Gene Munster expects the iPhone to hit other carriers in the U.S. within the next year. We may well hear more about the future of the iPhone in September at the Apple event.

Munster wrote, “For various reasons the company moved from an exclusive relationship with French wireless carrier Orange to a multi-carrier model. In France, the company now enjoys dramatically higher market share (in the 40 percent range vs. about 15 percent in ROW) than in countries with exclusive carrier agreements (such as AT&T in the U.S. where the iPhone has market share in the mid-teens). We believe Apple is seeing the increased unit sell-through more than offset the slightly (~10 percent) deteriorated economics per unit involved in non-exclusive agreements.” I have always said Apple needs more than one carrier in each country if it wants to grab lots of market.

[via ZDNet]

It’s also possible to edit existing schedules, whether they have been initiated from the iPhone app or on the DVR itself.  Should you not have enough free space, existing stored content can be remotely deleted.

AT&T recently boosted the connection speed for their U-verse subscribers, together with adding more flexibility in controlling recordings and downloading movie content.  The company has been discussing an iPhone app for U-verse since September last year.

Press Release: 

 

New iPhone and iPod touch Application From AT&T Lets Customers Schedule U-verse TV DVR Recordings On The Go
 
DALLAS, June 25, 2009 — AT&T U-verseSM TV customers can now use a free application from the Apple App Store to make scheduling and managing recordings on their DVR even easier when they’re away from home. The U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App for iPhone and iPod touch lets customers record their content from virtually anywhere and is another example of U-verse TV applications and DVR enhancements that have been rolled out to customers at no extra charge.
 
“This is the perfect example of how AT&T is bringing services together to deliver a better experience for customers,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “With AT&T U-verse, you get DVR capabilities you can’t find from any other provider, and this app gives users the freedom to schedule their DVR from their iPhone or iPod touch.”
 
The app allows users to easily search U-verse TV program listings from the full program guide, view descriptions of selected programs, schedule program or series recordings, manage or edit scheduled recordings, and delete stored DVR content.
 
The Mobile Remote Access App is available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
 
The launch of the new U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App follows several DVR enhancements that are currently being rolled out to U-verse TV customers, including an exclusive new Total Home DVR feature that allows customers to schedule and delete recordings from any U-verse receiver in the home — all from a single DVR.
 
AT&T U-verse was one of the first providers to introduce Web Remote Access to the DVR in November 2006, and it brought three-screen DVR access to all U-verse TV customers with Mobile Remote Access to the DVR in April 2007. In 2008, AT&T launched AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR, allowing all U-verse DVR customers to watch standard and High Definition recorded shows from a single DVR on any connected TV in the home.
 
U-verse TV customers can also enjoy several other integrated applications, including personalized, on-screen weather, sports, traffic and stock information via AT&T U-bar; local and national weather forecasts with Weather On Demand; the ability to view personal photos on your TV that you have uploaded to flickr.com; and more.
 
AT&T U-verse customers enjoy quadruple-play integration, enhanced features and greater value, all made possible by IP technology. AT&T U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the North Central, South, and West Regions,” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM.DALLAS, June 25, 2009 — AT&T U-verseSM TV customers can now use a free application from the Apple App Store to make scheduling and managing recordings on their DVR even easier when they’re away from home. The U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App for iPhone and iPod touch lets customers record their content from virtually anywhere and is another example of U-verse TV applications and DVR enhancements that have been rolled out to customers at no extra charge.

“This is the perfect example of how AT&T is bringing services together to deliver a better experience for customers,” said Jeff Weber, vice president of video services for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. “With AT&T U-verse, you get DVR capabilities you can’t find from any other provider, and this app gives users the freedom to schedule their DVR from their iPhone or iPod touch.”

The app allows users to easily search U-verse TV program listings from the full program guide, view descriptions of selected programs, schedule program or series recordings, manage or edit scheduled recordings, and delete stored DVR content.

The Mobile Remote Access App is available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

The launch of the new U-verse TV Mobile Remote Access App follows several DVR enhancements that are currently being rolled out to U-verse TV customers, including an exclusive new Total Home DVR feature that allows customers to schedule and delete recordings from any U-verse receiver in the home — all from a single DVR.

AT&T U-verse was one of the first providers to introduce Web Remote Access to the DVR in November 2006, and it brought three-screen DVR access to all U-verse TV customers with Mobile Remote Access to the DVR in April 2007. In 2008, AT&T launched AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR, allowing all U-verse DVR customers to watch standard and High Definition recorded shows from a single DVR on any connected TV in the home.

U-verse TV customers can also enjoy several other integrated applications, including personalized, on-screen weather, sports, traffic and stock information via AT&T U-bar; local and national weather forecasts with Weather On Demand; the ability to view personal photos on your TV that you have uploaded to flickr.com; and more.

AT&T U-verse customers enjoy quadruple-play integration, enhanced features and greater value, all made possible by IP technology. AT&T U-verse TV ranked “Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the North Central, South, and West Regions,” according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction StudySM.

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.

We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.

On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,

Apple Online Store Team

“Your activation requires additional time to complete,” reads a message from iTunes for some iPhone 3G S customers. “Due to the current volumes, it may take up to 48 hours to resolve your issue.”

Apple has not responded to press inquiries regarding the delays, and it’s unclear how many customers this is affecting.

[via Information Week]

The lines may be less impressive than in previous years, but we’ve a feeling that’s down to many people pre-ordering for home delivery.  Apple changed their tactics for 2009, switching back to allowing individual iTunes activation at home rather than demanding buyers stop by an Apple or AT&T store.

Later on this morning we’ll be meeting with an Apple VP to discuss the launch and talk about what makes the iPhone 3G S special.  Plus we’ll have our own hands-on first impressions with the smartphone, together with live photos and video.  Keep reading iPhone Buzz!

Recently there has been much made of ongoing rumors that Apple is preparing to announce a new iPhone, the third-generation model, at the WWDC 2009 keynote on June 8th.  That device is expected to launch on July 17th.  Confusingly, there seems to be no sign that the 8GB iPhone 3G is EOL; one possibility is that Apple intend to continue selling it alongside the new device, as an entry-level model.

Earlier on today, a listing for the “iPhone 32GB” was spotted on T-Mobile Austria’s “coming soon” page.  The placeholder has since been removed by the carrier.

Clicking on the “Details” button leads to a page with no information about the handset. 

A new iPhone announcement has been tipped to take place on June 8th, at the WWDC 2009 keynote in San Francisco.  Among the expected changes are more storage capacity, as hinted at by this listing, plus a faster processor and a higher-resolution camera (3.2-megapixels compared to 2-megapixels on the iPhone 3G).  More battery life has also been suggested, perhaps as a side-product of Apple switching to an OLED touchscreen.

Update: The placeholder has now been removed by the carrier.

[via Engadget]

While USA Today suggest a CDMA iPhone would be the likely result, Apple’s recent financial conference call would seem to debunk that.  During the call, COO Tim Cook dismissed talk of a CDMA iPhone because the CDMA standard is predominantly a US specification.  Instead, Apple want “one phone for the whole world”.

What that could indicate, therefore, is a LTE (Long Term Evolution) iPhone, just in time to spearhead Verizon’s new LTE network set to launch in 2010.  LTE has been adopted by not only Verizon but other US carriers – including AT&T – as well as networks worldwide, in keeping with Apple’s “one phone” intentions.  What remains to be seen is how AT&T might react to the possibility of a super-fast new iPhone bypassing their exclusivity.

Originally, the deal had AT&T as the exclusive carrier of the iPhone until 2008. From that point, Apple would be allowed to start selling the smartphone on other carriers. However, the companies met last August and decided to extend that partnership through the end of this year. This was not the end of it all as the AT&T Chief Executive is now in talks with Apple to keep that deal alive until 2011.

Apple has sold more than 17 million iPhones since its debut less than two years ago, and the carrier added 4.3 million iPhone subscribers in the second half of 2008. 40% of whom were new to AT&T. Last month, AT&T announced plans to sell iPhone 3Gs without a two-year contract for $599 and $699, a move that Apple quickly duplicated at its own stores. Suggestions of a $300 iPhone subsidy are also afloat, if AT&T was willing to go that far, Apple stands to clean up by negotiating contracts with other carriers.

[via CNET]

That’s a $300 premium over and above the standard, contract price.  Assuming you’re willing to commit to a 24-month contract, the 8GB iPhone 3G costs $199 and the 16GB version comes in at $299.

While there’s no long-term obligation, the contract-free iPhone 3G’s are still locked to AT&T and use the same pricing plans.  That includes the $30 unlimited data access fee.  AT&T will begin selling the handsets next Thursday.

Estimates now indicate that 150,000 units of the iPhone 3G will sell by the end of the year in Russia. And it seems the start of the sale will begin during the wee morning hours of October 3rd at all carriers.

The major carriers that will carry the iPhone 3G in Russia include Vimpelcom, MTS and MegaFon. You can currently pre-order the phone so you can be sure to get it on the day of release. The iPhone is swiftly spreading across the world, which just goes to show Apple is keeping to their initial plans for rolling out the device.

[via MacRumors]

“We’re looking at the whole landscape, of what people use, and what’s out there in the home” AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan

As well as more straightforward features such as programming shows to record and using the iPhone as a wireless remote, updates to allow iPhone voicemails to be managed and controlled through the U-verse interface are also being considered.  Bizarrely, viewers may also be able to “virtually” hurl tomatoes at their screen, via the iPhone.

AT&T have not released a definite roadmap for the functionality, but has confirmed that some of the features will be available by the end of the year.

“We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain Infineon is the 3G supplier” Richard Windsor, analyst, Nomura Securities

It’s the second comment on the iPhone 3G’s reception today, after US carrier AT&T spoke to our network site SlashGear today about the criticism their network has faced.  Stopping short of taking blame for the handset’s 3G shortcomings, the suggestion seemed to be that a firmware update would be the most likely fix for any signal problems:

“Customer experience on iPhone 3G or any device can vary based on a number of factors including proximity to the cell site, buildings, trees, terrain, and the number of people on the network at a given time.  We and Apple are working continuously to ensure people have a great experience on the iPhone, and we urge our customers to synch iPhone 3G to iTunes frequently to ensure they have the latest software updates” AT&T representative

However Windsor paints a much more serious picture, claiming that the issue is unlikely to be rectified with changes in firmware.  Instead, according to the analyst, Apple would have to actually replace the 3G chipset in question in order to avoid consumers claiming they are not getting the performance they paid for.

Apple has generally remained silent on the issue, and is yet to comment (or more likely say “no comment”) on these latest Infineon rumors.  There is also no word from the chipset company themselves, who were first rumored to be supplying Apple with their S-GOLD3 back in April.

[via GigaOM] Image via iFixit

Nate has figured out exactly how you can hook up the iPhone 3G to your notebook and use it as a tethered data modem.  He’s even put together a guide explaining all the different software you’ll need to take advantage of to do it.  The end result is a Jailbroken handset that can connect over WiFi to your computer, meaning this is actually wireless tethering.

Here’s the basic rundown:
- Jailbreak your iPhone 3G
- Install 3Proxy and Terminal
- Create an ad-hoc Wi-fi network using your laptop
- Join the network with your iPhone
- Find the iPhone’s IP address
- Open Terminal and run the proxy program
- Open Safari on your iPhone and open a web page
- Configure your browser to use the proxy

Of course, doing so contravenes AT&T’s data plan terms & conditions, and as such could get you into trouble with the carrier.  And trouble in this case could mean a big fee for whatever tethered data you consume, or your contract being cancelled altogether.  Nate suggests you only use the method when in dire need; personally, I’d wait until the iPhone 3G unlocking system is finally made available, and save tethering until you have a contract with another company that allows it.

[via Gear Live]

I find it ironic that Apple takes every effort to make sure our user experience is nothing less than the best, even right down to what applications are allowed on iTunes; yet they can’t seem to get the battery right.  I counted ELEVEN different things you should do to your iPhone 3G daily in order to ensure that it DOES NOT die on you during that oh so important sales call or while chit chatting with your wife.  We’re busy people, not to mention busy enjoying the awesome 3G speed surfing the web, getting push email or trying to hook up with an old friend on Loopt.  The last thing we need to be concerned with is — turning off EQ, making sure push email is off or worried if I should fetch my email less (the list goes on and on and on!).  This is nonsense! Of all the suggestions, this particular one gave me a few chuckles.

Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.

I’m not sure if it’s even possible to improve the iPhone 3G’s battery at this point, so I’ve resolved to the fact that the battery is a piece of junk and it should be criminal of Apple to release such a superior device on an inferior battery!  At this point there’s nothing I can do, and you must be feeling the same.  There is some hope; third-party battery extenders.  There are three brands/makes that I know of: Mophie Juice Pack, iGo battery extender from Mobility Electronics or the Kensington Mini Battery Pack and Charger.  Check out the video for more details on the first two, and jump on over to Geek.com to read up on the last one.

You have a chance to win a FREE Mophie Juice Pack right here on iPhone Buzz!  Stay tune for details.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OOdKHLXGDQ[/youtube]

mophie Juice Pack Battery Pack/Case for iPhone