The new EA Sports Active 2.0 system will be available for the Wii, PS3, and iPhone when it launches. The system has a wireless control, arm and leg straps that sent information to the app about your workout.

Apple has reportedly pushed out the fourth beta offering in the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK. The new version is said to be for development only and can’t be used for submitting apps.

As 9to5Mac wrote,

We’re not huge fans of Diggnation but Kevin Rose has on again off again luck with his Apple predictions. So, for your amusement:

Since I failed to embed the video here, please check-out here.

[via 9to5Mac]

Mac Rumors cited Boy Genius Report that claims to have heard two most-awaited features: MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) and tethering:

MMS would finally offer iPhone users the ability to send photos by way of SMS, and tethering would allow you to share your iPhone’s internet connection with your laptop computer. An alleged Steve Jobs email even confirmed that Apple had been working on a thethering solution, so it certainly seems feasible. BoyGeniusReport’s record, however, has been spotty, so we can’t be entirely confident of the report.

Mac Rumors also mentioned:

…a better app-managing SpringBoard (with categories?), a solution to “push” notifications (background tasks?), and, yes… even copy and paste..

Will 3.0 OS be available for the iPhone 3G? I hope so.

Don’t forget join our live blogging from the event at http://live.slashgear.com, then stick around here on iPhone Buzz and at our sibling-site SlashGear for commentary afterward.

[BGR via Mac Rumors]

As well as the new iPhone OS, Apple are also promising the debut of a brand new iPhone SDK.  The specific features are still tightly under wraps, but it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see copy & paste, Flash support and maybe even some of the integrated social networking functionality Palm have been showing off on their Pre smartphone.

So join us on Tuesday, March 17th at http://live.slashgear.com/ for all the details as they’re announced, then stick around here on iPhone Buzz and at our sibling-site SlashGear for commentary and opinion afterward.  This could be the first real hint of what the iPhone 3.0 hardware might have to offer.

Google was quick to dismiss more serious claims that they were linking to dynamic frameworks, however. So what’s the big deal about undocumented APIs? Well, whenever Apple updates their software, the application code could break.

Plus, this raises questions about applications accepted into the App Store by Apple. If Apple knew Google was using these APIs and let the application through anyway, it could point to a sort of favoritism. However, Google might just end up rewriting the code if Apple ends up enforcing the SDK terms.

What’s interesting though is Apple removed the push notification service from this release. As you may remember, this service is intended to act as the basis for background process support. This would be especially beneficial developers of messaging services like AIM. Prior to this development, the feature was to be delivered in September, but that seems like it won’t happen now.

It’s unclear the reasons why push notification was removed, but we do know that it is being held for “further development.” Perhaps Apple is being extra cautious now and waiting to release changes and updates until they are certain they will work. They’ve probably had enough of the MobileMe fiasco and don’t want a repeat.

[via MacRumors]

Prior to this, you would have had to wait until the first monthly report was released. Also, download stats were available publicly for short period of time, but were removed because it was very easy to estimate a developer’s earnings. 

With these stats, developers can adjust their app prices to improve sales and make themselves more competitive in the market. And it’s only going to get more competitive from here.

[via MacRumors]

The biggest problem so far has been that the iPhone doesn’t allow you to run more than one app at a time. And with good reason. After all, having a ton of apps open at once would drain battery life even more and slow down processor speed.

But these tools could change that. Your apps won’t stay open and run in the background. Instead, one single connection will remain open and push new information to your apps as needed. New data will be shown on the relevant app’s icon or via a pop-up alert, much like a text message. 

Apps with background awareness should hit the App Store sometime this fall, if all goes well.

[via AppleInsider]

First, one of the most telling rumors going around is that the AT&T store employees are beginning to be trained on the 3G iPhone. This is no doubt in preparation for WWDC, which will most likely be of historic proportions as far as news coverage.

Not only is the Apple store out of iPhones, but so is AT&T. There is now a shortage of iPhones an all levels, from all channels. The common consensus is Apple is drying the pipes, so that people do not buy one now, and then complain when the new iPhone comes out. This is a smart move, Apple has learned from the price drop fiasco.

Another interesting piece of news that has been floating around that the price of the new iPhone could be much more affordable than the one we know now. Not at direct retail, but thanks to carrier subsidies. This is a very common practice by many carriers on many devices, so that they can get more subscribers to buy higher end devices. They more than make up for the loss over the course of the contract.

In light of the rumors, and since everyone else is making predictions, I have a short wish list if you will of features that I would like to see in the next iPhone. Some may be a little unreasonable I admit, but in today’s world, with so many choices, why would you ever settle?

FM Radio With RDS: FM radio is very easy to pack into a device. It requires a small chip, and very little CPU power. It has made its way into many devices, especially Nokia devices. While FM radio may be a little less high tech than the iPod function, it is still useful, and change is good. While we are at it, why not throw RDS in? RDS is a method used to send song and radio information to radio displays. Many car radios have the function.

GPS: Though it has been almost synonymous with the words “3G iPhone” it still makes the wish list, as until we see the device, it is all but a wish. The current system in the iPhone uses cell site triangulation, which it a pretty good method. Nothing compares to the accuracy of a good old GPS though, and it is something Apple should definitely pack in the new iPhone.

3.2 Mega Pixel Camera: To me, at the very minimum, the new iPhone should have this. If it hopes to be competitive in Europe and Asia, it must have a better camera. 3.2 mega pixel with auto focus is the absolute minimum. Preferably, a 5 mega pixel camera, auto focus, shake control, image stabilization, face detection, xenon flash, and at least ISO 1000 sensitivity. Mega pixels mean nothing without a good lens, I would recommend that Apple at least pack a decent lens in it, even if they keep it at 2 mega pixels. I will admit, that is a little excessive, after all it is a phone, not a camera.

Dimensions: While I prefer a smaller phone, the iPhone has a limit on how small it can get, after all it has to host that enormous touch screen. A thinner iPhone would be nice, but there is quite a few new features to be packed in. With all these features, the iPhone could get a little thicker. Hopefully though, Apple keeps the iPhone the same size, at the very least.

More Open SDK: Don’t get me wrong, I think the SDK is a tremendous step to the overall open factor of the iPhone. However, the SDK will not allow access to the iPhone’s dock, nor the users music or video library. There are tons of sweet applications and peripherals that could be used with these abilities enabled, and Apple really should take a second look.

Jailbreak: Some users will want the SDK, some will want to go Wild Wild West. Though there will be a ton of good applications on the SDK, there will always be a ton that are not going to be on the official Apple ok list. As mentioned the relatively closed nature of the SDK is restrictive and does not allow access to all aspects of the iPhone. Jailbreaking does, there is nothing off limits on the iPhone when it is jailbroken, nothing.

Multi Tasking: The iPhone is a smart phone. All smart phones have true multi tasking. The iPhone has 128MB of RAM, it is thoroughly capable of it. There is no reason that Apple should not give the iPhone its ability. What’s more, if they were smart they would let the SDK have access to the feature.

Battery Life: The iPhone already gets pretty good battery life, that is in part thanks to not using last years GPS and 3G chips. In 2008 though, the technology has improved quite a bit not surprisingly. This means that the new iPhone should get comparable battery life. I think they can do better though. Some sort of system that can determine when 3G and GPS are needed, and keep them off when they are not.

Web Browser Enhancements: While the iPhone already has an excellent web browser, there are still some things that would be nice to have. Namely, flash support. Work with Adobe Apple, everyone else has seemed to snap to the realization that full browsers need full features. A better JavaScript interpreter would be great, as I find it to sometimes lag down on a web page. Copy and paste in the Safari browser would be a nice improvement, it is a common feature on a ton of devices, so adding it will definitely be welcomed.

Though it looks almost exactly the same as the current iPhone, there are some minor differences. Mainly the bezel, which is narrower and more squared than normal. The device also seems to be slightly taller than the current iPhone iteration. This is the only angle, so we could not see any other dimension comparisons.

It is important to note though, this could mean nothing. The device very well could be a bad rendering, which made its way into the software releases. This sounds to be the most likely explanation, as you would expect Apple to be releasing such an icon with the latest version of iTunes to drop after the release of the 3G iPhone.

[Via Wired]

The firmware is fresh off the server, and the details about it are few. What we do know right now is that the new SDK requires developers to register an application ID, suggesting that they are tightening things up in anticipation of the launch, which is rumored to be soon. Application IDs are required for provisioning now, all previous provisioning is now longer valid.

Another interesting thing is you must be running OSX 10.5.3, which was just released this morning. It is odd that Apple would cut off the still large amount of users running Tiger, or 10.4. The new updates release notes were uploaded to Apple’s site earlier, and can be viewed now. Apple also removed six demo applications from the SDK package.

[Via TUAW]

The latest build of the SDK is much smaller than previous builds. It weighs in at only 1.08GB. It has been suggested the reason is that lots of redundant code was removed. There has been some changes to the API as well. Namely the address book API, and the Embedded Apple Graphic Library. These changes suggest that applications will need to be re written to take advantage of the new libraries.

There is some evidence that suggests that push email will be in the 2.0 firmware. The latest build, revealed a toggle on/off option for a setting named “Use Push Mail”. You can also still opt to have your iPhone fetch your mail at a predefined interval. It is not known all the services that will be able to be pushed, one though is Yahoo! Mail.

[Via iPhone Hacks]

The new SDK weighs in at just under 1GB. This makes it less of a bandwidth headache for the developers. We are waiting for more details to come in now. Check back as we update this post, with all of the latest details about this unexpected update.

[Via TUAW]

Yes, oddly enough the ability is only supported for Chinese. While it is not confirmed the ability actually even exists. According to one source, the new iPhone firmware, build 5A258F, has several Chinese input methods. It is rumored, that one method is this fabled handwriting recognition. If the feature does come to fruition, hopefully it will make it to an English version.

Handwriting recognition for the iPhone presents one major problem. The iPhone, does not use, or support a stylus. This is because the iPhone uses a capacitive touch screen, and not a resistive touch screen, such as is found on Windows Mobile devices. While it would not be a far leap to write on the screen with a finger, it would be a different experience to say the least. Hey, it is a step in the right direction though.

[Via iPhone Alley]

“Well I think the only difficulty will be what Apple presents through its EULA. But I think that I think EULA is a bit of an oxymoron to me. They’re end users, they have the freedom to choose what they’d like to do, so I think we are going to leave it up to users to decide how they want to use the technology.” -Jonathan Schwartz, CEO Sun Microsystems

While bringing Java to the iPhone is obviously a huge ambition for Sun, they do not know when they will be able to deliver. Schwartz did emphasize they they have “redoubled the focus and activity”, that this is not “simple stuff”, and that it takes companies time to get these kind of things to the public. He touched on the fact that there are countless Java applications out there, and that bringing them to the iPhone presents developers with more opportunity. Really, the whole interview conveyed a very deep concern for the interest of developers by Schwartz.

Schwartz became an iPhone owner himself recently, and says that he is liking it. Maybe with an iPhone himself he will have the process of getting Java to the iPhone expedited. It will take as long as it takes I guess, but hey you never know.

[Via Engadget Mobile]