Apple’s also introduced a companion service to go with the new 3G iPhone, called MobileMe - a cloud storage service that looks like a revamped version of its old .Mac product.

In short, MobileMe will give you remote access to your Mail, Contacts and Calendar, as well as photos and documents using a series of web based applications, whether you’re using accessing them through an iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC. All your personal content is kept centrally off in the ‘cloud’ (on the internet to you and me) so you can get hold of it just by going online. If you lose your phohe or laptop, or don’t happen to have it handy, you can just log in on another PC and all your goodies are right there in front of you.

US pricing is $99 a year, and you get 20GB of storage for that - double what .Mac provided. Apple isn’t the first company to sell this sort of cloud computing service but its relaunching it at a good time to capitalise on the wave of iPhone sign ups and pitching it rather neatly as ‘Exchange for the rest of us’. Without the iPhone, .Mac looked a little limp - every Mac/PC user knows by now to back up the contents of their machine - but with iPhone capabilities added in and the ability to recover the contents of the device if you lose it, suddenly MobileMe looks like it’s got legs.

So, the 3G iPhone has finally been confirmed by Steve Jobs last night at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. So what’s the difference between this and its predecessor?

1. It’s got - surprise, surprise - 3G, which Apple is promising will mean connectivity twice as fast as the old EDGE iPhone
2. Built in GPS
3. Extra storage - it will come in 8GB and 16GB versions
4. Included iPhone 2.0 software, including support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks
5. Includes the new App Store natively
6. 10 hours of talk time on 2G, 5 hours on 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback
7. And perhaps most importantly, it’s at half the price (for US customers at least) - $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB

It seems to me that this version of the iPhone is how the device should have looked at launch - 3G connectivity, downloadable apps, longer battery life and GPS - rather than a second iteration. The only extra feature that will make me consider rushing out to buy the iPhone is that is looks like being cheaper - what do you guys think?

Now that the iPhone’s out and there’s no more arsing about with guesswork, we’ll be bringing you a lot of opinions about the release. It’s all too tempting to view the iPhone as the second coming (well, it is 2.0) but the reality is that Nokia alone have, what, 700m handsets out there. iPhone is way, way behind.

So, the first iPhone opinion from contributor James Whatley. To put this in context, he’s a huge, huge, HUGE Nokia user and fan. Can he be persuaded?

- - -

I’ve actually been working my ass off all day and haven’t really been paying that much attention - I’m sick of all the tweets TBH. I got the vibe that others were too.

I did take a look though. I wasn’t “amazed”. And I think, as our mate Jon said ‘the difficult 2nd album‘ as it were.

There was scope to do better…

*shrug*

And as for new pricing? As I said above - I’ve not seen it, not bothered, not paying attention.

What is ‘Apple’s Mobile Me’? Not bothered. Really. Not. Fussed.

Not upgrading. I told you that I’m content creator. I told you that my phone does everything for me. That iPhone? Nah. Nothin.

THEY HAVENT EVEN UPGRADED THE CAMERA.

*sigh*

NEXT.

- - - - -

Thanks for that James!

Just got this in from Rebecca at Carphone Warehouse:

Following this evening’s announcement from Apple on the launch of the next generation 3G iPhone, The Carphone Warehouse has confirmed that it will be the only independent mobile phone retailer to be stocking the handset when it is released in the UK. The Carphone Warehouse has more than 800 stores across the UK.

Good news, good news. I’m looking forward to pricing news - that’s coming tomorrow morning!

No arsing around here on SMS Text News. This is published within 2 minutes of me receiving it. Straight from the horses mouth, as the phrase goes. Analysis shortly. Meantime, feast on the news…

SAN FRANCISCO, June 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today introduced the new iPhone(TM) 3G, combining all the revolutionary features of iPhone with 3G networking that is twice as fast* as the first generation iPhone, built-in GPS for expanded location based mobile services, and iPhone 2.0 software which includes support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and runs the hundreds of third party applications already built with the recently released iPhone SDK. In the US the new iPhone 3G is priced at a stunning $199 for the 8GB model, and just $299 for the 16GB model.** iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with customer availability in 22 countries — Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and the US — on July 11.

“Just one year after launching the iPhone, we’re launching the new iPhone 3G that is twice as fast at half the price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone 3G supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync right out of the box, runs the incredible third party apps created with the iPhone SDK, and will be available in more than 70 countries around the world this year.”

iPhone 3G gives users ever faster access to the Internet and email over their cellular network with quad-band GSM and tri-band HSDPA for voice and data connectivity around the world. iPhone 3G supports Wi-Fi, 3G and EDGE networks and automatically switches between them to ensure the fastest possible download speeds. The new iPhone 3G also makes it easier to multi-task with simultaneous voice and data communications, so with iPhone 3G you can browse the web, get map directions, or check your email while you are on a call.

iPhone 3G includes the new iPhone 2.0 software with both the iPhone SDK and key enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks. The iPhone SDK allows developers to create amazing applications that leverage the iPhone’s groundbreaking Multi-Touch(TM) user interface, animation technology, accelerometer and GPS technology on the world’s most advanced mobile platform.

iPhone 3G includes the new App Store, providing iPhone users with native applications in a variety of categories including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi, which means it is accessible from just about anywhere, so you can purchase and download applications wirelessly and start using them instantly. Some applications are even free and the App Store notifies you when application updates are available. The App Store will be available in 62 countries at launch.

Additional features available with the iPhone 2.0 software include the ability to do real-time mapping and track your progress with GPS technology, mass move and delete multiple email messages, search for contacts, access a new scientific calculator, turn on parental control restrictions for specified content, save images directly from a web page or email them to your iPhone and easily transfer them back to your photo library on your Mac(R) or PC. iPhone 3G delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks and 5 hours using 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback.

iPhone 3G takes advantage of MobileMe(TM), a new Internet service that pushes email, contacts, and calendars from an online “cloud” to native applications on iPhone, iPod(R) touch, Macs and PCs. With MobileMe email, messages are pushed instantly to iPhone, removing the need to manually check email and wait for downloads, and push keeps contacts and calendars continuously up-to-date so changes made on one device are automatically updated on other devices. With iPhone, you can even snap a photo and post it directly to a MobileMe Gallery to share with friends and family.

iPhone 3G will be available in the US on July 11 for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 8GB model and $299 (US) for the 16GB model in both Apple and AT&T’s retail stores and requires a new two year contract with AT&T for qualifying customers. iPhone 2.0 software will be available on July 11 as a free software update via iTunes(R) 7.7 or later for all iPhone customers. For further information about iPhone 3G pricing and availability in the US and internationally, visit http://www.apple.com/iphone.

* Based on 3G and EDGE testing. Actual speeds vary by site conditions.
** Based on iPhone 3G (8GB) and first generation iPhone (8GB)
purchases. Requires new two year AT&T rate plan, sold separately.

When a mobile giant like Flirtomatic creates a version of it’s site customised for a particular handset — in this case, the iPhone, you know the handset is garnering substantial consumer attention.

They’re a savvy lot over at Flirtomatic Towers and referring to them as a ‘mobile giant’ is entirely accurate. They’re knocking every other dating site for six when it comes to mobile. They’ve sat down and they’ve done a ton of work over the past years to make the service operate brilliantly on the mobile medium. They didn’t simply knock up a mobile version like many others out there. No. They put mobile at the centre of their company and the results have been fantastic.

800,000 users in total, half of them mobile users. A million messages exchanged on the Flirtomatic platform EACH DAY. Genius.

I’m looking forward to getting an iPhone and checking out the customised interface. If you’re reading on an iPhone you should be able to view it nowish.

How could you?

Did you? Did you forget that it’s iMonday?

When Steve Jobs takes the stage

Pricing is my number one query. I want to know what the new iPhone will be priced at.

Second, I want to know how they’re going to handle upgrades. If you’ve got an ‘official’ iPhone from o2, can you upgrade easily and quickly? What’s the cost?

I’ve actually got a load of questions. However my preferred way of dealing with this all is to sit back and let the trauma commence across this evening. Then watch Steve’s presentation on Apple.com and make my judgements that way.

How will you be following the announcement? Dare we follow a ‘real time’ twitter-feed?

We’ve kept the coverage of the new Apple iPhone rather light here on SMS Text News.

Yes, it’s coming on Monday.

Yes it’s 3G. Yes there’s going to be a whole host of delights to feast on.

Two non-Apple operators have told me there’s a nano version coming. How that will manifest itself, I don’t know.

Everything else is conjecture. In fact, the nano version is conjecture too.

I’m hoping to see Apple flex it’s muscles and reach into the mobile industry and, as one mobile developer I know put it yesterday, ‘tear them a new arsehole,’.

The industry sorely needs innovation and the waves from the iPhone launch are still spreading throughout the market. We haven’t yet seen the application store launch and that will be fascinating to watch.

My biggest issue was the absolutely ridiculous pricing model that Apple used. I know they wanted to arse about with exclusivity, but looking at the industry from the viewpoint of developers, many of them want iPhones in the hands of as many people *as possible*. The ecosystem that, let’s say, 100m iPhones around the world could support would be thrilling to behold. I was hugely disappointed at the UK sales performance come January this year. I was also annoyed to see everyone-and-their-dog in Silicon Valley hailing the iPhone as the mobile 2.0 saviour. $100m funds for iPhone applications? Pullleeeeze. Great ideas, really great ideas. But totally useless when your average American is sporting a Motorola RAZR. Interestingly, they’re also sporting iPods. So there’s an upgrade possibility. Just not at $400 up front.

I’d like to see better price points. I’d like to see the iPhone as cheap as chips. Give me a $99 or £99 iPhone for the masses, please…

I’ll certainly be watching the theatre come Monday evening our time. Apple are always fanastic at their launches. But rest assured, we’ll be keeping a focus on the big picture. And remember the context when Steve discusses his 10 million device target… remember Nokia are knocking out that amount every day (according to the Telegraph, they shipped 115 million handsets in the first quarter of 2008).

It looks likes AT&T is gearing up for the launch of the 3G iPhone: it’s announced it plans to boost its HSPA speeds a bit.

AT&T says the downlink will rise to between 700 Kbps and 1.7 Mbps from 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps and uplink will rise to between 500 Kbps and 1.2 Mbps, from 500 to 800 Kbps.

Rather hilariously, it refers to the last iteration of its network as a “blazing-fast 3G (third-generation) mobile broadband network”. Blazing fast?! I guess in the US maybe it is - after all T-Mobile USA only switched on its 3G network last month. Still, any speed bump will be good for all those browsing-hungry iPhone users.

The iPhone is once again off to pastures new - this time, the challenging market that is Japan, with Softbank as it chosen operator. The press release was somewhat on the brief side and went a little like this: “SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Japan later this year.” That’s it.

No word of any 3G as you’d expect, but clearly no one would expect Apple to go after Japan without it - after all, the country stopped taking shipments of 2G phones earlier this year.

Out of all the markets Apple has gone for with the iPhone, it’ll be Japan that should prove the biggest test. Blisteringly fast network speeds and clever apps aren’t exactly new over there. Still, Apple’s still got a big iPod fan base in the land of the rising sun - we’ll have to wait and see if that will translate into mobile sales though.

It looks like the iPhone App Store - the shop where you can to pick up all the free and paid-for third party applications for your Apple mobile - could officially be coming next week, (presumably alongside the 3G iPhone).

CNET quotes a source as hinting the App Store will be up and running on Monday. More good news for iPhone apps from iPhone Atlas: after making developers wait months for approval into the iPhone Developer Program, Apple is apparently sending out a slew of acceptances. More proof the App Store’s coming?

Apple’s download centre (the App Store equivalent for the Mac) is deliciously addictive. Hopefully the App Store will mean more of the same - and who knows, might even kill off the jailbreaking trend.

So I went to see Sex and the City last night with one of my girlfriends. As much as I wanted to run out on opening night and see it, i waited a few days so a bit of the insanity would die down.

Throughout the movie I found myself watching to see what kinds of phones they were using, (thanks Ewan! I can’t even enjoy a movie without phonespotting now

The movie was good, but on the phone front? Tuttuttut. Disappointing

Samantha had the iPhone, as Darla Mack has pointed out. Which was about the only highlight on the cellular phone front. And it was everywhere, Apple paid for it bigtime.

(Good line in there, Carrie needs a phone and says “quick someone give me a phone!” and Samantha hands over her iPhone and Carrie screams “I don’t know how to use this thing!” and hunts for a “real” phone.)

Most of them I couldn’t even really tell what they were, RAZRS etc. The usual “but it looks sleek and pretty” crap.

Carrie, the main character, the fashion forward, women drop at her feet to kiss her shoes one, had some odd (I think it was a Sanyo) pink thing encrusted with rhinestones or something. (That at one point was being held together with duct tape, COME ON!) And then she gets a new phone, and it’s still not great. This girl should have top of the line! If she can spend $525 on Manolo Blahnik’s, she can get a top of the line phone.

Sigh. I give up.

Another thing to ponder, with her new phone she gets a new number (what happened to number portability people! Do you not have that in New York?) and she’s upset because she’s now a 347 area code when she’s always been a 917 girl. Do area codes really give you that much social status?

After seeing all its European cousins get the iPhone while no Apple goodies turned up on its doorstep, Spain looks like it will be bought into the Apple fold before too long. According to a number of reports, Telefonica’s Movistar arm will carry the device.

Like previous announcements of European iPhone launches, there’s no further details on when the iPhone will be launched or pricing, or whether Movistar will get to carry the device in its markets outside Spain.

There’s apparently a sign up page on Movistar’s website that promises to inform would be iPhone buyers when the device is available. Hands up if you’re betting that it’ll be next week?

We’ve talked a lot about the next gen iPhone coming here on SMS Text News. There are those who think it may be the second coming and those who could really care less. There was even a lengthy discussion on last week’s Podcast, but with the new phone expected to unveil a week from today, chatter is at some of it’s highest.

This article from the Times Online discusses some of the original phones flaws and hope for the next. Not bad reading.

It seems as if it was only yesterday that Apple unveiled its revolutionary iPhone, yet the company is already gearing up for the launch of its successor.

As with the original, the new phone will boast many of the features that have helped make Apple one of the most desirable brands in the world. It will also have some new features, including 3G technology to speed up internet access, and applications that could herald a brave new world of mobile communications.

…There is industry speculation that the 3G iPhone will be priced at £200 at least – plus the cost of an annual contract. There’s also talk that Apple will use that large touchscreen for more than just stroking and poking – the company recently filed a patent for integrating solar panels into its handheld gadgets. Instead of using a separate, fold-out panel, Apple’s plan is to put solar cells behind the LCD screen, so the more you flash your iPhone around, the more power it could generate.

Another Apple patent involves using location-based information to create personalised and localised shopping pages on your iPhone. If you’re walking past a cinema, for example, you might see a trailer of the latest movie, and even be able to order popcorn for delivery right to your seat.

Darla Mack, Miss Nokia herself, is taking a look at the iPhone. She caught site of it in the Sex And The City movie recently and was moved to have a closer look. Here’s a few paras from her ‘iPhone Intrigue’ post:

I’ve been accustomed to one operating system and UI for many years now. It’s not that I don’t like change, I just don’t like hype and hoopla… especially from people who are just reading what they see on the net and passing if off in conversation as if they know everything about the product.

So what’s been my take on the iPhone? Basically in the past I’ve stated that eh, I hate it or eh, it’s not all that… but I’m finding that the more I hear and see mention of it, the more intriguing it becomes. So much that I’m actually interested in getting one. OMG is that bad!!!!

I look forward to reading her perspective of the device. I really do!

According to new research from analyst group IDC, it looks like the iPhone has taken a hit in market share. The company found that for the first quarter, the iPhone saw its share of the US smartphone market nibbled away by the likes of RIM and Palm, AP reports.

The iPhone’s market share now stands at just over 19 percent of all smartphones, down from around 26 percent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, RIM’s BlackBerry saw its market share jump in comparison, going from 35.1 percent of all smartphones in the fourth quarter of last year to 44.5 percent in the first quarter of this year and Palm saw its share grow from 7.9 percent to 13.4 percent of smart device sales.

Why has Apple hit a bump? Suggestions have included a post-Christmas shopping slump, new models from both Palm and RIM hitting the market and shoppers waiting for the 3G iPhone to surface. Chances are it’s a bit more prosaic than that: Apple’s range at the moment is just a single device and most people who wanted one went out to buy it in the first few months after release. Wait for the June refresh, and chances are those numbers will pick up again.

Jonathan Mulholland knows a thing or three about the mobile industry and I always enjoy his perspective. This weekend I’m pleased to bring you his thoughts on iPhone 2.0.

- - -

I think there are remote Amazonian tribes, isolated from western civilization deep in the jungle, who have heard that the 3G iPhone is coming on June 9th.

I’m not sure that speculation is any longer the right term for it; pretty realistic looking predicitons have been circulating the web for months now. 3G HSDPA, GPS, AppStore - I’m sure you’ve heard the list. I remember speculation back before MacWorld 2007, the rumours were flying then to be sure but none that I can remember came close to the final spec or even the look and feel of the device. When Steve Jobs finally whipped the first iPhone out on stage it was to genuine awe. Do you remember that wow factor? Do you remember scouring Flickr and the web that night trying to track down as many ‘real’ pictures of the device as possible? No? Just me then…

I guess the point I’m trying to get to is that it’s getting harder and harder for the 2nd generation iPhone to launch with the same buzz. 3G…’meh!’ Better camera…’and?’ Download applications…’so what else is new?’ It’s going to be harder to impress this time. Added to this competition in the device market is hotting up - Blackberry, Nokia, LG, Google Android each have devices ariving or on the scene already that are real iPhone competitors. And all of these are ready to compete with the presumed future specification of the 2nd generation iPhone, not the current version.

Has the iPhone had it’s moment? Will the event next week be an anticlimax? I don’t think so. I think Apple will use a few of the tricks learnt in building the iPods market dominance to also unveil a real surprise. I’m betting Steve’s famous ‘one more thing’ next week will be the announcement of an iPhone mini / nano / air - a smaller, sexier ‘fashion accessory’ device that will take the iPhone truly towards mass market adoption.

Sceptical? I was explaining my train of thought on this to a friend the other day…

Apple launch the 1st generation iPod. Whilst the specs aren’t that impressive by themselves Apple’s design approach and innovation in bringing these pieces together creates an interesting (if overpriced for what it is) product. The user interface in particular is pretty revolutionary. Early adopting geeks like me buy it, but it doesn’t immediatley take off in every market. Sound familiar? This is where we’ve been for the past year with the iPhone. The mobile industry is alerted, but not quite sure to what extent or how they should compete, and starts to build devices that mimic the specs and functionality.

A couple of years later Apple launch the iPod mini. Specification wise it appears to be a step backwards - it even has a smaller hard drive, but it looks cute and crucially it comes in pink. People like my wife start to buy it. Incremental changes are made to the user interface as the Click Wheel is introduced. It may be inferior technically to most other offerings in the market (including Apples now 2nd and 3rd Generation iPod’s) but the iPod Mini is now cheap enough to become a fashion accessory, mass adoption starts quietly. A repeat of this is what I’m expecting from the key note next week. Lots of players in the mobile industry will misread the move and start to think that Apple has lost the plot, but a cheaper smaller device with a spec that doesn’t push the boundaries could really spark mass market appeal.

Fast forward one more year, and Apple launch the iPod nano. It’s a really bold move - replacing the now best selling mini only one year into its product life and it wrong foots most of the competition who are now scrambling to bring out small hard drive iPod mini competitors (remember the Creative Zen Micro?). The nano introduces significant innovation into the market place (flash memory, dramatically reduced form factor, colour screen). The iPod line as a whole is now well on the way into mass adoption, and has reached a price point sweetspot. Won over by the design, and at a price which is now more reasonable the iPod line starts to cement long term dominance of the market place. This is what I think will happen next year, by which time Apple will have caused a major shift in the handset market place.

It really wouldn’t be difficult for Apple’s engineers to take the hardware feature set of last years 1st Generation iPhone and put it into a smaller, sexier reduced form factor case. For sure the specification of such a device wouldn’t be impressive - but isn’t this the exact same trick played with the iPod Mini, and more recently the MacBook Air?

Only 9 days to go to find out…

- - -

Republished with permission from Jonathan’s personal site.

I’ve an email in from an Hutchison source telling me that they’ll be offering Apple’s iPhone to their Hong Kong and Macau subscribers later this year. Hutchison is thus Apple’s second ’significant’ network deal after SingTel announced they’ll be going live with it across Singapore, India, Philippines and Australia.

No news on whether it’ll be iPhone 1.0 (the current available version) or the 3G version. Although we can use our brains and do a bit of speculation based on the fact Hutchison is extremely well known for 3G networks.

As for an iPhone on the blazing fast 3UK data network? No news on that, either. But bring it on!

Back in March, VCs took the wraps off a $100 million fund, available to be invested in companies making applications and services for the iPhone. A couple of months later, and Business Week has revealed the lucky people that have picked up funding under the scheme.

So far, says the magazine, 1,700 companies have applied for funding and just two have got it. The two in question are Pelago which makes a location-based app called Whrrl, which uses data from your social network to make recommendations and iControl “which makes a home automation application that would give iPhone users remote control over air conditioners, lighting, window shades, and so on”.

For a device that’s had the innovative label stuck to it far too often, you’d think that the iPhone would have inspired some unique applications - while these Pelago and iControl’s apps are doubtless clever, there are already shedloads of similar applications on the market. Apparently, the VCs behind the fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have also made one other offer to a start-up and are looking at 10 others seriously. Hopefully, the iPhone may inspire some inventive applications yet.

Another iPhone rumour to come out Down Under, this one promising blistering speeds from the Apple handset. According to Aussie tech site Channel News, a Telstra spokesperson has said the device will be running speeds of 42 Mbps by the end of the year.

“We know what is coming we have seen the new device and it will be available on our network as soon as it is launched in the USA. By Xmas this phone will be capable of 42 Mbps, which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world,” Channel News quotes the Aussie operator’s spokesperson as saying.

I’m not sure I’m convinced about these speed claims. For a start, as far as I know, Telstra’s planning to go to 42Mbps next year, rather than this year - although it does have a history of getting its network build-out projects finished before deadline.

Telstra also has a habit of complaining about a lack of handsets that can run at the top end of the speeds its network promises - I’m not sure Apple is going to go from a 2G phone to the fastest 3G phone in the world in one iteration, just for Telstra: a pretty minor mobile player. I think it’s more likely that Apple’s iPhone will be in the 3.6Mbps or 7.2Mbps region, and able to run on Telstra’s Next G network, which will promise speeds several times faster than that by the end of the year.

I stuck a question mark on the end of that headline because… well… you never know. Gizmodo is reporting that date as confirmed. So I’d say it’s quite possibly, probably, happening. Right on.

3G iPhone Launch ‘Confirmed’ For June 9 - Mobile Blog - InformationWeek

Gizmodo is reporting that inside sources have confirmed that the 3G version of the iPhone will indeed launch on June 9, after Steve Jobs’ keynote address at Apple’s WWDC. It will be available worldwide, and price points will not be locked to one figure

I’ll have two please, Bob.

And the final word on the 3G iPhone? Yes, you can finally rest easy - it’s well and truly on its way, this June 9. Gizmodo, chatting to sources “very, very close” to the iPhone launch, has confirmed what everyone’s been thinking - that Apple boss Steve Jobs will be showing off the device at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference next month and, what’s more, there will be no wait: unlike the 2G model, the 3G iPhone will be available straight after the launch.

Gizmodo says the 3G iPhone will hit Spain on June 18 at the opening of the Telefonica megastore, with all the other iPhone-carrying countries in Europe getting the handsets around about the same time.

And there’s more good news: the 3G phone will no longer be flogged for a fixed price, with operators likely allowed to subsidise the device as they see fit for the first time. Phew. It looks like some good sense has finally prevailed over at Apple. The question is now: will O2 keep the exclusive rights? Answers on a postcard…

According to the New York Times, Apple boss Steve Jobs isn’t happy with the musical attributes of the iPhone. The Times reckons the company is currently thrashing out a new deal with record labels to make sure the handset is up to scratch musically in time for the expected launch of the 3G model in June.

The paper says Apple’s hoping to expand its inventory of ringtones and ‘answer tones’ tones - the music the caller hears instead of the phone ringing while waiting for the person they’re caling to pick up - and, more interestingly, whether iPhone owners will be able to buy iTunes tracks over the mobile network, rather than sideloading them from a PC.

In return, the Times says, the record labels are asking for Apple to allow them to set variable pricing or introduce a subscription model, rather than sticking to the traditional 99 cents per song pricing scheme.

The fact that Apple is only now talking about ringtones and downloading music over mobile networks shows how much of a mistake launching with a 2G model may have been for the company - the original 2G model could prove to be the undoing of Apple’s fixed price model, which it’s stuck to since it launched iTunes way back when. The alternative, of course, is that Apple sticks to its guns and tells the labels to go jump - and risk losing out on all that lovely data revenue.

I’m sure you all know SMS Text News Youth Correspondent Isaah. He’s done a few things for us on how the youth of the nation view phones, providers and the mobile industry in general. This time we put an iPhone in his hand as a follow up to his youth opinion piece he did late last year. We wanted to see what London’s youth thought of it when they could actually hold one in their hand. The results follow…

—

Mahammed Abdillahi, 15: “Brilliant phone. 10/10.”

Dillan Campbell, 15: “That phone is sexy.”

Wahidur Rahman, 15: “It’s a crap phone just to show off with. It’s just not good. The camera’s only like 2.0 megapixels. It’s like buying an expensive car with no engine.”

Nhung Vu, 15: “It’s really good I said if it was about £100 cheaper I’d buy it and if I didn’t have a phone at the moment I’d do just that.”

Osman Abdul-Moomin, 12: “It looks really high tech. But it’s not really for kids.”

Sean O’Shea, 17: “Nice, but it looks like it will go out of fashion really quickly because of its retro design.”

Joana Yelibora, 21: “It’s good so far it has internet.”

Claire Opel, 16: “I don’t like it, I just don’t like touch screen.”

Jasmine Dong, 19: “I’ve now got an N95 and I stick by what I said last time: just no need for an iPhone.”

Kris Shukla, 15: “The iPhone is well suited to media and photography use but is sometimes brittle and frustrating to use at times. It takes some time getting used to.”

Fawziyah Rahman, 15: “I don’t really like the idea of no buttons; it makes the phone seem almost ‘unreal’, because the buttons are not actually there. It is like they’re behind the screen.”

Bobjinder Singh, 17: “Well yeah it’s good, good internet stuff going on with an mp3 thing. Alternatively you could get a normal phone and an iPod stick them together and bingo you’ve got an iPhone.”

Charlie Smith, 11: “It is wicked, my mum’s got one and I’m getting the new one soon.”

Charles Joshua, 14: “I think that the iPhone is very stylish and innovative.”

Thomas Fenn, 18: “What a waste, they could have put so much more into the phone. It doesn’t even have a video camera does it?”

Nasir Mahmood: “It looks sick and it’s easy to use.”

Leevean Blackwood: “Great, cool and totally convenient. Sexy too.”

Aisha Moosa, 15: “I don’t like it because it’s too fragile and I heard the calls are most likely to get bugged. It’s too fragile for me but it’s a decent phone. I hadn’t handled the phone before that’s why I said it was useless without a stylus.”

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Fascinating stuff! Thanks Isaah!

Ewan sent me this link today.

Well, things are looking up for Rogers customers. Word on the street has it that the Nokia N95 is due to hit Rogers’ GSM network on May 2. The Canada-bound variant of the Nokia N95 should hit market sporting the same 5 megapixel camera, GPS receiver, WiFi, TV-out, and 3G HSDPA data connection that the US enjoys. And, with the help of Rogers, the Nokia N95 should be able to make use of its video call camera.

Pricing for the Nokia N95 on Rogers is reported to hit $699 without contract.

And, all you Canadian iPhone hopefuls (those of you that haven’t already jumped across the border for an unlocked iPhone) may soon be able to get your hands on a Rogers-locked Apple iPhone in the near future. The Toronto Star cites industry sources as indicating that Rogers is gearing up to launch a touchscreen-based handset campaign with the release of the master of touchscreen handsets, the Apple iPhone. The iPhone’s entry into Canada has been speculated to as being held up by the country’s costly GSM data plans. But, with the launch of the Rogers’ $20 unlimited data plan, the “Communicate Value Pack,” Rogers is believed to be preparing to receive the heralded iPhone.

Ok good, good. A year too late but hey. It’s about time someone clued in. Honestly, it’s getting to the point where if I see one more person with a RAZR and they think it’s top of the line I’m going to scream.

There is better out there people! SEE!

Ok so it’s not great, I know you’re sitting there going “ahh but we already have those and have had them forever” yes i know, but baby steps, right direction and all eh?

And they have to introduce the unlimited data, they have to. (Although $20/month is too much, hello! Bell is doing it for $7, although only with the Touch.) you can’t give someone a phone like this and not give them unlimited data.

“Here you go sir, here’s your top of the line BMW with power windows and GPS and leather and heated seats and this and that, but you’re only allowed to drive it and not touch anything. Yes that’s right, only drive, don’t touch any buttons. Roll the windows down by hand and oh, here’s a map.”

Fingers crossed.