The new iPhone: It's not far away

Rumors of the new iPhone (known across the web as either iPhone 3G or iPhone 2.0) abound. While some sources suggest it will have a smaller, perhaps 2.8" screen, it will most definitely not have a smaller screen. At least yet. So what am I predicting? I think that soon, perhaps as soon as Tuesday, we will see the new iPhone 3G/2.0. Then later this year, it seems like there would be a good chance of a smaller, cheaper iPhone model coming out. Perhaps the iPhone Air or nano? Nonetheless, an updated iPhone can't be that far away. The US and UK online Apple Stores show the iPhone as currently unavailable. While it could be that perhaps there has been a problem in manufacturing, that is very unlikely. In the past couple weeks the iPhone shipped in 5-7 weeks, a huge ship time, and one that is similar to ship times on other Apple products before an update. I've never actually seen a "Currently Unavailable" status on the Apple Store before, so that hints that it will be out possibly as soon as this Tuesday. Only time will tell.

On the iPhone SDK version 4

Late last night, Apple released its fourth version of the iPhone SDK, a free application that allows developers to create native software for the iPhone and iPod touch. With the fourth version, Apple added functionality that can truly make the iPhone turn the tables of the cellular phone industry - OpenGL. With the addition of OpenGL, platforms such as the Sony PSP and N-GAGE and Sidekick now have something truly to fear. OpenGL opens up a whole new world of gaming for the iPhone. With OpenGL, not to mention other iPhone features such as CoreVideo, the iPhone should be able to have a graphics output matching that, or better, than that of the PSP. But, believe it or not, the graphics aren't going to be what pulls the iPhone ahead. Graphics always help of course, but gamers whose main goal in gaming is to be wowed by beautiful visuals aren't going to be investing money in a portable system anyway. That's what Alienware is for. The iPhone has a chance to redefine the portable gaming industry in the same way that it redefined the way we view our music, photos, and videos: touch. Touch is an incredibly powerful thing, and Apple knows it. Never before has any gaming system been able to connect with the user as well as the iPhone can. The Wii is very close, but can't match it. But touch isn't the only thing that the iPhone has going for it either. The accelerometer will also allow gamers to connect with the game in a way that the Wii does and the PS3 does (to a point). There are also a good amountWith these two features, the iPhone will be hard to beat. Hopefully more and more developers can and will jump on the iPhone bandwagon. It is very encouraging to hear that EA has gotten on.