As endlessly predicted, Apple's unveiled a new iPhone today at WWDC, the iPhone 3G S -- the "s" stands for speed. Although it looks almost exactly like the 3G, it's much, much faster -- some tasks are almost four times faster. Data speeds are upped to 7.2Mbps HSDPA, and the camera is now a 3 megapixel unit with tap-to-autofocus and auto white balance -- and just as expected, it now supports 30fps VGA video recording with editing features. You're also getting a built-in compass, Nike+ support, and a new battery that offers 5 hours of 3G talk time and 9 hours of WiFi internet use. There are some surprises, too -- holding down the home button now enables a new voice control interface that lets you do everything from make calls to control iTunes, and Apple's touting a new "fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating." New and end-of-contract pricing is set at $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB when it goes on sale June 19th Stateside and in 80 more countries in August -- and the current 8GB 3G will remain on sale for $99, effective immediately. You'll have to pay a bit more if you're mid-contract, though -- $299 for the 3G and $399/$499 for the 3G S.



Read - Apple PR
Read - AT&T PR with pricing info

It's pretty much the eve of Apple's big WWDC press conference, and Daring Fireball's John Gruber is back at the eleventh hour to chime in some more on his previous (and perhaps well-informed) iPhone predictions. He sticks to his previous wagers -- twice the CPU speed, twice the RAM, a heavy emphasis on a new video camera (no word on if there's an additional front-facing one), and $199 / $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models, respectively -- but additionally chimes in that the new device's codename is... drumroll, please... the iPhone 3GS, which he surmises is probably going to be the final product name, as well. Kind of a yawner, if you ask us, but it'd sell like gangbusters no matter what it was called. As for that lowered-tiered iPhone, he's expecting it to be the current 3G model with a price drop to $99. Also on the table is iPhone tethering, which we already know was built into OS 3.0, likely for a fee chosen by each carrier. Teasing farther into the future, he suggests "Marble," codename for an OS X visual overhaul, and the tablet are very much real projects but that there's little to no chance it'll be at WWDC. No clue what the "S" stands for (speed, perhaps?), but at this point we're pretty much counting the minutes to tomrorow's keynote, and our clocks can't tick much faster.

Sure, it's Palm's big day, but that doesn't mean the Apple rumor mill is taking a break -- check out this pic of what might be the new iPhone set to drop on Monday. Yep, that's a matte black casing with no chrome border, a what looks to be a front-facing camera, and iPhone OS 3.0, so it certainly lines up with what we've heard -- but it wouldn't exactly take a Photoshop master to do this one up either. One more pic at the read link -- anyone believing this?

Update: Nowhere Else seems to be down at the moment, so we've stuck the other shots after the break.

There certainly seem to be a lot of people "familiar" with Apple's iPhone plans spouting off all over the place in these last few days before WWDC, and today they've chosen to whisper their sweet nothings to the Financial Times, which is reporting a cheaper iPhone will be announced on Monday at WWDC. Of course, that lines up with pretty much everything we've heard so far, including rumors of a 4GB iPhone model and cheaper AT&T plans, so it's not exactly a far-fetched rumor -- but then again, it's exactly what we'd say if we were just making stuff up. We'll just have to wait and see on Monday -- and from the looks of our Palm Pre poll, that's exactly what most of you are planning on doing.

Look, we're not definitely saying that Apple's gonna announce a new iPhone in 16 and 32GB capacities on Monday -- we'll leave that sort of certainty to Unkie Walt -- but we will say that the evidence is starting to get overwhelming. Today's whispers bring us "iPhone32gGbV3" and iPhone 16GbV3" inventory placeholders popping up in mammoth UK retailer Carphone Warehouse's systems, with each size notably coming in both black and white editions. That's the first inkling we've seen of color choices, but we're not making too much of it, since it's entirely possible whoever entered this info was just hitting all the possibilities. We're also not seeing anything to indicate that rumored cheaper 4GB version either, so there's a lot still up in the air as we get closer to the Philnote -- keep a sharp eye, we'll let you know.

You had to know we'd see a flurry of iPhone rumors and news as the Apple community reacted to the Pre's official price and launch date, and right on schedule, we've got whispers that Cupertino's next handset will be announced at WWDC, feature an OLED display and a glowing Apple logo, and launch on July 17. There's also a longer list of detailed specs, but for the most part they're just a combination of that matte black casing leak from February and those Chinese specs from last week. So are they the real deal? Well, the source and the site they're on seem a little shaky to us, but the specs themselves don't seem too far-fetched -- OLED screens are getting cheaper and more prevalent, and we're almost certain to see bumps in camera resolution and storage, so even if they are totally made up, we'd venture to guess they're more right than wrong. That's just us, though -- check out the full spec list after the break and tell us what you think.

[Via Wired; image from MacRumors]

We're getting close to WWDC, which means the Apple rumor mill is nearing redline -- today it's BusinessWeek saying AT&T's working on cheaper iPhone data plans. It's not clear exactly how that would play out, but the most popularly-discussed option is a $20 "limited-access" plan potentially offered alongside a cheaper iPhone to be introduced at WWDC -- an option that's almost certainly being discussed as the two companies sort out that exclusivity extension. Of course, we're extremely curious to see what "limited access" means, given AT&T's recent SlingPlayer debacle -- cheap certainly isn't worth it if you're not allowed to do anything worthwhile. Phil, you have anything to say?

[Via AppleInsider]