iPhone 3.0

Twitpic user Carniphage has posted a mockup to MacRumors of what the next generation iPhone 3.0 might look like, based on the "4G" bezel that appeared on the website of a Chinese parts seller. Here's the artist's rendition:

Great work, especially using only a few photos of the black iPhone bezel as a basis for the concept. The shape of the black bezel is clearly different from the iPhone 3G, with the speaker much closer to the edge of the device.

Next generation iPhone parts have already hit the web. Online wholesaler China Ontrade has a menu item labeled iPhone 4G Spare Parts, and claims to have stocked two parts from the not-yet-released third generation iPhone.

One of the parts is the bezel frame, and the other an LCD screen. The bezel frame sports a different shape and color than the iPhone 3G bezel, and runs $79.27. Anyone following rumors lately might have expected an OLED screen on the new iPhone.

The AT&T network is about to get faster. Twice as fast as current 3G speeds, using HSPA 7.2 3G wireless technology. This in-progress upgrade to the AT&T network will make speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps possible later this year.

Apple has reportedly designed the next generation iPhone 3.0 to take advantage of these network upgrades when it is released this summer, making the new device twice as fast as current models. LTE technology, otherwise known as 4G, is in the works for future upgrades at AT&T but won't be widely available until 2011.

When iPhone 3.0 is released it looks like TV shows, movies and music videos will be available for purchase and viewing directly on the new device. Three mobile ads from Apple were found in the latest version of TwitterFon that linked to "iTunes Movie Rentals," "iTunes Movies" and "iTunes TV."

When touched, the ads led to a video area in Apple's mobile store that was under construction. Screenshots of the portal show various genres and featured items, however video content is not yet available.

The iPhone 3.0 Software Development Kit (SDK) includes new programming interfaces that will make it possible to embed Google Maps directly into applications. iPhone software developers will be able to use Google Maps for creative new purposes, displaying spatial data such as radar and cloud cover or real estate prices over the built-in mapping capabilities of the iPhone OS.

The Maps application itself has not changed as of iPhone OS 3.0 beta 5.