Seth Weintraub

With AT&T’s track record so far firmly solidified this month with their multiple bungles, we’re sure that the iPhone 4 rollout will go just as smoothly as the character below would have us believe:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueKtv6OITjk&w=700&h=400]

Amazon is no longer playing in the same league as the iPad having dropped their Kindle price today from $259 to just $189.  (were they before? no)

Not only is the Kindle likely seeing defections to the iPad and today’s iOS 4 iPod’s iBooks (which start at street price of $173), but Barnes and Noble slashed prices on its color screen Nook to $149 (WIFI only)/$199 today as well. 

At $189, these things are priced more like an accessory that you only use on sunny beach days.  You know, when you don’t want to get sand and sunscreen on your iPad.

Truth be told, we’ve been rocking the iOS 4 GM since last week so we can’t confirm this locally.  However, lots of people are saying that Gamecenter didn’t make the iOS 4 cut.  Apple said Gamecenter was due in “Fall” and didn’t mention it at WWDC so it isn’t surprising to see it missing.

Because of this, the iOS download sizes have changed even though Apple says the OS is the same build.  It will be interesting to see if Gamecenter makes the initial iPhone 4 build or if it is released all products at a later time.

That means we’re keeping our Gamecenter versions of the iPhone 4 GM for now.  Contact your friendly neighborhood developer for yours.

iBooks is now available for download on the iPhone.  Why are you still reading?  

Apple has shipped iOS 4, offering up to 100 new features to most iPhone users.

Apple likely is preparing for immediate load on its servers as a planet of iPhone (and iPod touch) users hit the update button. Twitter conversations are currently focused on the question of whether the Apple servers will take the strain, with some wondering if Apple CEo Steve Jobs is sitting watching the trending topics with his finger on the button of the iOS4 release machine.

Installation of the update does require that you install iTunes 9.2. iOS 4.0 doesn

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yatSAEqNL7k&w=700&h=415]

Lusting after an iPhone 4 and a chance to use FaceTime video chat for those handheld close encounters? Then here

If you

If you want to see exactly how it is going to go down behind the scenes, have a look at the Best Buy ‘AT&T Apple iPhone 4 Launch Plan’.  Spoiler Alert: Best Buy isn’t going to have phones on launch day.  Buzzkill.

Hit iClarified for the longer version.  Originally at Howard Forums but taken down.

We’re getting reports of users whose iPhone 4 orders (which, frankly weren’t a breeze getting in) have inexplicably been cancelled without reasons given.

This is happening from both Apple and AT&T, and to make matters worse, Apple’s order system is off and on for some people.

But there is some good news.  We’ve also been getting reports, as of last night, that orders are shipping via FedEx.

Thanks Ken, Mark, Bill, Luke and Mike!

Two bits of information for you this morning. First, did you know that there are almost 55 million “monthly active iPhone Facebook users”?!  That is insane, but considering that almost everyone is on Facebook and Apple is coming up on 100 million iOS devices, not unreasonable.  

Good news for those 55 million: Facebook updated last night to 3.1.3 which allows you to watch Facebook videos and upload larger 720px wide pictures on the iPhone.  Did we mention that, at some point soon, you’ll be able to upload videos directly to Facebook from the iPhone.

Facebook iTunes link (or go to updates because you already have it)

What’s New in Version 3.1.3

New features in this version:

– You can now watch Facebook videos.
– You can now view and write on walls of events.
– Uploaded photos are now 720px wide.

This version contains fixes for the following bugs:

– Could not comment on photos accessed from Notifications
– Could not upload photos smaller than a certain size
– No more than 2 notifications were highlighted as unread
– Status updates appeared out of order in News Feed
– Broken photo album links in News Feed
– Birthdays view had months in wrong order
– Last section of friend list was incomplete if you had fewer than 8 friends
– Notes with non-ASCII text were cut off at the end

iPhone 4 customers whose pre-orders went through on June 15th are beginning to see their order status’s change from ‘Not Yet Shipped’ to ‘Prepared for Shipment.’ This is the final stage in Apple’s order process before the product is shipped. Any chance at getting an iPhone 4 a day early? Let us know in the comments your status Alright?

9to5mac reader Alex B. sends in this illustration detailing the differences between different design elements in Apple’s products UI.   I guess the thinking is that if Apple’s aiming to move all of its platforms into one consistant UI, the elements should look the same across applications and platforms. 

I’m wondering if these differences are on purpose to give each application and platform its own feel.  When you see blue in the interface your brain goes into portable iPhone mode.  When you see different scroll bars on the side of an application window, you know instantly what application you are in.  If they were identical, you’d have a hard time differentiating them.

My brain took a big hit when Firefox’s windows started looking like Safari’s a few years ago.  From then on its been an annoying bit of extra work to figure out which application I am in.

O2 on their Twitter profile announced limited stock of the iPhone 4 for their upcoming launch. To conserve stock O2 has decided to keep the launch exclusive to existing customers until July 31st. This will most likely upset several newcomers but as some advice they can check out the other 6 carriers. Also, they can even blow their piggy bank on an unlocked version so they could use it on any carrier at any time. Now that’s what we call Carrier-hopping. 

The ‘Nation’s Finest News Source‘, indeed.  That is all.

The other day Apple’s iPhone store page in Canada read “Coming in July.” Today it says “Coming Soon.” What happened? Well, we don’t want to scare anyone up North, but could we see international delays all over again, just like the iPad?  Naaaaaahhhhh! (via @renerichie)

We talked about OnLive, the online streaming gaming concept last year.  You are basically playing games on a super fast remote desktop.  Since then they’ve continued to improve the service and have it ready for takeoff with a special starter deal:

I

We found this “banned iPhone 4 promo video” amusing…certainly more entertaining than this video made by Apple. 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26ELpS3Wc4Q&w=640&h=385]

MacRumors is reporting that the iPhone 4 will have 512MB of RAM which is double the RAM other iOS devices released in the past year.  This is based on the WWDC Advanced Performance Optimization session which is available in iTunes to developers. This extra RAM will help with applications like iMovie and the limited 3rd party multi-tasking that the iPhone 4 offers in iOS4.

Wow, so it looks like when Verizon says ‘720P Screen’ they mean 854×480.  Shame on them and shame on me for believing it.

She’s a beaut, inside and out.  Spoiler: exchanging hard drives isn’t trivial.

V

Best Buy just shut down its iPhone 4 pre-orders.   Good luck finding one on launch day.