Around the Web

Another day, another tale or two: The 3G iPhone will be thinner and cheaper, confirms Cult of Mac; one analyst doesn’t believe the 3G iPhone subsidy chatter; Apple has officially launched its Back to School promotion in the US, offering a free iPod touch or iPod nano to students;  a batch of new universities join iTunes U; Radiohead catalogue hits iTunes; Firefox to grab 20 per cent or more of the browser market next month. Read on…

3G iPhone

Cult of Mac’s Leander Kahney has the information. Citing a supersecretsource, the veteran Mac writer claims Apple’s new 3G iPhone will be thinner, host GPS and 3G and will be available in 16GB and 32GB versions. Oh yeah, and he claims the iPhone will be subsidized in the US and UK (at least)…

Subsidy no way…

Always rely on an analyst to, well, analystisize the latest topics (did’ja know some analysts get a bonus payment whenever they’re cited in the media?) Not saying that analyst Roger Entner at Nielsen/IAG, got paid, but he’s been quoted saying, "There’s no need to upgrade the device’s capabilities and lower its cost at the same time." He doesn’t think AT&T will subsidise iPhone after all; fortunately a batch of other analysts think it will. We’re heading to the melting pot of rumour now, we reckon. Now let’s begin prognosticating the iPhone nano…

Touching offer

Apple is offering rebates up to $299 against the cost of an iPod touch or iPod nano to education purchasers buying a new Mac between June 3 to September 15. This deal’s going to massively expand the number of iPod touch users on US college campuses, we think. And the deal is available in Canada too, helpful reader Kev Orng let us know.

iTunes U

iTunes U is Apple’s education-focused service offering podcasts, lectures, video and other content from higher education institutions. The service has always had a US bias, but that’s now changed with the addition of content from two UK and one Irish university; three Australian higher education institutions and a batch of new US colleges. If you haven’t spent time exploring what’s available in iTunes U, you should – it’s a rich resource for learning.

Radiohead’s iTunes connection

Yes, it’s true. Radiohead has made its music catalogue available through iTunes in the UK and US (and probably beyond), with much of the band’s music being made available in DRM-free iTunes Plus format. This is a hugely significant step, as Radiohead have determinedly resisted the notion of allowing the band’s music to be sold on a per-song basis, pointing to the album as an art form. 

Firefox wins through

Firefox will grab in excess of 20 per cent of the web browser market by the end of July, Net Applications believes – and could exceed that with the release of Firefox 3 set for this month, and the SpreadFirefox campaign’s attempt to get the release into the Guinness Book of Records as the most software downloaded in 24-hours.

Which other tales have caught your eyes today? Let us know in the comments below.