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The 3G iPhone is getting ready for launch in numerous countries all over the world. The question arises again, ‘Will Apple Meet it’s 10 Million iPhones by the end of 2008?’ target… With a profound YES I think we can all agree.

• Piper Jarrray analyst Gene Munster is predicting 12.9 million iPhones by the end of 2008.
• Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner is predicting 14.5 million iPhone units in 2008.

The reason isn’t the new phone itself, or new firmware, or new features that might be packed into the device… It’s the distribution. Think of it. Come 3Q and 4Q of this year, the iPhone will be available to millions upon millions of more people all eager to get their hands on the device. Just this past Tuesday, TeliSonera, a wireless carrier in Europe said they will be offering the iPhone in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia later this year. Add those countries to the already confirmed list of Canada, Italy, Greece, Australia…. you get my point… the list does go on.

The month of June should provide some really great details, insight and results on how well the iPhone will do in 2008. But I’d suggest waiting till fall/winter when the iPhone launches in many international locations that we’re really going to see the iPhone blow away the prediction count. It’s going to do it… but don’t go looking for ‘3G’ as the reason. It’s the international distribution. Larger market = more iPhone sales.

[via ZDNet]

With Apple set to unveil the 2008 back-to-school promotion, Ron Johnson, the senior vice president of Apple is apparently calling it ‘Apple’s biggest educational special ever’. AppleInsider has reported that educational incentives will be bigger than any other promotion in history. There are even rumblings of Apple including the 8GB iPod Touch into some offers.

Sweet educational ‘bundles’… Doesn’t that sound good?

Each and every year it seems Apple increases the incentives. Last year a $199 discount was offered, covering the cost of a 4GB iPod Nano. Before that in ‘06 and ‘05, a $179 rebate was offered which earned students a 2GB iPod Mini.

Look for Apple to offer discounts on the more affordable priced Mac Mini this time around… But don’t count out other discounts. As mentioned above, I’d love to see some sort of educational bundle up for discount… A MBP, iPod Touch and perhaps even an extra hard drive for backup… Everything the student would need for hopping from class to class, and to keep their work safe and backed up… But that will never happen, Apple doesn’t make backup drives. Would be a sweet offer though, almost tempting enough to make me want to hit the books again

This years back-to-school educational discounts are expected to start as early as next Monday, June 2nd.

[via MacNN]

Apple yesterday released a Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.1. This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2 and iPhoto ‘08 for these cameras:

• Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/Kiss Digital x2/450D
• Epson R-D1
• Leaf AFi 7
• Leaf AFi 6
• Leaf AFi 5
• Pentax K200D
• Pentax K20D

But the updates didn’t stop there. A critical security update for OX S Tiger and an pretty darn huge Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard update are available. These updates address many security bugs. You can read more about these Tiger and Leopard updates here.

I’m just getting ready to restart after installing the Leopard update myself. To access these updates, click the Apple menu, then click ‘Software Update…’ on your mac.

[via MacNN]

More 3G iPhone pics are surfacing, and this time it is of a so-called white 3G iPhone. Judge for yourself from the pictures below, but they aren’t very convincing for me…Especially the last one. I’ve simply posted this for your review, as it makes a great talking point.

Each and every time ‘leaked’ photos hit the web I have less and less faith in them. Remember the original 3G iPhone photos that surfaced? Yeah, well that just turned out to be an iPhone case off the streets in Hong Kong.

This time the photos originated at iPhoneClub.nl. If nothing else, their site will be getting a whack-load of traffic.

One thing is almost for sure though in my opinion. Look for the new iPhone to come in a few different colors… White, Black… and Red.

{via iPhoneClub.nl]

In France, Orange is apparently giving iPhone customers hefty incentives to trade up to the new model when it arrives. Orange has been calling their customers to offer a deal on upgrading to the new 3G iPhone.

One offer would allow the user to trade in their old 2G iPhone for the new 3G version, as well as paying €50.

A second offer would let the user keep the older 2G model, but they would have the option to buy the new 3G iPhone with a ‘generous’ subsidy from the carrier.

The rumors started when quite a few readers of PCInpact reported the claims.

Orange hasn’t responded to any requests for confirmation… so file it under rumor for now. I would expect this to be somewhat true, although the finer details are probably a bit different.

Should also be interesting to see if the older 2G models will indeed be discontinued… or if they will still be offered by certain carriers. There are going to be so many countries, and so many carriers on board here, it’s really hard to tell.

Site Note: What about the millions around the world with jailbreaked and unlocked 2G iPhones? Can we trade those in to the respective carriers!?

[via electronista]

The Mac Tablet rumors are surfacing again. This time we can thank Jason D O’Grady over at the ZDNet Apple Core Blog who has noted a Mac Tablet could be coming our way as early as this fall.

According to Jason:

‘A little birdy tells me that Apple will announce a 12 or 13-inch tablet in the fall of this year. Most likely in the September or October time frame. It will run the full Mac OS X and have a slot loading SuperDrive, an “iPhone-type” GPS chip and an Intel Core Duo processor, presumably Intel’s Atom.’

Do I agree with the rumor? Of course, I think any of us would be foolish to think that Apple is NOT working on a touchscreen tablet system. They have the time, technology, developers and most importantly money to develop such a product.

In my opinion, Apple is simply taking their time to get things right... (Plus, I think they have a few other projects on the go as well ) After all, the tablet PC hasn’t exactly been a huge hit around the world. I’ve tried/used a few in my day and they simply didn’t do it for me. I’m looking for Apple to come up with some sort of ‘hook’ or difference that will make their tablet work and function head-and-shoulders above the rest.

I could see a tablet being a handy second system to have around the home… dump it in your bag and take it with you to meetings or the office when need be. I’m torn… and a little undecided if I would actually want to buy one. Probably not. A lot would depend on the price point(s) and options available.

With the launch of the MacBook Air earlier this year, I’m also excited about the prospect of an ultra-thin tablet. They have the technology, lets see if they can build it into a tablet (I see no reason why they shouldn’t).

Things I’d like to see in a Mac Tablet:

• Option of display sizes. From 12″ up to 17″
• A rugged outer shell that can take a beating
• Built-in GPS (use for maps, directions while traveling!? Perhaps a tie-in with new and existing iPhone plans here?)
• Built-in SuperDrive (external USB SuperDrive? No thanks.)
• Ultra-sleek and lightweight design (OK, I might be asking for a lot here. I’d rather have the unit shipped with a solid-state hard drive and internal SuperDrive… so I might have to compromise on the sleekness a bit!)

All-in-all the rumor makes for some very interesting discussion. What to you think about the rumor? Would you use or even want a Mac Tablet? Do you think it’s in the works or is this all smoke being blown up our a**es?

[via TheAppleCore]

New rumors are now floating around concerning the actual launch of the 3G iPhone. We all know that it is highly rumored, and highly probable that the 3G iPhone will be announced at the WWDC in San Fransisco on June 9th. For most, it was assumed that the phone would be available on the same day.

However, new rumors are surfacing that there could be a 10-day wait until the new iPhone is released to the public. This would make some sense… especially when you consider that AT&T wireless requested that employees avoid vacations after June 15th. With this rumored 10-day wait, that would give AT&T employees a few days to train and get up to speed on the new device. AT&T wireless is also planning on beginning extra summer hiring on June 16th.

iPhoneFreak has posted a timeline that makes a lot of sense:

• June 9th - WWDC Keynote by Steve Jobs - Announces 3G iPhone and other Apple news
• June 15th - Employees at AT&T advised not to miss work for a while (begin iPhone training)
• June 16th - Temporary employees begin training for less complex crowd control (give the regular sales team a day’s head start
• June 18th - Stores open their doors for a flood of multi-touching maniacs

Make of this what you will… bottom line is we will have the 3G iPhone in our mac-happy hands by mid to late June by these recent reports.

[via i4u.com]

How’s that for a post title? Kind of long I know, but I couldn’t help myself.

A Telstra senior exec in Australia has revealed that would-be iPhone users in his country are soon to be lucky ducks. Australians will have access to the fastest 3G iPhone when it is released sometime this June. Better yet, the iPhone could even be up and running on a super-fast 42mbps network just in time for the Christmas season.

In an interview with Channel News Australia, the aforementioned Telstra exec commented:

“We know what is coming we have seen the new device and it will be available on our network as soon as it is launched in the USA. By Xmas this phone will be capable of 42mbps which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world…”

Way to go aussies! Our friends down under must be pumped about the impending release.

The next few weeks are going to be very interesting, with the proverbial s*it to hit the fan, or in this case, the new 3G iPhone to be announced as early as June 9th at the WWDC.

[via Channel News Australia]

The folks over at electronista have just reported some very interesting information, especially if you’re a Canadian mac user.

They claim that Apple Canada is gearing up representatives in advance of an upcoming unknown event. Some staff are being asked to travel to Apple’s Markham Ontario regional headquarters for discussions taking place today. The discussions of course are the closed-door, top-secret kind. Apple staffers when questioned on this would not comment. This is a tad strange, because Apple usually arranges conference calls to bring important reps up to speed on developments. Must be a biggie. Can you say Canadian iPhone launch?

Take this rumor for what it is… but keep in mind the ever present rumors of a huge international iPhone launch extravaganza at WWDC in early June. The timing would be right and make sense for key Apple staffers to get the skinny on the launch. I know Canadians want the iPhone and have been waiting for what seems like forever…

[via electronista]

Recently I had the experience of working on Microsoft’s new version of Windows, Vista. I was a PC user until about three years ago when I made the switch to an Apple ibook.

I remember when I first purchased a new laptop with Windows XP on it, I was so impressed, it could do this, it could do that… I was amazed. Then time passed and I learned more and more about Macs and thought that these machines are far more cool! After deliberation, I made the switch from PC to Mac. To tell you the truth I panicked at first, thinking to myself, I spent this much money on something that I can’t use! About a week later, the panic wore off and I haven’t looked back. Until yesterday!

Yesterday I played on a fairly new PC laptop that came with Vista installed on the system. It took a few moments to get adjusted, but like riding a bike, I was able to balance and do everything I use to be able to do on the PC.

I know what you are thinking – has she converted again? PC to Mac back to PC? No way. I said I haven’t looked back and I haven’t. I was so incredibly frustrated on the new Vista, everything I tried to do didn’t seem to work. All I wanted was to connect the PC to my wireless network, I have connect previously with a Windows XP to my Airport Extreme network, didn’t seem to have any troubles, but Vista wouldn’t. I had to turn to google to find an answer and after some time (and sifting through several webpages) I came across a detailed solution and I was able to pull files from the Vista machine to my wonderful MacBook. But atlas, my problems were not over! The few video files I wanted to pull from the PC, simple .avi files (my digital camera records .avi files and I read them perfectly fine in iphoto/quicktime), apparently did not copy over with the file properties, so all that played were white screens. Back to google. Oh did I mention how long it look to transfer files – WAY TOO LONG!

Needless to say my experience with Microsoft Vista was rather poor and it’s moments like this we all should experience to know how much we really need to appreciate the stability and ease of use that Apple computers provide.

What’s your take on Vista?… Or dare I ask!?