3G iPhone update - what is actually happening?

Apple iPhone
The iPhone - who wants one?

The rumours over the 3G iPhone are coming so thick and fast it’s like living in a milkshake blender (we’ve all got one. Either that or a George Foreman grill).

A keyboard, GPS, 5-megapixel camera, bigger storage space and smaller phones…depending on which paper you read in which country, the 3G iPhone is going to be a dramatically different piece of kit.

Firmware updates have also hinted at big changes to the capability to the iPhone’s next generation, so obviously the theorists have been hard at work (or avoiding actual work, you could say).

However, it could just as easily be nothing more than UMTS / HSDPA 3G connectivity, and the ability to switch it on and off as desired.

So keep coming back here to find out what's actually happening in the muddled world of the 3G iPhone.

May 16th

Could the next iPhone be free?

The new 3G iPhone could be available for nothing in the UK through O2, as the operator plans to offer heavy subsidies in a bid to win more customers.

The company saw sales of the iPhone climb significantly when it knocked £100 off the price of the 8GB model earlier this year, and looks set to repeat the trick if / when the new iPhone is released.

May 15th

Apple to 'sell' 5 million 3G iPhones in June and July

A Taiwanese camera lens maker is banking on boom times ahead - thanks an to order it's received from Apple for the 'second version' of the iPhone.

Largen Precision Co. 'projects sales of the products to reach up to 5 million in June and July', according to Taiwanese economic news site CENS.com

Will the 3G iPhone have Intel's Atom inside?

iPhone owners are are used to having deep pockets - but it turns out they may need longer and wider ones too. That's because the boss of Intel Germany reckons that a future iPhone will have a much bigger display. Oh and it'll also be sporting Intel's ultra-mobile Atom CPU inside it too.

May 14th

Britain gets own 3G iPhone rumour

In perhaps the biggest clue yet that the 3G iPhone is coming to the UK, Telefónica Europe chief executive Matthew Key said his company and Apple would make an announcement in the “coming weeks.”

This is likely to be regarding the new generation of the Apple device, especially as Steve Jobs just happens to be giving a keynote speech at the Apple WWDC next month.

When asked for specifics on when the 3G iPhone will be available, he said: “Asked exactly when the 3G phone will be available he said: "That's more of a question for Apple ... but over the coming weeks we will do a joint announcement with Apple as Telefónica Group."

Switzerland: The iPhone is coming and it’s colourful

The news from the groove (or this Google translated macprime.ch site) is the 3G iPhone is going to hit the shops in June this year, with a variety of flavours to choose from.

The main talking point is the appearance of the 32GB version, and it will be available in white, silver and black.

However the 16GB version, which will become the entry level iPhone, is only available in black, thus inciting those fashion conscious Apple lovers to fork out a bit more to be the most Jobs-ilicious.

The 16GB will be cost CHF 659 (£322), and the 32GB version - which will mirror the capacity of the top-level iPod Touch - coming in at CHF 699 (£390), when taken with two year contracts.

May 13th

Jobs to kick off Apple’s WWDC

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.