iPhone Hardware

The fourth generation iPhone is on its way later this year, and reports have already surfaced indicating vast improvements in hardware and functionality. Apple is taking its iPhone to the next level to insure that competition from rival smartphones are held at bay.

Wireless provider KT introduced the iPhone to South Korea in November of 2009, and sources within the company have given The Korea Times a glimpse of what Apple is planning for iPhone 4.0. Hardware upgrades include dual-core processors, improved graphics and a power-sipping organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen.

With the exclusive iPhone deal between AT&T and Apple ending this summer, Verizon is reportedly in negotiations with Apple to offer a CDMA version of the device on its network this year. Maynard Um from UBS Investment Research wrote a note to investors that stated, "We believe a CDMA-iPhone is also in the works, though we believe Verizon Wireless and Apple may currently be apart on pricing."

Um's research points to a new iPhone release this summer, including a CDMA network compatible iPhone for Verizon or other CDMA carriers in Japan and China. Ongoing negotiations between Verizon and Apple have been rumored to be happening frequently in recent months. The release of a Qualcomm hybrid chipset that supports multiple wireless network technologies has also added to speculation.

Save the date because on January 26, 2010 Steve Jobs will be making the product announcement everyone has been waiting for at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. This is according to ex-Google China president Kai-Fu Lee.

Lee stated that the Apple tablet will look like a large iPhone with a 10-inch screen, 3D graphics and a price under $1000. He claims that Apple plans to manufacture 10 million of the devices in 2010.

Rumors of an 8GB iPhone 3GS were shot down this summer after Canadian carrier Rogers accidentally made the nonexistent handset available on their website. Now an iPhone user in Germany claims to have received this packaging label on his refurbished 8GB iPhone 3G.

This may be evidence that Apple plans to ditch the 8GB 3G model for an 8GB capacity 3GS. The move would make sense as a new iPhone 4.0 model is expected in summer of 2010.

Yet another snafu in AT&T Wireless' public relations efforts has surfaced. Customers interested in purchasing an iPhone via the company's website in the New York area are finding that the product isn't listed.

Zip codes in New York City, northern New Jersey and Westchester County have had the iPhone removed as an option for online purchase. Representatives of AT&T have simply stated that distribution and promotion channels are periodically changed.