How iPhone in 2008

Ben Reitzes of UBS seems pretty confident that there will be a new version of the iPhone by March of 2008. The guy got a tip from someone in the iPhone supply chain that he believes to be true.

The guy is dead certain it will be a second gen iPhone too, not an iPhone Nano, a new Newton, or anything else like that. Its definitely going not going to be an iPod with Internet calling either, its going to be the next iPhone.

People just can’t get enough iPhone rumors. Here’s the most recent one: according to smartoffice, Apple is planning an iPhone 2 for MacWorld in San Francisco. It is said that Apple is already talking to manufacturers and contractors about major hardware and software changes/upgrades aimed at non-US markets.

So here’s what we think of this:
1/ Steve jobs confirmed that iPhone 2 was in the works, but that’s like saying “we’ll do something better next time”. Not helpful.
2/ Macworld SF: This seems early to announce an iPhone 2, but “non-US markets” and “major hardware changes” might point to a CDMA device that would work in Japan and on Sprint and Verizon networks. A CDMA iPhone for January would make more sense, schedule-wise.
3/ Tthe iPhone 2 will have a GPS. GPS chips are getting so… cheap that you can find some in computer mice! The widescreen makes the device a great candidate for GPS apps. At least, they migh not get maps from Telenav, which just got bought by Nokia
4/ wireless Email sync would be very nice, but I’m dubious that Apple will support Exchange and BlackBerry Connect, although I hope that they will.
5/ “Apple is already talking to manufacturers and contractors”: well, yes that would be normal, that’s part of the overall planning, but it doesn’t mean that the iPhone 2 release is imminent.