Available July 11th with prices starting at $199

Stop the speculation, the wait is over. Just about a year to the date of the original iPhone launch, Apple, Inc. has taken the wraps off the iPhone 3G. The new iPhone 3G is even thinner than the previous model. As expected, the iPhone 3G includes support for the faster 3G network, GPS, with an all new black plastic back. The biggest surprise might be the battery life. The iPhone 3G has 300 hours of standby, 5 hours of 3G talk (8-10 hours of 2G talk), 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. Very impressive from a 3G phone.

The original iPhone changed the conception of what a mobile phone can do for you. In much the same way that Blackberry changed how business people used their phones, the iPhone has altered the definition of a phone. Sure, people could surf the internet and check email before the iPhone, but Apple made it easy and fun. Now, Apple has the complete mobile package; a phone, GPS, email, internet, 3G and the interface that ties it all together. Add in the App Store and you have a phone that is very hard to compete against.

After selling over 6 million first generation iPhones, Apple hopes the new iPhone 3G will sell that many by years end. And at $199 for the 8 GB version and $299 for a 16 GB (with a White back as an option) these will fly off the shelves.

Maybe the best thing to come from the launch of the iPhone less than a year ago is not the iPhone itself, but the pressure it has put on other mobile phone companies to actually deliver better phones. HTC thinks it has the next challenger to the iPhone in the Touch Diamond.

LONDON — May 6, 2008 — Born from a unique heritage of innovation and a deep desire to blend design with simplicity, HTC Corp., a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled its new flagship phone, the HTC Touch Diamond. Delivering unmistakable style and meticulous craftsmanship the HTC Touch Diamond is defined by its compact size, game-changing Internet and its new captivating 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. The result is an uncompromising mobile phone that sets a new benchmark for phone sophistication and shapes consumer expectations for how a phone can be used.

“Today we mark a new era in mobile phone evolution, an era where beauty and size integrate with uncompromising innovation at broadband speeds,” said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. “The HTC Touch Diamond will make browsing the Web and using Web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making calls.”

A New Dimension To Touch
HTC has taken a great leap forward in touch screen innovation with the introduction of its new 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. TouchFLO 3D provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. In addition, HTC is introducing a new innovative touch-sensitive control for interacting with Touch Diamond.

Making The Mobile Internet Fun
With the introduction of the Touch Diamond, HTC delivers an entirely new mobile Internet experience that utilizes broadband-like speeds with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. Committed to improving Web browsing, HTC provides a new customized mobile Web browser that enables easy viewing and effortless navigation of Websites in the way they were designed. As part of this browsing experience users can zoom and pan Websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that has been specially created to fit the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view.
In addition to Web browsing, the Touch Diamond includes a customized new, HTC-developed, YouTube application for watching a variety of user generated video content as well as utilizing Google Maps for mobile for mapping and traffic data.

Unmatched Style and Size
The Touch Diamond is crafted with precision to fit comfortably in a user’s hand without compromising on features or functionality. Blending contrasting design elements of metal and unique geometric facets, the Touch Diamond complements a user’s personal style.

Bursting with Innovation
The Touch Diamond delivers an unrivalled combination of features and functionality that set a new standard for integrating mobile phone innovation into a small package. The 2.8 inch display provides near-print quality viewing that enables beautiful Web browsing and viewing of photographs. The built-in camera includes an optical auto-focus lens that ensures the photos you take will be clear and consistent. Advanced wireless and auto sensor screen pivoting are just a few of the features that make the Touch Diamond experience a stand out.

Availability
The HTC Touch Diamond™ will be available to customers across all major European carriers in June. It will be available later this quarter in Asia and the Middle East. The North American and Latin American versions of the Touch Diamond will be available in the second half of 2008.
“Our long-standing relationship with HTC meant they shared their phone concept and worked with us from the earliest stage. This early collaboration is important to us because at Orange, we know that the right multimedia experience is about more than just the phone,” said Olaf Swantee, EVP of Orange’s global mobile operations. “Our approach is to select and test the best phones and integrate our applications, combining them with access to the Orange World portal, the best tariffs, integrated billing, a user-friendly interface and excellent customer support. With the Touch Diamond from Orange we have created a unique phone which has taken advantage of our latest service innovation to build upon the consistently rich experience customers expect from Orange.”

HTC Touch Diamond Key Specifications
Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm
Weight: 110 g
Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA
Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen
Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling
Internal memory: 4 GB Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Interface: HTC ExtUSBTM (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
Battery: 900 mAh
Talk time: GSM: up to 4 hours
Standby time: GSM: up to 300 hours/100 hours with push email
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM 7201ATM 528MHz
About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich smartphone and PDA Phone devices.

Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.
HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.

With rumors running rampant that a new 3G iPhone is eminent, Samsung has quietly released what they believe is an iPhone killer. There have been others before, but the new Samsung 3G Instinct has the most promise of the bunch. Running on Sprint’s 3G “EV-DO Rev. A” data network the Instinct looks a lot like the iPhone, but has 3G, a replaceable battery, and haptic feedback for the touchscreen. The Instinct is due to be released in June and by that time there is no telling what form or features will grace the iPhone, but it’s good to see some competition that might actually be competition.

[via Yahoo]

A new accessory for iPhone users promises clean smudge free screens. The only drawback, you look like a freak wearing them. Phone Fingers cover, well, just that, your ‘phone fingers’ so that you don’t dirty up that shiny glass iPhone or iTouch screen with your grimy finger tips. They are apparently made of latex, so they’re essentially like little black condoms for your digits. I’m baffled and bewildered on every front. Is latex going to slide naturally across the glass iPhone screen? Who in the hell would stop and put these things on before using their iPhone? And what do you tell the parents of the children who run screaming in horror when you wave at them with your bizzaro phone hand? Couple more picts after the jump.

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Apple today unveiled the iPhone and iPod Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) and Microsoft Exchange support

Software developers finally get a look at the iPhone SDK roadmap to create applications for the phone. Over a year after the iPhone was introduced, and a couple of week late, Apple has given developers the tools they have been asking for. Starting today Apple will be open up the same APIs and tools that they use internally to build iPhone software. Now third-party developers can now begin to officially produce legitimate software, not iPhone software hacks. The SDK will rely on Apple’s Xcode development environment for Mac OS X, but optimized for the iPhone. So basically, if you can develop applications for the Mac then you should be able to do the same for the iPhone.

The full featured SDK gives developers full access to the iPhone’s core OS including graphics and networking. Apple created something called Interface Builder, that “Makes building your user interface as simple as drag-and-drop” plus debugging and analysis tools. What does this mean for the average iPhone user? It mean there will be a host of new software including everything from games and instant messaging to powerful business applications. The applications will be exclusively distributed through iTunes and the new AppStore, a new wireless store for iPhone applications. You can search applications right from your phone and then download them via Wi-Fi or through the cellular network. The same software developed with the SDK will also run on the iPod Touch including all the new enterprise additions.

Apple also introduced Microsoft Exchange support built right into iPhone, removing the greatest barrier for adoption of the iPhone into the corporate world. Apple has licensed ActiveSync with Exchange server from Microsoft. Built into the next software update, the iPhone will have access to push email, push contacts with global address book, live calendar events and remote wipe plus additional security. Although IT managers will inevitably find something to complain about, the list will have been reduced significantly, making the iPhone an almost unstoppable business tool.

The iPhone 2.0 software update that will make all this happen will not be available until June, but developers and companies will get a beta SDK starting today.

Considering how long the iPhone has been out it’s a wonder no one has filmed this before. I know there are plenty of people out there just like this guy with absolutely nothing better to do. So here’s what happens when your iPhone stopwatch runs for over 41 days and then runs out of numbers on the screen to display the time. This clip would have been twice as cool (or more) had the phone exploded, or sprouted arms and strangled the guy for wasting his time, but alas, no such excitement. Just a 1 and a lot of zeros.

The new iPhone model Q380 is out and the Chinese all want it. The only problem is that Apple does not make a model Q380 of their popular smartphone. It is a fake and apparently not everybody in China thinks so. The Epoch Times has a very interesting read on the world of counterfeit mobile phones and in particular the iPhone.

To meet iPhone demand, an underground factory produces a lot of fake iPhones under the CECT name. These phones cost between 600 to 2,000 yuan (approximately US$72.50 to $241.50).Recently, a gentleman from Hong Kong bought what he thought was the latest iPhone, model Q380, which was strongly recommended by an electronics store salesperson in Shenzhen. The salesperson claimed it was the latest official model, costing 680 yuan (approximately US$82.00), and could be returned within 3 months if it was broken. The gentleman found the sound too loud after buying it. He checked the official website, only to find that he had been cheated because apparently there was no official model for the so-called iPhone Q380.

Frankly I’m surprised this story was so entertaining to me, given that fact that so much fake stuff comes out of China. But I just love the fact that the man in the story is not happy with how loud the sound is but I apparently can’t get the sound loud enough.[via The Epoch Times]