Last iPhone 2.0 rumors & predictions

It's finally here! The last day before WWDC '08 event tomorrow, the most awaited day for iPhone fanboys & girls; where Steve Jobs is expected to announce the new iPhone 2.0 to the world. The pressure can be unbeareable for some, as all we have are rumors around what will be unveiled tomorrow along with the 3G iPhone: App Store and Snow Leopard.

And this will finally also brings my last round-up of iPhone 2.0 news and rumors that are scattered on the net, let's have them already shall we:

Last minute changes on looks & sizes

Almost everybody claim to have seen with their own eyes, and even held the new iPhone 2.0 in their own hands. Such as the possible pictures of iPhone 2.0 and iPhone 2.0 replacement screen, which both have been posted by Sammy before. But here are two more news leaked by iPhone Atlas, and with a little bit more assurance that they might be the real deal.

The first one is about Griffin Technology allegedly began a production run of cases purportedly revealing dimensions for the forthcoming device, as well as the placement of new components such as a front-facing camera. Now the same site, iDealsChina, that broke the news of Griffin’s case design claims that the 3G iPhone’s dimensions have “changed,” becoming “thinner and shorter.” The site’s author states: “We checked the thickness and width of Griffin’s mold and found the length is 2.0mm and the thickness is 0.5mm less than the dimensions of the current iPhone 3g mold. If the new numbers are correct, companies such as Griffin, which has invested a considerable amount of time and money to be first in the market, will be stuck with 10’s of thousands of silicone cases that won’t properly fit the new iPhone 3G.”

Then one of last update: An employee with Vodafone has provided iPhone Atlas with what is allegedly a hands-on report with the second-generation, 3G iPhone, yielding the following observations:

• The back is gloss black.
• The 4 models we have have a black skin wrapped around the back and glued into place. This is how they came from Apple.
• All are running v2.0 of the firmware.
• The bootloader hardware exploit is now fixed.
• The phone is running V 04.41.01 modem software.
• The phone is locked down like no phone has ever been. At this stage, you can’t jailbreak it and you can’t hardware unlock it.
• There is an added icon for contacts. This allows you to go straight to your contacts without having to hit the Phone icon first.
• The GPS works very well. It will attempt to obtain your position via WiFi first, cell tower second, then satellite third. The accuracy appears to be within 3 meters.
• We were getting a data transfer of 140kbps on average. It droped down to 70 kbps when we went inside.
• Apart from that, the “feel” is much the same. The phone is smaller (I would say 20 percent) and it is noticable when you pick the unit up.

Last minute changes inside iPhone 2.0

Aside from the complete 'dirty' details that Engadget has managed to get, according to AppleInsider; the purported source also alludes to an ARM 1176JZF-S processor identical to that in the original iPhone as well as a new internal build model number which is consistent with an earlier naming scheme.

AppleInsider also said that Apple have set their eyes on Nvidia's CUDA technology; short for Compute Unified Device Architecture, is a proprietary set of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allows developers of various types of applications -- not just those specialized for graphics operations -- to leverage the parallel processing capabilities of Nividia's latest graphics chips, such as the GeForce 8600M found in the new MacBook Pros.

"Apple knows a lot about CUDA," Nvidia's CEO Jen-Shun Huang said, adding that the Mac maker's implementation "won't be called CUDA, but it will be called something else." If this is true, we'll be seeing complex-heavy games in iPhone like Quake III & Bioshock runs on the new 3G-enabled iPhone.

Where the iPhone Blog has reported that Ubisoft, the publisher of game series such as Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and Prince of Persia, is reportedly very interested in developing games for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Pauline Jacquey, Executive Producer of Ubisoft’s “Games for Everyone” recently said, “At the minute, we’re only showing DS and Wii games, but we’ll be working on all other platforms. We’ll be making games not only on PC, PS3 and 360, but on iPhone and iPod touch as well.”

Last minutes changes on the new iPhone names

Maybe as I write this blog, Steve Jobs is still debating with his design team and with Apple's board members on what could possibly is the best name for the new upcoming iPhone? Well, it's because when we're talking about iPhone; it's easy since there's only one version of iPhone right now. But it might confuse everyone when the iPhone 2.0 is out tomorrow.

John P. Falcone from Crave has pulled-together a very good blog called: "The iPhone name game: 2G, 3G, or 2.0?", where IMHO his oppinion is the same as our: What do you think: should the next iPhone be called the "2G iPhone" or the "3G iPhone?" Or should Apple start using more descriptive model names and numbers for its products?

Last minutes changes on the iPhone 2.0

Like usual, Steve Jobs will amaze us all when he take-off the drapes from the iPhone 2.0 at WWDC '08. What it'll be look like? With all of these leak news, bleeding everywhere on the net; Steve must has gone mad to uphold the surprise element every time he's on stage. Maybe, maybe he'll change the whole design of iPhone 2.0 just to do that!?

So to counter-attack his 'psychedelic' moves like that, I'm also going crazy to predict what could be the 'alternative' iPhone he has prepared inside his turtle-neck sleeves. ;-D Ladies & gentlemen, introducing the new 3G iPhone (a.k.a. iPhone 2.0) --drums roll-- the string-iPhone!! (click on the thumbnail picture on the right to view it larger)

Unfortunately, this new iPhone is now with string attached. So please becareful, don't trip yourself or friends while using it. ~LOL~
Hey, it's my last chance to tease you guys anyway! ;-D Because after tomorrow, we'll be having official news and pictures of iPhone 2.0 (there goes away the fun for me).

[blogged with my Treo 750v]