9to5 Staff

Yet more rumour and speculation from Switzerland this time claims iPhone users could soon enjoy live television shows and TV screenings of sporting events on their device, at least, that’s what leading Swiss newspaper Le Matin says.

Citing “a source at Swisscom’, this report claims Swisscom will offer the new 3G iPhone. Somewhat circumstantially, it also claims the network to be a long-standing partner of Vodafone, which itself announced ten-country iPhone launch plans last week.

Introduction of 3G support may open the door to a wave of additional high bandwidth features for iPhone users, such as video conferencing, GPS and – new to us – support for live TV, Le Matin notes. (Speculation or sources, we’ll know for sure in June).  Also, they mention that the processor will be faster this time around.

“Who could indeed resist a football match live on its 3G,” the report ends. Google Translate version is here.

(We apologise to Swiss readers for the cuckoo image – sort of)

HBO and Apple have confirmed that TV shows from the broadcaster are now available from the iTunes Store – and HBO has managed to encourage Apple to be a little more flexible on price.

US iTunes users can purchase HBO shows including, “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Deadwood” and “Rome”, “Flight of the Concords” and “The Wire.”

What’s interesting is the price: “Sex and the City,” “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” cost $1.99 per episode, while “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and “Rome” cost $2.99 per episode. Until now, Apple has only been prepared to offer TV shows at $1.99 each. It’s thought HBO has been able to achieve a slight liberalisation of Apple’s price controls, though as yet we don’t know if other studios plan to emulate HBO with introduction of $2.99 titles.

“We’re thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of programming from HBO to the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. 

In an aside note, “Sex and the City: The Movie” premieres in the US on May 30, marking this HBO is offering all 94 episodes from the entire six seasons of the show.

Apple today confirmed Steve Jobs will lead the WWDC keynote on June 9 in San Francisco.

Jobs will lead a team of Apple execs in the keynote speech, which is still widely expected to be the launch point for the next-generation iPhone.

The company is promising 150 in-depth sessions and labs on Mac and iPhone development, fully exploring the capabilities of the iPhone SDK and the App Store.

Developers can look forward to sessions exploring all the iPhone features, with the company admitting “geographical location technology” to be one of the session segments.

The Multi-Touch interface, Core OS, Service and Media and Cocoa Touch technologies will also be explored at the event.

Mac developer sessions will explore every level of the system, including interface design and implementation, application frameworks, security, localization and networking.

A report claims Apple’s Swiss iPhone partner has set its usage tariffs – and perhaps also confirmed the new iPhone will be available in silver, black and white – but also said it is only reporting speculation.

Swisscom will be one of the first carriers of the 3G iPhone, the report claims. The source apparantly reveals the 16GB will cost 659 Swiss Francs, while a 32GB model will cost 799 Swiss Francs, according to a local Swiss report.

The 16 GB model “will only be delivered in silver, while the 32 GB in silver, black and white type,” claims a rough Google Translation of the page.

Instead of offering a fixed rate tariff with bundled call times, the network will charge iPhone users 40 Swiss Francs per month, in addition, users will pat 45 centimes per hour of use when calling other Swisscom mobiles or fixed lines; while calls to other mobile networks will set the Swiss back 45 centimes per minute. SMS messages will cost 20 centimes each, while data transfers will cost 50 centimes per megabyte.

The report notes the device will be available for purchase at all 118 Swisscome shops, and Apple’s in-development own-brand retail stores in Zurich and Geneva. The next-gen iPhone will ship in June, the report claims.

Naturally, we can’t underwrite the veracity of the report, but it’s worthy information for the rumour-mill.

digg_url = ‘http://9to5mac.com/iphone_three_colours’;

"..Can somebody please restart him?…" hahaha. OK. That made us chuckle.

More new ads…

Appleinsider just outted what could be a huge AT&T webpage mistake.  Apparantly there is a thing called an "iPhone Black" ——–>

Last month Ryan Block of Engadget said they had it on good authority that the new iPhone would be black on the back. 

Is 3G the new Black?

Is this it?  Is it a day early, a week early or a month early?  We’ll know soon.

 More iPhone bemusement: O2 is once again offering the 16GB iPhone for sale through its online store, following last week’s O2  announcement, “Please note: 8GB and 16GB iPhone are no longer available.”

The iPhone drought intensified when Apple this weekend withdrew both models from sale through its online store, with a later Computerworld report explaining the product is sold out, “company-wide”.

The on-off nature of present-day iPhone availability is sure to increase expectation that Apple may bring forward the release of the next generation of its device, which has been expected to debut in June.

For those of you with Jailbroken iPhones and iPod Touches, an amazing little app hit your installer this weekend.  Raging Thunder is a car game that allows you to steer by (intuitively) leaning your device back and forth.  The game is quick to learn and the graphics are certainly impressive.  Have a look…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEHaTINrW40]

 That Apple’s preparing a global iPhone roll-out and moving away from its present exclusive network strategy looks even clearer this morning, with news of new network deals and the disappearance of preceding iPhone models from the US and UK Apple Store.

Mobile network Singtel this morning made its own iPhone announcement, saying: “SingTel, Bharti Airtel, Globe and Optus today announced that they have signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia later this year.”

This news follows Vodafone’s announcement last week that it will introduce iPhone in India and Australia, along with eight other countries.

Singtel kept it brief, promising, “more information will be released at a later date.”

While by no means conclusive evidence of GPS capabilities in the iPhone camera software, the latest builds of the SDK are littered with GPS references.  Whether these are just templates (you can see other camera manufactures included as well) or needed by the 3G iPhone camera software is unknown. 

GPS camera software is used to put location (landmark) metadata into the photo files.  Applications like Flickr, and Google earth use this data to arrange photographs (and videos) spatially based on this information.  For instance, if you snapped a picture in Paris, you could later organize you pictures – perhaps in iPhoto? – by Country/city.  Cool!

We’ll leave the speculation to you.  More screengrabs below.    One month to go…

Looks like O2 isn’t the only one running out of iPhones.  The US Apple Store is out of iPhones too.  Does this mean that the 3G iPhone is coming this week?  Probably not.  It does mean that Apple hadn’t anticipated the current demand of iPhones in certain areas (the US).  Still expect the 3G iPhone to be announced at WWDC and to ship at the end of June.

 Apple’s looking pretty serious at extending its reach in the world’s expanding markets, planning a retail store in Beijing, China and continuing to expand its relationships in India, putting its force behind the launch of an array of 60 ‘iStores’ with Reliance Retail in India.

Reliance Retail today told India’s Economic Times that it plans to launch 60 Apple Premium Reseller stores across the country by 2011.

The company this week launched its fourth iStore in Jaipur. CEO Ajay Baijal said the shop is going to stock the entire range of Apple products for both the professional and consumer segments.

Indian consumers can also look forward to the launch of “up to” 150 ‘Reliance Digital’ mega-stores, offering consumer electronics products, across India in the next two years.

Consumer electronics? Oh yes; As we reported in April, Vodafone will introduce iPhone in India later this year (we suspect September, after current key markets have been served up with the device, and in line with previous reports emanating from the sub-continent). Vodafone confirmed it plans to launch iPhone (v.2.0?) in India this year in a widely reported announcement that emerged this week.

Making a mark on the sub-continent makes pretty good business sense at this stage. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to achieve around 7.6% growth between 2008/09 and 2012/13. IT sales and services are expected to boom in the country, which has a population of 1,147,995,898. Shamefully, when considering the quantity of cheap consumer goods produced in the country, per capita income works out at $2,700 per capita.

(Oh, and it’s regional…if you think back to last week, when US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson introduced another Apple partnership, this time in Lahore, Pakistan. According to a press release, the Ambassador said: “The partnership between Apple and Raffles Systems, representing our two countries, will promote growth and prosperity in Pakistan”. 

 Apple’s .Mac service may see a significant upgrade, with new features set for introduction beside the launch of iPhone Software 2.0 in June.

Multiple reports this week have claimed Apple’s preparing to introduce ‘push’ email support to its subscription service, but it appears there’s even more improvement planned.

Among other new features, .Mac users can perhaps look forward to full over the air synching of calendars, contacts and email; .Mac synching on Windows and more.

These features will raise the bar and versatility of Apple’s sometimes criticised subscription-only service, while enabling .Mac users to enjoy similar features to those offered through Microsoft Exchange.

These new claims are being promoted by TUAW, which claims “a source” informed the site of the plans.

 Apple and Google are testing a way to link YouTube with the iTunes Store, offering links to video available for sale on iTunes beside selected YouTube clips.

Apple has been experimenting with strategies to link iTunes up with social networking websites, and offers a referral scheme to those who want to link their sites up with the service.

Early reports suggest the new system’s in testing right now, as the iTunes links are appearing beside only a handful of YouTube clips (such as one from Kanye West), and the move is only visible to US users at this time.

That Google seeks to make revenue from YouTube is well-known, the company admitted as much during its financial results announcement last week. It’s possible the company hopes to generate a little cash by sending sales across to iTunes, under an affiliates agreement. 

 AT&T yesterday updated its iPhone website, promising use of 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots across the US as included within the regular iPhone tariffs – only to remove all references to this later that day.

The company briefly last week switched on Wi-Fi access at its hotspots across the country, switching it off just a few days later. 

At the time, the company offered no information on its moves, but it then updated its page to promise: “Access to AT&T’s more than 17,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, including Starbucks all for use in the US.”

That AT&T updated the information on the company’s iPhone pages (in the Plans section, and albeit briefly) strongly suggests access to the hotspots will once again be enabled at some future point – but AT&T’s being pretty coy about it.

UPDATE: Late afternoon (US time) AT&T once again removed all reference to the free hotspot plan from its site. Sorry for the confusion, but we’re as confused as anyone else, given the company has refused to issue a clarification on the affair.

UPDATE 2: Revised more of the copy to help prevent confusing readers choosing to skim the tale.

 NBC has begun offering iPhone and iPod touch users in the US the chance to stream full episodes of the broadcaster’s shows, despite not making these available through iTunes.

Like the BBC’s iPlayer service in the UK, shows aren’t being made available for streaming to audiences outside the US, who will see a message warning them the streams aren’t available from their location.

NBC’s shows – including The Office – are streamed in QuickTime format and are made available ad-free.

iPhone or iPod touch owners wanting a slice of NBC’s goodness simply need to visit the NBC.com website, click on the video tab, and they’ll get the chance to select between available shows, many of which offer full episode streams for viewing.

 iTunes offers music at inflation-busting prices, it seems, with the 99-cents per track price remaining static since the service launched in 2003.

Now, we’re not saying prices should go up – but we are interested in a recent Digital Audio Insider analysis of the inflation-adjusted price of a download through the service, which reveals that should prices have kept up with inflation, songs would now cost $1.14. And by 2012 songs will cost the equivalent of 74-cents a track, assuming prices remain static.

That download prices have remained static isn’t so remarkable when you consider the continuously falling price of CDs.

However, it’s clear that Apple will be under increasing pressure on the part of the music labels to raise its prices, even if it resists the call for price flexibility. Though the company has frequently warned that raising music prices at this stage of the evolution of the digital music industry could still drive consumers to the cheapest music prices available anywhere – the file-sharing networks.

 Apple’s UK iPhone network partner O2 has sold out of iPhones.

The company’s iPhone pages now reveals the following message: “Please note: 8GB and 16GB iPhone are no longer available.”

O2 has clearly shifted all available stock in hand in order to make way for the next-generation iPhone, expected to ship next month. The network cut the cost of the 8GB model by £100 last month, selling out of that model within a week. Clearly the move also saw consumers shift to purchase the 16GB model.

 America Movil will sell iPhone across Latin America starting this year.

The largest cell phone operator made the announcement today, the latest in what appears a fashionable string of mobile telcos to let investors know they’ve bagged distribution rights for the Apple mobile phone. It had been thought local operator Telcel would take this prize, though with recent indications that Apple isn’t seeking wholly exclusive deals, there’s still an outside chance Telcel will get to carry the device.

With a subscriber base of 153 million in 2007, America Movil operates in 15 markets in the region, including Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. The public company is pretty much commanded by the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, who ousted Bill Gates from the top of the pile last year.

Interestingly, the company recently began using Yahoo’s oneSearch as a default for mobile users, and includes support for YouTube videos for its 3G mobile phone users.

This is just the latest public declaration of intent to commit iPhone, which saw Vodafone confirm plans to offer the device in ten markets earlier this week, in Italy at least sharing the honour with Telecom Italia. Orange is now in talks to offer the device in Spain and Poland, while Rogers Telecom will serve the device up in the Canadian market.

It’s clear June’s going to be a big month for Apple-watchers.

Edit to note: Thanks to the eagle-eyed readers who’ve been able to let us know Telcel is a part of America Movil.  

 Ten years ago this week Apple introduced the product which single-handedly helped the company rebound back into the ascendancy, the iMac.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BHPtoTctDY&hl=en]

We thought it worth a repeat of then Apple iCEO Steve Job’s introduction of the new $1299 system, which offered a 233MHz G3 processor, 32MB of memory, a 4GB drive, USB and a CD-ROM drive (and built-in modem). Critics at the time slammed the system’s lack of a floppy drive, but ten years on and the iMac is still here. The floppy drive is not.

Happy birthday, iMac.

 The iPhone has revolutionised the mobile web, senior mobile executives agree, and heightened activity in terms of WiMax deployment may offer even more opportunities for Apple ahead.

Peter Cannistra, VP-strategic partnerships for WiMax, Sprint, Nextel, told Digital Hollywood that the iPhone is ““a great first mover; it’ll be improved on and imitated and really will be the catalyst for a lot of devices in the future.”

Cannistra was speaking as part of an experts panel at Digital Hollywood. He shared his space with Michael Ball, account lead, Interpublic Emerging Media Lab; David Shim, Sybase 365 VP-product management and strategy; Larry Berkin, senior director; Access Systems; Brian Johnson, executive chairman, mBlox; and Lee Hancock, CEO, go2.

Others on the panel agreed the iPhone would generate a wave of copy-cat phones, but suggested the future of mobiles will include larger touch screens and the evolution of a truly mobile internet, with iPhone imitators embracing Google’s Android platform for future evolutions.

Mobility requires appropriate networks, and Cannistra is in a top pole position in the new combined Sprint Nextel and Clearwire $12 billion WiMax venture. Nextel and Clearwire are preparing to launch a nationwide WiMax network across the US, offering both traditional voice services as well wireless broadband access using WiMax.

ABI Research analyst Nadine Manjaro said the deal “would be really huge for WiMax”. Why? Because it means enormous capital investment in deploying a US-wide platform for the standard, promising broadband-like internet access speeds even in relatively depopulated areas.

The news is just the latest in a string of recent WiMax-related announcements, as deployments of the standard begin to emerge internationally. Northern Italy, Fiji, Russia, Ireland, and countries across Asia already have major deployments planned, with WiMax networks expected to reach 25 per cent of the population of Malaysia by year’s end.

Sure, but you know what we’re thinking: We know it’s a long shot at this stage of deployment, but with huge investments being made WiMax network deployments across the globe, it’s clear the network ops behind these deployments are eager to find a killer app or device to propel consumer and enterprise users to embrace the new standard. Does Apple have a part to play?