Rumors and Speculation on the Next Model of the Apple IPhone Reportedly Due in June 2009

As any owner of an Apple product knows, by the time you buy one of their newest gadgets, it seems as though plans are already on the drawing board for a bigger (at least in terms of capacity) and better version. Indeed, when the original iPhone came out in June of 2007 without 3G support, it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before the iPhone got upgraded to the faster network. And less than a year later, Apple delivered its 3G iphone, which also added GPS, and made some improvements to the original design. Now, less than a year after the 3G iPhone, an OS upgrade, patent filings and rumors have people speculating that a new iPhone is coming our way by mid-year. So what are the rumors about what Apple could be bringing to the 3rd version of the iPhone?

HD Video

Phonenews.com has indicated that Apple is redesigning their video cables to provide a more consumer friendly way of outputting video to all types of televisions. According to the article, while the current iPhone and iPod Touch only output standard definition video, but the next generation will support HD video up to 720P/1080i resolutions, and streaming content from your PC to your HDTV via a Wi-Fi connection.

32GB Flash Memory

In order to hold that HD content, Apple is going to need lots of memory for its new iPhone, and according to cnet, Apple is gearing up for that by buying 100 million flash memory chips. While these chips could be used for the current 16 GB iPhone, the article indicates that discounts on the exisiting iPhones tend to indicate that Apple is trying to clear out its current inventory in preparation for a new release.

Upgraded Cameras with Video Capabilities

One knock against current iPhones is their lack of video recording, something even my cheap phone from four years ago had. An article on PCWorld.com indicates that experts are predicting two cameras on the latest iPhone, a camera on the front for video conferencing and one on the back that could be used as a mini-camcorder. The new iPhone 3.0 OS upgrade is reported to have video editing capabilities, which would further boost this claim.

OLED Screen

Register Hardware is reporting rumors that the new iPhone and indeed other Apple products will be getting an Organic Light Emitting Diode or OLED display. An OLED display does not require a backlight to function, meaning that the displays can operate longer while drawing less battery power, a key ingredient for a device with a large display and lots of data being fed through it. It should be noted that Gizmodo shot down similar rumors last year indicating that the technology is expensive, not yet proven and does not work well in sunlight, which would make the iPhone worthless outdoors. Perhaps this has all changed in the past year.

Voice Recognition & Speech

Brennen Slattery from PC World is indicating that the latest OS upgrade for the iPhone includes speech recognition, another feature that other cell phones have had for years that the iPhone was conspicuously missing out of the box. The software is apparently named "Jabbler" and while not yet confirmed, would apparently allow common features like voice commands of the iPhone and also allow the phone to read things like artists, albums, songs, and other items that are displayed on the iPhone.

Faster 3G Speeds and Network Upgrades

AT&T is apparently beefing up their networks to allow for faster 3G speeds throughout. eWeek is reporting that AT&T is doubling the speed of the network through software upgrades. AT&T has taken a lot of hits for issues with data and voice access within their networks. Although there may be more bars in more places, the network seems to cry out for help any time there are many users in one location. This is perhaps most embarassingly illustrated at the AT&T sponsored Coachella festival, where Gizmodo reports that a touted Coachella iPhone app apparently didn't work at the event because of the load on the network during the festival.