Journalists have been invited to a “Let’s talk iPhone” event at its California campus due to start at 10:00 PDT (18:00 BST).

Doubts surround how different the iPhone 5 will be to its predecessor though some do expect big changes.

The launch will be hosted by Tim Cook, now Apple’s full time boss following Steve Jobs’ retirement in August.

As ever with Apple launches, exact details of product features will not be known until the event. Expert opinion is divided with some expecting significant changes.

“We’re expecting a flagship, high tier product to cement the iPhone’s position as the must-have device,” said Ben Wood, director of research at analysts CCS Insight.

Gadget site Gizmodo took a different line and said there was only a 10% chance of seeing a new iPhone. Instead, it said, the iPhone 4S will be the new model and it will be cheaper than its predecessor.

Others say the cheaper model will be aimed at Asia, one of the few places where the smartphone has room for growth.

Rumours are also circulating that Steve Jobs will make a cameo appearance even though Mr Cook is expected to be the launch compere.

The event is the first since Mr Cook became official head of Apple. Before now he was an interim boss who oversaw day-to-day running of the company when Mr Jobs was on sick leave.

History lesson

The iPhone 4 debuted 15 months ago and the hiatus between that launch and today marks one of the longest periods without a new model in the history of the device. All previous versions, bar the first, have been unveiled in June.

Mr Wood said this might reflect the complexity of the task Apple set itself when getting the iPhone working the iCloud service. This acts as a network-based backup and synchronisation system for Apple’s smartphones and tablets.

“The announcement is definitely more about the holy trinity of device, software and applications, and services to which iCloud adds a completely new dimension,” he said.

The use of iCloud would help Apple stay one step ahead of rivals, especially HTC and Samsung, who were fast getting their own hardware to match the capabilities of the iPhone, said Mr Wood.

Apple will also be keen to put behind it the troubles that dogged the iPhone 4. Incorporating the phone’s antenna into its case was blamed for causing a loss of reception. The problem led to the company offering free cases to owners to combat the reception loss.

The launch of the phone is important to Apple which is keen to capitalise on its growing share of the smartphone market. It faces strong challenges from Google’s Android mobile phone operating system which, figures suggest, has become the most popular among new phone buyers in the US.

The ability of the phone to be activated and updated without connecting to a PC would help this push, said Mr Wood.

One strong competitor for the smartphone market is South Korean electronics firm Samsung. It produces phones that use Android as well as models that use its own operating system called Bada.

Apple and Samsung are locked in litigation around the world over who owns the rights to use many technologies found in both smartphones and tablets.

The court room clashes have led to a ban on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and a ban on the sales of some Galaxy smartphones in the Netherlands.

In Australia, the row meant a delay to the launch of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. In the most recent development in that row, Apple has reportedly rejected Samsung’s offer of a deal to settle the case.

[Thanks: http://www.bbc.co.uk]

One iPhone app, Cook’s Illustrated, didn’t make the cut, but not because of quality issues. In fact, I found the app more useful than almost any of the ones I tried.

It’s just that Cook’s is a little complicated.

The app is produced by America’s Test Kitchen, which publishes Cook’s Illustrated and acts as the cooking industry’s advertising-free answer to Consumer Reports.

The organization takes cooking seriously, and its recipes have earned a spot in my family’s regular food rotation. (See: pancakes; chocolate chip cookies.)

You can test the app for free and gain access to 50 recipes the publication has deemed its “all-time best,” along with video demonstrations and other ancillary content.

That alone should be enough to justify a download. But things get more complicated, and expensive, if you want to dig deeper.

For full mobile access to the organization’s recipe vault, you must first buy a magazine subscription, which is $25 annually (for six issues).

That combination, expensive though it may be, came in handy last week as I helped my wife with the “Wicked Good Boston Cream Pie” recipe. No searching for back issues. No printouts. Great results.

Some users have complained the app doesn’t have an iPad version, to which I offer a qualified pshaw.

I enlarged the iPhone version on my iPad, and the app was slightly pixilated, but otherwise usable.

Then again, for $25 a year, you shouldn’t have to squint even slightly.

[Thanks: http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com]

iOS5, the next version of Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad operating system, is heading towards a release in the next two weeks, developers say - which means that a refreshed iPhone is almost certain to be announced in the same timeframe.

iOS developers were warned by Apple on Sunday that on Thursday 22 September “the iCloud backup data will be reset. Backing up to iCloud or restoring from an iCloud backup will be unavailable from 9am PDT-5pm PDT… After this reset, you will be unable to restore from any backup created prior to September 22. A full backup will happen automatically the next time your device backs up to iCloud.”

Why does this matter? Because iOS5 has been in beta since 6 June, when it was announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC). The expectation is that its final GM (”gold master”), working version will be released to the world this month - and what would x.0 Apple iOS release be if it didn’t bring a new phone with it too? According to the Wikipedia article on the timing of iOS releases, that would be unusual. So people are expecting the next iPhone at the same time.

Why though were developers told that their existing backups would be wiped? “Because the backup format has been finalised and old ones that aren’t in that format shouldn’t remain [in iCloud],” one developer told me. There’s that word - “finalised”.

Developers that I contacted say that iOS 5 seems to be ready for prime time: “[the most recent] iOS 5 beta 7 is two weeks old. I have faith that Apple has an internal build which fixes most of the outstanding issues. We’ve been told iCloud will be reset on 22 September, which seems to indicate something is happening,” said one. “My guess would be another beta on Friday (which may be the same as the GM), followed by an Apple event on [September] 28 or the following Wednesday where the GM will be released.”

So that gives you a couple of dates to mark on your calendar. Some aren’t waiting - the perhaps opportunistic businessmobiles.com is already faxing companies and people (I forbear to say “junk-faxing” - I’m sure some people are happy to receive them) with the fabulous chance to pre-order the iPhone 5: here’s the picture of the fax, via Matt Brian of The Next Web. (Unfortunately they haven’t actually got a picture of the iPhone 5. Now that would be news.)

When I phoned businessmobiles to ask where it was getting them from, and how soon, the answers were “don’t honestly know” (though obviously it will be a carrier) and “before Christmas”. OK, so that’s your backstop date. But the salesperson said that since the faxes started going out on Thursday he personally had taken 15 (individual) orders, and that interest was running higher than for the recently released range of BlackBerry phones (which you would expect would do better than iPhones, being usually thought of as a business phone).

Apple PR did not respond to a request for comment on the timing of the iOS 5 or next iPhone launch by time of publication.

So what should you expect from iOS 5 - which you’ll recall introduces Android-like notifications, BlackBerry Messenger-killer (or at least pain in right knee-er) iMessage, geofenced reminders, deep Twitter integration and various other things (such as being able to take a picture without unlocking the camera - though we can see that one going wrong).

Here’s the view from a mixture of developers who’ve been trying it.

How different does it look?
Developer comment:

“From a user’s front end, it’s probably not going to feel like a huge jump straight away, so I think you’ll find a lot of ‘huh? Is that it?’ comments. Visually, the core thing that changes is how the system deals with notifications from apps, which is now very Android-like.”

He adds:

“Some of the biggest changes come within what apps can do themselves (and so general users are unlikely to directly credit Apple with some of the changes coming).”

What’s the Twitter support like?
Developer:

Twitter support is baked in, although oddly you do need to download the free Twitter app to activate it. This may be a pre-launch requirement rather than an ongoing thing, of course. Once iOS devs can release code built on the v5 code, Twitter apps will be able to use any account info defined within Settings as well as use a special Twitter-friendly keyboard with @ and # available from the off (kind of like the email and URL special keyboards).

What about iCloud (which synchronises between your computer, tablet and phone)?

One dev says:

“The integration with iCloud is looking very smart, but I haven’t got any apps which need that functionality so I’m not too hot on how it works in reality compared with how the docs /say/ it will work… Similarly, I know of several magazine publishers who are waiting to release apps that integrate with the new Newsstand folder. Until they do, it’s just an undeletable icon that does nothing of use.”

Another says:

“The riskiest bit seems to be iCloud at the moment, specifically iTunes Match. In early beta’s the whole syncing/backup piece was a bit hit and miss - duplicating contacts, bookmarks and the like - but I’ve been testing across multiple Mac’s and iOS devices and those kinks seem to have been worked out. Since iTunes Match was released to developers, the Music app has became quite unstable - its slow and a bit unpredictable. Some songs won’t play, it starts playing randomly (this is a bit strange, seems to be tied to when I go from signal/no-signal areas).”

How does it compare to Android?
Developer:

“I’m probably biased… but in terms of user experience, iOS is still the best choice for consumers - its so easy to pick up and use. While Android has been making big strides over the past few years, it still feels more…. complicated than it needs to be. The App ecosystem is also fragmented and less consumer friendly.

“iOS 5 takes an already great platform and builds in more incentives to buy into the whole iOS/Mac ecosystem. iCloud/iMessage are great examples of this - and they are also things which separate it from Android. No Android device vendor can offer that fully integrated solution.

“For developers, iOS has always been the better choice in terms of tools and SDK - Android has always been a bit sparse in this area. With iOS 5, Apple has introduced a lot of new API’s and features which will make it easier to write apps.”

Another dev:

“The only real advantage for developers that Android [now] has, and it depends what kind of app you are writing, is that with Android there is no app store review/approval process.”

“The new functionality for the most part seems rock solid - Reminders, Notifications, Sync/Backup, Twitter, iMessage….

What’s new under the hood?
• Developer support for creating multi-touch gestures,
• CoreImage which allows developers to manipulate 2D images and apply photoshop-like effects and filters,
• ARC which I suspect is part of a much larger plan. ARC basically makes developing for iOS much more accessible, and negates the need for developers to do complicated memory management.
• Full support for UI automation and testing

Any problems?

One dev says:

“My biggest bugbear at the moment (on my lowly 3GS) is the number of times app quit due to memory shortages, or because they’ve taken too long to load. I’m hoping that the debugging code within the iOS core is partly to blame here, and once it reaches release the core’s footprint will shrink and things will run as smoothly as iOS 4.

If it doesn’t, and I have to get used to frequent app crashes on my 3GS, then I’ll be disappointed. Of course, I’ve had it so long that an upgrade to a 4 or (more likely) a 5 isn’t too far away, but I’d like my iPhone to remain functional but slow. It’s hard to type on an iPhone keyboard when you’re also crossing your fingers it won’t crash.

(Note that the 3GS is the oldest model that will be supported by iOS5.).

So the drums are beginning to beat.

[Thanks: http://www.guardian.co.uk]

“If we believe what we have been told, the iPhone 5 will be released on 15 October,” said Stephane Richard, France Telecom chief.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has not released any specs on the iPhone 5 and is yet to even confirm its existence. However, analysts expect the device to have an A5 processor, an 8-megapixel camera and 1080p video capture capabilities.

Richard did not elaborate on who clued him in on the date, or whether he was referring to a launch specifically in France or worldwide, but his comment falls in place with other recent iPhone 5 rumors.

AppleCare workers say they have been told to expect an increase in calls related to iOS beginning on October 10, as Apple gears up to send out the final version of iOS 5 for carrier testing next week.

Richard’s predicted launch date of October 15 is a Saturday, and though Apple typically releases its high-profile products on weekdays, the company may look to benefit from the customer traffic a weekend will bring. People will likely show up for the device hours before its launch no matter what day the launch is, but releasing on a Saturday gives those who work an opportunity to get in line as well.

Along with its exact release date, the exact features of the iPhone 5 remain a mystery, leaving fans to take part in a painful waiting game. But if Richard is right, all will be unveiled by mid-October.

[Thanks: http://www.forbes.com]

According to a source speaking to HardMac, Apple has internally announced that it has created a Web-based version of diagnostic tools that AppleCare technicians are already using. The tool allows a technician to send an e-mail (or presumably an SMS) with a specially crafted URL. When a user clicks the URL, it connects to Apple’s servers and collects various bits of data about the device’s state, the health of the battery, and the version of iOS running.

HardMac’s source did not say if the tool will be able to collect any logs, such as app crash logs or the baseband radio log. The site also noted that there so far isn’t any indication that jail breaking can be detected, though we note Apple certainly has methods to do so.

Of course, the remote troubleshooting step won’t be helpful for a device that simply does not function or has no network access. But if the device is functioning enough to run Mobile Safari, the tool could be a useful first step in getting assistance if an Apple Store or authorized service center isn’t conveniently located nearby.

[Thanks: http://arstechnica.com]

Apple is prepping for a bigger iPhone market in this second half of the year analysts say, ramping up the orders of its current iPhones and also stepping up production of the anticipated iPhone 5.

However, the technology giant is expected to face tough competition from Android smartphones, particularly from HTC that has planned to introduce its biggest smartphone known as the HTC Holiday.

Let’s see how the HTC Holiday would fare with the iPhone 5:

iPhone 5:

The iPhone 5 is expected to run on an upgraded operating system, iOS 5, and is supported by a strong ecosystem including iCloud. iCloud will store photos, apps, calendars and documents without storing them onto the phone’s memory storage.

Apple may fit a near-field communication chip in the iPhone 5 as some high-end Android devices are expected to sport the NFC chip. NFC allows for simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. A smartphone or tablet with an NFC chip could make a credit card payment or serve as keycard or ID card.

Apple is rumored to increase the screen size of iPhone 5 to compete with Android smartphones, probably going for a 4-inch screen. The iPhone 4 has a 3.5-inch screen.

Apple is expected to release the iPhone 5 as a “World Phone” - both GSM and CDMA compatible. It is conjectured that the phone will have a SIM-less design with 3-4 antennas. Another rumor suggested that the iPhone 5 will feature a SIM card slot for other countries except the U.S. This will allow users to insert any SIM card in the iPhone when traveling abroad.

Apple has made improvements in the camera department by fitting a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected to sport an 8-megapixel camera.

There is also near-unanimity in gadget circles that Apple will bring its A5 chip on to the iPhone 5. The A5 processor is the same one that Apple rolled out to power its iPad 2. Apple may boost the speed of its A5 chip in the range of 1.2 or 1.5 GHz as several Android smartphones are coming with 1.2 GHz processor.

HTC Holiday

The Holiday is rumored to boast a 4.5-inch display, supposedly the first of a new wave across the Android landscape with 4.5-inch displays.

The recent breed of Android phones, like Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Photon, found expression in 4.3-inch displays. The trend seems to highlight that the next barrage of Android phones will follow the 4.5-inch form factor.

HTC Holiday is expected to run on the latest version of Google Inc.’s smartphone operating system, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS.

The Holiday will sport an 8MP dual-LED flash rear-facing camera with 1080p video playback and a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video chat. The device is expected to have a 4.5-inch qHD display with 960×540 screen resolution.

The Holiday will be powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB RAM.

The Holiday is expected to have HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) 21 Mbps and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) 5.76 Mbps support. In addition, the smartphone would have Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot support along with advanced Bluetooth version 4.0 with A2DP and EDR

There is no word about internal storage details of the HTC Holiday yet, but it is expected to have an external storage via a microSD card slot of up to 32 GB.

On the pricing front, Apple’s iPhone 5 has been rumored to be priced at $600, while iPhone 4 is listed on AT&T at $299 for 32GB version with a 2-year contract. The Holiday is expected to be priced at $199 to $249 at AT&T.

However, Apple certainly knows how to surprise and already has a few things in place like iCloud which can steal the thunder from Android devices. Apple’s iPhone features are extensively varied from HTC Holiday, which means the loyal Apple fan base remains the same. And for Apple, there is no reason to fear a potential loss with respect to buyers.

[Thanks: http://www.ibtimes.com]

The Holiday is rumored to boast a 4.5-inch display, supposedly the first of a new wave across the Android landscape with 4.5-inch displays.

The recent breed of Android phones, like Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC Thunderbolt and Motorola Photon, found expression in 4.3-inch displays. The trend seems to highlight that the next barrage of Android phones will follow the 4.5-inch form factor.

Apple is rumored to increase the screen size of iPhone 5 to compete with Android smartphones, probably going for a 4-inch screen, compared to the current iPhone 4 screen of 3.5-inch.

Until now, the iPhone 4 was a generation behind Android superphones like the Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation, but the appearance of Holiday reveal that Apple has a new breed of bigger and faster Android phones to counter.

An earlier report said Taiwan SemiConductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) had started trial production of the Apple A6 line of processors. It is reported that the TSMC manufactured A6 chipset will incorporate 3D IC technology.

It has also been reported that TSMC is in production with 3D IC technology and is in a race with Intel to manufacture a 3D IC chip. EETimes reported that TSMC could deliver processors with 3-D interconnet by the end of 2011.

If that report is true, Apple could further delay the iPhone 5 launch as it places a faster A6 chipset in the upcoming iPhone. Recently, Computerworld reported that certain Taiwanese suppliers of Apple claim they are starting the production of 25 million iPhone 5 units that would be delivered in the second half of this year, essentially confirming a December release.

And a few analysts predict that the other features of iPhone 5 will most probably remain the same with minor tweaks, also it will most probably come without 4G and LTE support.

Hence, Apple would rather delay an iPhone 5 than release a phone with an A5 processor to tackle the mighty Androids with 1.5GHz dual-core chipsets.

The arrival of such a piece from HTC is a cause of concern for Apple, which is rumored to release iPhone 5 only in 2012. Apple is due to release the next iteration this fall, but analysts are expecting only an iPhone 4S in the fall and iPhone 5 with a materially revamped user interface in 2012.

Here is a look at the speculated features of Apple iPhone 5 and HTC Holiday, which is expected for an early to mid-September release.

Operating system: HTC Holiday is expected to run on the latest version of Google Inc.’s smartphone operating system, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread OS. On the other hand, Apple’s iPhone 5 will be running on iOS 5, which is the newest of the OS versions. The new iOS 5 is expected come with 200 new features that will include Improved Notifications System, News Stand and iMessage.

Though Gingerbread isn’t quite as refined as iOS yet, it has true multitasking support and is Google’s best bet yet against iOS — at least until it releases Ice Cream Sandwich. It is left to see which platform will outsmart the other in the long run.

Camera: Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected to have an 8MP dual-LED flash camera with 1080p video playback and panoramic photo capture, while iPhone 4 has 5MP camera with 720p video playback. The Holiday, when compared, will sport an 8MP dual-LED flash rear-facing camera with 1080p video playback and a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video chat.

Screen: The new Apple iPhone 5 is expected to have a bigger edge-to-edge 4-inch curved glass screen, compared to iPhone 4’s screen size of 3.5-inch with multi-touch display. HTC Holiday is expected to have a 4.5-inch qHD display with 960×540 screen resolution.

Processor: Holiday will be powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB RAM. Apple’s iPhone 4 runs on 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and the iPhone 5 is rumored to sport a 1.2-1.5 GHz dual-core A5 processor, which powers the iPad 2, with probably a 1GB RAM.

Storage: There is no word about internal storage details of HTC Holiday yet, but it is expected to have an external storage via a microSD card slot of up to 32 GB. On the other hand, iPhone 4 has fixed 16/32 GB internal storage. Apple iPhone 4 doesn’t have external storage, but that doesn’t matter as 32 GB at the maximum is enough for the users. It is expected the iPhone 5 will have 16/32/64 GB internal storage.

Pricing: Apple’s iPhone 5 has been rumored to be priced at $600, while iPhone 4 is listed on AT&T at $299 for 32GB version with 2-year contract. The Holiday is expected to be priced at $199 to $249 at AT&T.

NFC: HTC Holiday and Apple iPhone 5 are expected to support near field communication (NFC). NFC technology can transform the device into a convenient way for payment and device communication. NFC has potential to do more than just money transaction. The technology could offer features that allow multiple mobile devices to sync for speedier information exchange and gaming.

But Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi cited that Apple will not adopt NFC-based mobile payment feature to the upcoming iPhone 5 until Apple is convinced that the technology’s chicken-and-egg-problem is solved as the NFC requires widespread consumer adoption and critical mass with merchants.

3G: Holiday is expected to have HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) 21 Mbps and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) 5.76 Mbps support. On the other hand, iPhone 4 has HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA 5.76 Mbps support, while iPhone 5 is expected to have HSDPA 14 Mbps to 21 Mbps.

WLAN/Bluetooth/USB: HTC Holiday has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot support along with advanced Bluetooth version 4.0 with A2DP and EDR. Apple iPhone 4, on the other hand, has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth version 2.1 with EDR wireless technology. iPhone 5 is expected to have Wi-Fi and an advanced Bluetooth version.

Battery: The battery details of HTC Holiday is yet to be revealed but one can expect a huge battery for the huge smartphone. iPhone 4 has standard Li-ion 1420 mAh battery which gives up to 14 h of talk time on 2G and up to 7 hours on 3G with a standby time of up to 300 hours.

Apple certainly knows how to surprise and already has a few things in place like iCloud which can steal the thunder from Android devices. Apple’s iPhone features are extensively varied from HTC Holiday, which means loyal Apple fan base remains the same. And for Apple, there is no reason to fear a potential loss with respect to buyers.

[Thanks: http://www.ibtimes.com]

According to the Reuters news agency, Apple is in talks with Chinese mobile operators and the handset could be launched within weeks.

To date Apple has targeted the premium end of the mobile phone market.

However, some industry watchers are sceptical about claims of an “emerging markets” version.

“It is more likely that Apple will price down its existing model when it releases its next flagship product,” said Ben Wood, an analyst with CCS Insight.

The lower specification model would, according to Reuters, feature 8GB of internal storage, as opposed to 16GB or 32GB on the current iPhone 4.

Next generation

Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5 this autumn. Speculation about its design and features is driving frantic discussion on blogs and news sites such as Macrumors.com.

Among the theories gaining traction is the introduction of a bigger touchscreen, redesigned antenna and an 8-megapixel camera.

Mr Wood believes that the idea of targeting different models at different markets made some sense.

“No-one questions Apple’s total dominance of the high-end of the market and it is a logical next step to push down the price and grab another slice of the mobile phone market,” he said.

But managing both a premium and cheaper product will be a “delicate balancing act”, he thinks.

“Apple has so far maintained an eye-watering margin that rivals can only drool over. People are prepared to stretch their budgets to get their hands on an iPhone so it will have to ensure that its premium product is good enough,” he said.

[Thanks: http://www.bbc.co.uk]

One of the first applications with iOS 5 compatibility to be approved was “Camera+” from developer tap tap tap. As noted by Cult of Mac, the release notes for version 2.2.3 of Camera+ noted that the software features “compatibility with that upcoming OS That Must Not Be Named.”

Less coy about iOS 5 support was “Mashable,” which updated its own iPhone application this week to version 1.5.4 and advertised that the software now has “iOS 5 compatibility.”

The software updates have led to wishful speculation that the release of iOS 5 could come sooner than expected, perhaps earlier than the fall debut Apple previously announced.

However, while some software may now be “compatible” with iOS 5, the latest builds released on the App Store are likely still based on the iOS 4.3 application programming interface provided by Apple. Developers are able to test application compatibility with iOS 5 by using the latest beta of the forthcoming software update.

There is no indication that Apple has begun approving applications based on the iOS 5 API. For example, last year Apple began accepting applications based on the iOS 4.0 API only 10 days before the update became publicly available, allowing software to take advantage of new features such as multitasking.

That means any iOS 5 software currently available on the App Store likely does not yet take advantage of new features in the forthcoming update. With iOS 5, developers will be able to take advantage of new functionality such as Notification Center for prompting users; Newsstand for purchasing, organizing and updating newspapers and magazines; and system-wide Twitter integration.

[Thanks: http://www.appleinsider.com]

According to Boy Genius Report, an anonymous source says Apple plans to launch a prepaid, contractless version of the iPhone 3GS for just $350. BGR also reports that a newer model of the iPhone will be coming out or “at least announced by the end of summer, late August-ish,” and that Apple will continue to sell the iPhone 4 alongside the newer model (likely dubbed the iPhone 4S or iPhone 5).

This is no real surprise–in the past, Apple has sold previous-generation iPhones at a reduced price alongside the latest models. This year, however, Apple may reach back two generations and continue selling the iPhone 3GS as a cheap, prepaid alternative–giving Apple the full range of devices, as BGR points out: high- (new iPhone), mid- (iPhone 4), and low-end (iPhone 3GS).

Apple has already demonstrated its willingness to be aggressive with iPhone 3GS pricing: in January, the company started selling the 3GS for just $49 with a two-year AT&T contract. Selling the 3GS for $350 with no contract would give Apple access to a prepaid market which, in the United States, is currently getting lots of love from Android, thanks to offerings such as the Samsung Intercept on Virgin Mobile ($250) and LG Thrive on AT&T ($179).

The
standard Apple rumor disclaimer applies: The latest rumor is just one report based on a single unnamed source, but we’ve heard this song and dance before. In February, the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal all reported that Apple was planning a cheaper iPhone, though they disagreed on the size of the handset. The Times speculated that Apple wanted to attack the prepaid market, particularly outside the United States, where carrier subsidies are uncommon. I’d be surprised if this rumor doesn’t pan out.

Still, don’t expect wireless carriers to make a big deal out of a prepaid iPhone 3GS, even if the rumor proves accurate. They’d much rather lock you into a two-year contract, and if you’re okay with that, I’m guessing you’d much rather pay less money up-front for better hardware.

[Thanks: http://www.pcworld.com]