Apple is going to preview new iPhone software next week, as speculation mounts that the company will launch a new version of the smartphone this summer.
The company is holding a media event March 17 to show off a new version of the iPhone's OS. It will also be previewing a new software kit for developers. The blog Boy Genius Report said that the new version of the OS would support MMS messaging as well as tethering via Bluetooth and USB connections.
Meanwhile, anticipation is building that the new software is simply just a prelude to a new device launch this summer. The U.K. carrier O2 is going to lower iPhone 3G prices in May, to sell through inventory ahead of a June or July launch of a new iPhone, Mobile magazine reported.
Apple sold 4.4 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter, down sequentially from the 6.9 million it sold in its fiscal fourth quarter--the first quarter impacted by the release of the iPhone 3G--but up 88 percent from the year-ago period.
For more:
- see this article [1] (sub. req.)
- see this Boy Genius Report post [2]
- see this article on the mystery iPhone [3]
Related Articles:
Apple [4] awarded multitouch patent
Apple [5] sells 4.4M iPhones in Q1, warns competition
Apple [6] shares drop in wake of Jobs' health disclosure
Apple [7] sells 6.9M iPhones in Q4
Links:
[1] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123690826641514967.html
[2] http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/03/12/apple-iphone-30-os-event-march-17th-we-got-some-info/
[3] http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/O2_lowers_iPhone_price_ready_for_new_handset.html?fragment=&SearchType=&terms=
[4] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/apple-awarded-multitouch-patent/2009-01-28
[5] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/apple-sells-4-4m-iphones-q1-warns-competiton/2009-01-22
[6] http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123255729957302873.html
[7] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/apple-sells-6-9m-iphones-q4/2008-10-22