04/06/2009 By Jeffrey Fritz ( Source: www.examiner.com )

iPhone 4G

While myriads of business users breathlessly await the release of iPhone OS 3.0, leaks have begun to surface indicating that Apple may be busily working on releasing the next generation iPhone. For purposes of this column we’ll call it iPhone 4G although it may or may not work on 4G networks and that may or may not be the real name of this next gen device.

Since rumors are so near and dear to my heart, as evidenced by my recent missive on the Palm Pre, let’s see what rumors are circulating around this newest iPhone.

According to rumor central, an anonymous poster on a Chinese website has published what claims to be the specs for Apple's next iPhone. If these rumors become fact, iPhone users who upgrade will enjoy the following new features:

* A 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus: The current iPhone camera is 2 megapixels and fixed focus, so autofocus will be a nice addition. But please, the world of digital photography has long since bid sayonara to sub 6 megapixel cameras.

* An increase to a maximum storage of 32 GB: That’s twice the current storage for those 3.2 megapixel photo works of art, tons of iTunes music, myriads of apps, etc.

* Digital compass: Just in case you get lost and the built-in GPS can’t help you find your way home. (This is a built-in magnetometer for those who have a technical bend.)

* FM radio: This one is hard to believe, although it would be nice—especially if it’s an HD FM radio with digital display. But an FM radio would be direct competition to the iTunes store, so we’ll have to see whether this feature sees the light of day.

* A CPU speed increase to 600MHz: This is 1.5 times faster than the current 400MHz iPhone CPU: Could this mean multitasking is in the cards?

Now what’s missing or not rumored?

* Where’s the real physical keyboard? If Palm can do this on the Pre, why can’t Apple do the same for the iPhone?

* Will we see videoconferencing on the iPhone? Apple has hinted at this in the past, and this would seem to be a slam-dunk app for the iPhone. The iPhone has almost everything you need for a video call except that the camera would need to be moved to the front from the rear end of the iPhone.

* How about an OLED screen? If Sony can do it, why not Apple? Price maybe the reason.

* Wireless charging is a neat new option for the Pre. Does Apple plan to offer this on the next iPhone?

With Apple's WWDC only a few weeks away, it may not be long until we find out more. If Apple releases the iPhone 4G whatever they call it and do it in short order, you can bet that this will steal some of the Palm Pre’s thunder.