because Apple said at last week’s Worldwide Developers Conference that AT&T would not support MMS until late summer. AT&T declined to comment on the reason behind the delay, but the company said it’s not network-related.
Apps communicate with accessories via dock connector or Bluetooth.

Support for peer-to-peer Bluetooth. That will enable the iPhone to connect with other Bluetooth devices, including stereo Bluetooth headsets. Previously, the iPhone only supported Bluetooth for connecting to monaural phone headsets.

Global search feature. Enables users to search content in various applications on the iPhone from a single interface. Like the search feature in Mac OS X, this is called “Spotlight.”

Compose in landscape mode. The ability to compose e-mail messages, text messages and notes in landscape mode gives the user a larger, easier-to-use keyboard.