iPhone 3G Stress Tests

"This is PCWorld's video on how the iPhone 3G holds up when dropped, soaked, scratched, and tortured! This is an amazing demo, and I think the phone actually holds up better than the original!"

iPhone 3G is running Apple $53 less than original

From Engadget -

The teardown and bean-counting experts over at iSuppli are at it again with the iPhone 3G, finding that the whole kit tallies up to just $174.33 for the 8GB model in material and manufacturing costs. That works out to about $53 less than iSuppli's estimate for the original 8GB model back in June of last year, an amount saved in part by moving to a single 10-layer circuit board (versus a pair of 6-layer boards). The firm figures Apple's shelling out about $50 in royalties for each iPhone 3G that rolls off the assembly line, leading to a grand total of $224.33 in costs. Offset that with a healthy AT&T subsidy, and all told, Apple is enjoying a 55% margin.

Source article here.

World's 1st Jailbroken 3G Phone Video

World's 1st Jailbroken 3G Phone from iphonedev on Vimeo.

Tip: Updating iPhone to 5A347 reduces yellow tinge

From Ars Technica -

Ars Technica forum readers have discovered that iPhones purchased in-store were shipped with a slightly older firmware revision—2.0 5A345. Updating an older phone via the built-in mechanism in iTunes will pick up the newer revision, which resets the screen's color calibration to be a little less yellow and more like the original iPhone. Furthermore, store-purchased iPhones can be set to the 5A347 firmware by attaching the device to a computer, allowing a backup to be performed, and then clicking the "Restore" button. (Above photo shows two iPhone 3Gs running 2.0 firmwares 5A347 (left), and 5A345 (right).)

This process will take you at least 30 minutes depending on how much content is on the iPhone, but if that yellow tinge is annoying, it might be worth it.

Source article here.

iPhone 3G Taken Apart

From Ubergizmo -

iFixit took apart their iPhone 3G immedietly after the iPhone launch. Among other things during the disasembly, iFixit found that the battery was not soldered on, as well as the LCD and glass covering of the display was not glued together like the first iPhone.

Source article here.

iPhone 3G Yellow Screen Issue?

Spanky Deluxe of the MacRumors Forum posted the above photo with the following comment -

"You can see it clearly in the following photo. The iPhone 3G is on the left, my old iPhone 2G is on the right. The 3G's one is distinctly yellow and dimmer than the 2G one when set to identical brightness."

Judging from how fast the thread grew (13 pages as of this writing), this might yet become a big issue.

Source forum thread here.

More iPhone 3G details: future Apple-made chips, varying visual voicemail, and new video features

From Engadget -

Miscellaneous details re the 3G iPhone -

* Apple's acquisition of PA Semi is intended to reduce Apple's reliance on third-party chip makers.
* Not all carriers will implement visual voicemail. E.g. Vodafone in Europe will not have it at launch, and will delay its rollout until later this year.
* There is a video of a new iPhone beta build running on live hardware shows videos now in portrait or landscape modes.
* Per German paper Welt, T-Mobile Germany will be selling it for €1 - so basically free - same as O2's iPhone 3G launch in the UK.

Source article here.

3G iPhone First Hands On

Gizmodo has a hands-on review of the 3G iPhone. Some of the highlights -

Weight and size - 3G iPhone is lighter, thinner, and fits better.

Color - Black is very nice but the white looks feminine.

Metal Buttons - chromed and feel more precise. The lock button is slightly more recessed.

Reception - Better. The phone has 10 radio bands - 3 GSM bands, 4 3G bands, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, plus one more. But Bluetooth software hasn't been updated to do A2DP.

Screen - Glass and LCD identical to previous model.

Dock - it is very thin and rounded with a 2 prong USB power plug much smaller than the old adapter.

Audio - still mono but better.

Nothing much has been left unimproved. If you're going to stick with ATT for awhile, $200 seems like a good deal for such improved hardware.

Apple Says White Is Cool Again... But Is It?

From Gizmodo -
With the 3G iPhone, the color white has made a quiet return to the iPod family. So does this mean after nine short months of no white, white is already retro-cool again?

Apple had previously revolutionized white as the staple color of its iPod. Then when white became associated with MP3 players, Apple switched to black. It was a radical move but one that was again eventually accepted by the market.

Now, will people buy into the color white for mobile phones? Apple obviously thinks so.

New iPhone, lower price: $199

From Yahoo! Tech -

The good news - the 16GB iPhone 3G will sell for $299, while the 8GB will go for $199. Also, the iPhone is available in white!

The bad news, the release date is July 11. Looks like we've got a little wait on our hands.

New features include, of course, 3G, GPS, and HSDPA. The new model is also thinner but the headphone jack is now flush with the case and the back panel is now glossy black plastic. Talk time is 5 hours of 3G (or 10 of EDGE) plus 7 hours of video, 5-6 hours of browsing and 24 hours of audio.

You can read the additional details here.

3G iPhone firmware leaked: tri-band HSDPA and GPS are go

From Engadget -

A version of the 3G iPhone's firmware has reportedly been released and has since been dissected. While nothing is ever guaranteed, here are the details -

* Infineon PMB6952 / S-GOLD3 six-band UMTS / HSDPA transceiver
* Murata LMRX3JCA-479 tri-band amplifier
* Sony SP9T antenna switch for GSM / UMTS dual mode
* ARM 1176JZF-S - Main CPU
* Skyworks 77427 chip - UMTS / HSDPA tx 1900MHz, rx 2100MHz
* Skyworks 77414 chip - UMTS / HSDPA 1900MHz
* Skyworks 77413 chip - UMTS / HSDPA 850MHz
* Internal build model number: n82ap
* UMTS Power Saving option - on or off
* Hooks for Global Locate Library (GLL), software that handles A-GPS related commands for the host processor

3G iPhone in May, Another Device at WWDC?

From MacRumors -

In April, SwitchToaMac.com published a rumor that Apple would be launching the 3G iPhone earlier than expected... in May. This was dismissed immediately by many. But Apple's dwindling stock of iPhones in both the U.S. and U.K. has revived this rumor.

The reason for a pre-WWDC announcement? Reportedly, Apple would instead announce a brand new portable device at WWDC. No other details of what this device might be, but there have been rumors that Apple was developing a mini-tablet multi-touch device.

Read source here.

T-Mobile admits that 3G iPhone will be tested in Austria

From Engadget -

Austrian publication derStandard has reported T-Mobile will be testing the 3G iPhone there. During a press conference in Vienna, T-Mobile reportedly affirmed that a UMTS version of the iPhone would soon be available, and that Austria would be the testing ground for the new model.

AT&T's 3G iPhone Is $199 This Summer - Not True?

Gizmodo has earlier reported that AT&T's going to subsidize the 3G iPhone down as much as $200, making the final retail price a scant $199 with two-year-contract. The rumor is that the $200 bonus will only be available in AT&T stores, not in Apple stores, so people buying and exporting or using it with T-Mobile will be paying the higher price. If you're buying straight from Apple, it seems like their prices will still be $399 and $499 for the 8 and 16GB models.

But now in an update, Gizmodo has clarified that the rumor was made by Scott Moritz, whose track record in predictions is not exactly reliable. He comes from thestreet.com, who, via Jim Cramer, made the prediction that the iPhone would get 1.5 years of free service. The rumor sounds less credible now.

Full article here.

Foxconn to assemble 3G iPhones; projects 24-25M units

From Digitimes -

Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry), currently the sole manufacturer of first-generation iPhones, has reportedly landed orders for the assembly of 3G iPhones with shipments to begin in June this year.

Shipments of the 3G iPhone are expected to top three million units in June with the model likely to ship a total of 24-25 million units throughout its life-cycle.