San Francisco (CA) – The Apple WWDC 2008 rumor mill gets one final spin Monday morning with Steve Jobs expected to reveal several new products during his opening day keynote. Despite the fact that Apple has said zilch about a 3G iPhone the device is a sure bet, but there have been speculations about a new operating system, new iPods, a UMPC/MID and possibly new displays. TG Daily will report from WWDC 2008 and took a thorough look at what new products are likely to surface at the conference.  



iPhone Upgrade - Thinner, lighter, 3G, GPS, video camera
Probability: Certain

The buzz surrounding the 3G iPhone is a phenomenon in itself. Apple hasn’t said a word about such a device, but virtually everyone expects this device to be announced. And if we trust our own sources, then such a device in fact will be unveiled by Steve Jobs.

Apple is now the world's #3 smartphone maker (second in the U.S.), which is an impressive achievement for a newcomer in the mobile space. An upgrade to the current phone will correct some of the shortcomings of the original iPhone. Besides 3G support, expect a slightly redesigned and thinner casing, a front-facing camera for video recordings, GPS hardware new sensors, improved battery life and more memory.

3G support for UMTS/HSPA technologies will take the iPhone into the broadband age and outperform EDGE. 3G networks have been widely available in Europe and Asia while in the U.S. AT&T just recently upgraded its 3G network in more than 275 U.S. metropolitan areas. 350 areas are planned to be supported by the end of the year. With 3G, expect download speeds between 700 Kb/s and 1.7 Mb/s and upload speeds in the 500Kb/s to 1.2 Mb/s range.

We also expect dedicated GPS hardware (although it's not a given) for precise geographical positioning. Although the iPhone already roughly calculates your location using Wi-Fi and cellular tower triangulation (a technology that recently was cracked), GPS will bring real-time positioning to location-aware applications, such as geophoto tagging.

It's unclear whether the existing camera will be upgraded beyond 2 megapixels and if flash will be added, but an additional front-facing camera for video recording appears to be a done deal. TG Daily predicted some time ago that VoIP and videoconferencing are likely to become killer applications for the 3G iPhone, especially since there is now an application which adds a limited video recording option to the current iPhone.

Thinner and slightly redesigned casing will shave 2-3 millimeters and a new unknown sensor is probable, in addition to the existing ambient light, proximity and accelerometer. Apple is likely to kill the 8 GB model and introduce 16/32 GB iPhones and 16/32/64 GB iPod touch versions. Industry sources told TG Daily that Apple will sell the iPhone at its retail stores for $399 for the 8 GB model. The 16 GB version will go for $499. The company is expected to agree to carrier subsidies and AT&T is expected to bring the iPhone price below the $200 mark for those who sign a two-year contract.



New iPhone Nano: Smaller, lighter, cheaper
Probability: 25%

It's safe to assume that Apple will put an iPod-like product diversification strategy for the iPhone. Analysts have been predicting different iPhone models for some time now, which would enable the company to cover different market segments and price ranges. The first addition should be an iPhone Nano, a smaller, lighter and cheaper version of the iPhone with some features lacking, such as the video camera. Apple may need such a phone to get closer to RIM and Nokia on a worldwide basis.

We believe that it is rather unlikely that an iPhone Nano will be brought into the game at this time. Apple needs to expand into more geographies first, especially Asia, and meet its self-imposed goal of 10 million units by the end of the year. Macworld 2009 in January is a more likely event for such a smaller device. We wonder how much sense it would make for Apple to introduce such a model at all, since it call for a smaller screen, impacting the usability of third-part apps and contradicting Apple’ current market strategy. But don't count on it yet, especially not at WWDC.


.Mac Improvements: Over-the-air iPhone syncing, reduced subscription price
Probability: 50%

Apple reportedly secured Mobile.me domain, which is, if we believe current rumors, planned for the re-branding of Apple’s costly $99 per year .Mac online services for Mac users. The service includes online features that can be found free of charge elsewhere, such as email accounts, photo galleries, basic website hosting, 10 GB of storage space etc. The company may re-brand the service under the Mobile.me domain, introduce new platform services and possibly reduce the annual membership price.

It appears that .Mac will get new features, most notably over-the-air syncing capabilities for the iPhone. The upgraded service would provide seamless syncing of your contacts, calendars, settings, email accounts and other settings between Mac, PC and iPhone. Users who subscribe wouldn't have to worry about backing up their contacts and other iPhone data. The handset would securely sync your iPhone over-the-air with Apple servers and keep the data in sync between your iPhone/iPod touch, Mac and PC.

Read on the next page: iTunes, Mac OSX 10.6, Newton 2