iPhone 2 Discount In France?

Orange has called several readers of French PCImpact.  Orange called regarding an update to the future iPhone model

The first solution would allegedly entail a direct swap. A trade-in for the current model would reduce the price of a new iPhone to 50 Euros, effectively subsidizing nearly all the cost of the new phone with the old one.  Alternately, subscribers could obtain the next iPhone at what's referred to as a "generous" discount, the website claims, although what this would involve is a mystery.

Any way it plays, I'd love a discount!

Apple Files Solar LCD Patent

Apple, our favorite ahead-of-the-rest tech company has made yet another wise and brave move.  They have filed a patent for a solar panel that would live inside the LCDs of future laptops.

Goldman Sach Add Apple To Conviction Buy List

We couldn't find a way to make this article as great as the one Apple Insider had, so we're going to leave it to them:

Citing high expectations for the next-generation iPhone leading up to and through its expected launch next month, investment bank Goldman Sach this week added Apple to its Conviction Buy List and also upgraded its price target on the company to $220 per share.

In a research note, analyst David Bailey told clients he expects the combination of a 3G iPhone, third-party applications via Apple's upcoming App Store, and a wealth of new international carriers to push iPhone units of approximately 11 million this year, compared to just 3.7 million in 2007.

"Our analysis shows that Apple will almost double its available subscriber base in calendar 2008 vs. 2007, with 100 percent of that growth coming from outside of the US as Apple signs up carriers in more than 40 new countries in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa," he wrote.

More specifically, the analyst sees carriers in those new international markets boosting the iPhone's available subscriber base from roughly 97 million in 2007 to 174 million by the end of this year.

"We have only assumed contract subscribers in our analysis, as we think pre-paid customers are not prime candidates for the iPhone," he explained. "While this reduces the available market for iPhone -- it would triple in 2008 if all subscribers were included -- we think it is more realistic to use the smaller subset given iPhone’s higher-end characteristics."

Bailey reiterated his Buy rating on Apple shares, advising investors that now is the time to build on their positions if they want to "capture the catalyst around the 3G iPhone launch next month and the upside potential from sharply higher projected iPhone sales in the back half of the year."

-Apple Insider

iPhone 2.0 Overview

This blog post will be as much an informatory piece as much as it is predictory and opinionated.  It contains all the information I think FryBlog readers will appreciate and take into account as we all follow the multitude of rumors and theories running around the internet.  I have procrastinated this post for a while, and although people have continually asked for my predictions, I wanted to wait for the right time to reveal them.


AT&T has announced that it will complete a US rollout of its HSUPA 3G service by the end of June. We're guessing that a little bird from Cupertino might have made its way to AT&T, pushing them along. Hmmm, now some of you who have been following the iPhone since its release might find this scenario familiar: do you remember AT&T boosting EDGE speeds last year on the iPhone's launch date?

The new network proposes speeds of 1.4 Mbps down and 800Kbps up, which AT&T claims "will be as speedy as logging onto the high speed Internet service that many consumers enjoy at home".  The only thing I can say is that I pity those who enjoy internet at those speeds...

In the latest build of the iPhone 2.0 software, Apple has added a system wide "Location Service", and you can choose whether you want to let the camera application to add positional data to your photos.  Geotagging on the iPhone is a very plausible new feature, would intergrate with "Maps" and "Camera" very well.  Apple doesn't reveal
whether this will be done by GPS (Another plausible new feature) or by the iPhone's current triangulation methods. What it does mean, though, is that geotagging is about to break big for mobile users with the iPhone.

The iPhone 2's worldwide release is scheduled for June 9, not surprising me, as it is also the scheduled date for Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote.

Rumored New Features-
GPS
2 Cameras (1 on front, 1 on back)
3G (duh)
Skype/AIM
Geotagging
Larger screen
higher resolution
more gestures
much more to be added tomorrow

Airport=10.6% 802.11n WiFi Market

Apple has managed to grip an amazing 10.6% of the US WiFi market with its line of Airport products.  This amazing statistic is predicted to rise even more over the next year, as an upgrade for the MacBook line is due, and the iPhone 2 is rumored to be ready by June 9th

Variable Pricing On iTunes?

Steve Jobs wants to extend Apple's lead in online music sales to the mobile market, and the 3-G iPhone expected next month positions them to make the iTunes store available everywhere you have signal. Jobs also wants in on the ringtone and ringback tones business -- thoroughly impulse buys which become feasible on the iPhone only if purchasing can be done outside of a hot spot.

Trouble is, he needs some new deals from the record labels to make this happen. The record labels have some demands of their own -- chief among them variable pricing. As music licensing negotiations between Apple and the labels continue, the labels hope to trade mobile delivery for variable pricing, according to a New York Times' source, a record label executive.

An Apple spokesperson told Wired.com, "We don't comment on rumors and speculation," but we got a couple of analysts to weigh in on the possibilities.

"All sorts of discussions happen over time as the contracts [between Apple and the labels] expire. All sort of issues get lumped in, and no doubt [OTA downloads are] going to be one of them," Michael Gartenberg, VP and research director of Jupiter Research told Wired.com. "Clearly Apple understands that its devices are dependent on getting content - music, games, movies, ringtones etc., and it's going to work hard to make that happen. Apple's track record with iTunes and the iPod suggests they probably will get the kind of cooperation they need."

Still, the labels' demand for variable pricing could be part of the deal this time around. It's been a Jobs bedrock principle that one-price-fits-all works, and it has been hard to argue the point, what with Apple surpassing Wal-Mart as the world's biggest music store. After all, Apple let NBC walk over variable pricing but only last week agreed to a two-tiered pricing system with HBO.

So, is the time ripe for some horse trading?

Currently iPhone owners can buy iTunes content only when they are in a hot spot. The use of AT&T 3-G makes broadband ubiquitous and that makes the OTA ringback and ringback-tone business viable. However, Apple could be forced to cut AT&T in on music sales if it wants to pipe music over the company's wireless data networks to iPhone users.

Mobile is "clearly an opportunity Apple is missing," said Lewis Ward, research manager of mobile consumer services for IDC,via telephone. "And Apple is going to want to do it all themselves, but these OTA music storefronts have not sold very well. Maybe there's secret sauce Apple's thinking about, but the track record  [of mobile music and ringtone stores that require a credit card rather than charging users via their cellphone bills] has not been impressive to date."

"The real issue is billing," said Ward. "People are much more comfortable with paying through a carrier [because] you don't have to enter a credit card number or be worried about security.... That puts the carrier in the supply, and the carrier is going to want their cut, which means the margin for Apple goes lower."

As for the labels, they want iTunes to abandon its policy of selling songs at a flat rate of 99 cents in favor of a demand-based pricing system that would charge more for hot releases and less for other tracks. The labels have already tried to pressure Apple by withholding some of their music from the DRM-free section of the iTunes store, but these mobile licensing agreements give them even more negotiating leverage.

Apple already allows HBO to sell videos at various prices through iTunes; if Jobs wants a bigger piece of the mobile pie, he could soon be forced to cave to label demands for the same options. And that's not all.

At least one of the majors -- Universal Music Group -- also wants Apple to offer an "unlimited music" iPod that would allow device owners "a year or two" of subscription-style access to a large catalog in return for paying the labels an upfront fee with each iPod sold. (Will factory-replaceable batteries be the new DRM?)

Negotiations around these topics have been happening for a few weeks and are ongoing, according to the New York Times. IDC audio analyst Susan Kevorkian told us that Apple's practice of selling songs at a flat fee has already served its purpose, which was to show the music buying public how simple buying online could be.

If that's the case, Jobs could fold on the variable music pricing front to give Apple a bigger percentage of the mobile music market

-Wired

Steve Jobs To Start WWDC 2008

Steve Jobs is once again expected to start WWDC with one of his famous keynotes.

WWDC 2008 Sold Out

Apple confirmed yesterday that the Worldwide Developer's Conference this year is sold out.  This being the first time ever, some analysts say it may be partly because of the iPhone.  The App Store in being unveiled in June, and there will be sessions on using the iPhone SDK and writing using Cocoa

Apple TV Owners Are Now Able To Buy Movies

Owners of the Apple TV 2.0 are now able to buy movies after much procrastination on Apple's end

3G iPhone:

Rumor has it that Apple is at work again with a 3G iPhone.  The 2nd-gen phone will be similar to the 1st-gen, with some differences.  The differences might include the following:
1. GPS Chip
2. Slightly Thicker
3. 3G Internet
4. Phone no longer metal, all shiny black
5. Headphone jack will cease being recessed
6. Fewer angular edges

Apple's 2nd Fiscal Quarter Results

Apple profitted of 1.05 billion dollars during the second fiscal quarter between January and March.

Click on title to read a more in-depth article from our friends at MacWorld!

Apple Buys PA Semi

Apple bought processor designer PA Semi, but we don't know what for yet.  Speculation is Apple will use PA Semi's processor designs in an UMPC (ultra-mobile personal computer).

Update to Airport Extreme

The recent update for the Airport Extreme now allows Time Machine to backup to wireless USB disks, a feature Apple had originally promised, but failed to deliver on time.  Now, instead of spending up to $499 on a Time Capsule, You can just use your existing Airport Extreme and a USB hard drive.  The drive may need reformatting in Mac OS Extended (Journaled), but after that, the process is very simple.

Go to System Preferences and click on "Time Machine".  Click on "Change Disk", and a window like this

 will appear showing you all the connecting drives that you can use for backup - including wireless ones.

Review: The New Airport Express

The new Airport Express, introduced today, has given the Airport Express new potential to appeal to even more people than before. With improved range and signal strength, it outperforms its predecessor by more than 30%!


With up to 5 times the power and 2 times the range, it can't get much better, but Apple also included 802.11n and expanded connectivity to allow up to 10 Mac and PC users on the network at a time. Although Apple changed a lot on the inside of the device, the design has not changed at all. It is still a mere $99.00, and is compatible with Airport Utility, the wireless network managing tool Apple provides with all Macs in /Applications/Utilities/Airport Utility.

As well as functioning as an amazing wireless network, it also provides a feature called AirTunes. Airtunes allows you to play your iTunes music on your stereo or speakers wirelessly. The available speakers are shown in iTunes in the bottom-right corner. Simply click the arrows and select the speakers you want!

The Airport Express still supports wireless printing, but a feature I was hoping for is wireless USB drive sharing, which has yet to appear in the Airport Express. I wonder if Apple is trying to force people needing this feature to buy an Airport Extreme...