AT&T has announced detailed pricing information for its iPhone 3G plans and will start selling the iPhone 3G at 8am on July 11th!!


AT&T also confirmed that they will be subsidizing the price for new and current iPhone customers at the WWDC-announced price of $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB). These prices are specifically available to the following customers:

- iPhone customers who purchased before July 11
- Customers activating a new line with AT&T
- Current AT&T customers who are eligible, at the time of purchase, for an upgrade discount

For AT&T customers who are ineligible for the subsidized pricing, AT&T is offering an "early upgrade" price of $399 (8GB) and $499 (16GB). You can check your eligibility in your online AT&T account (screenshot).

Finally, AT&T is offering an unsubsidized price of $599 and $699 at a later date as a "no commitment" price for individuals who do not wish to sign a long-term contract.

According to reports crossing the wires this morning, Research In Motion is expected to delay the release of its next-gen BlackBerry Bold. The Boy Genius is claiming that software issues, battery life problems, and overheating are causing the hold-up, which will move the street date back to mid-August as opposed to the presumed July release on AT&T.

Barrons reports on a recent analyst note from Oppenheimer which claims that AT&T is discounting the iPhone by $325 to reach its $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) prices. This means the actual unsubsidized iPhone cost would be $524 and $624, respectively.

The higher subsidy rate for the iPhone, he says, “reflects AT&T’s faith in the iPhone’s ability to attract new subs and increase ARPU.” And he also says it has positive implications for Apple, since it effectively results in a playing field that is tilted in their favor. “Rivals must scramble to hit a lower, less profitable price point,” he writes.

The analyst also reports that AT&T is paying Apple an additional $100 per phone for iPhones sold in Apple stores for a total commission of $425. No reasoning for this additional commission is given. 

Based on this higher-than-standard subsidy, it is believed that Apple's revenue for the iPhone 3G is comparable to the original iPhone where Apple received a portion of the monthly subscriber fees. This agreement has been modified with the iPhone 3G with the substitution of an upfront subsidy rather than a monthly payment.

The large amount of the subsidy introduces some interesting issues for some AT&T customers who are trying to upgrade to the iPhone 3G. Little official information has come out of AT&T or Apple regarding rate plans or eligibility to qualify for the subsidized iPhone price. It seems clear that existing iPhone customers will be able to buy a fully subsidized iPhone 3G, but the answer for current non-iPhone AT&T customers remains murky. Known and rumored information for upgrade eligibility has been consolidated in this guide.

Apple announced today that they had sold over 5 billion songs on iTunes. According to data from the NPD Group, iTunes remains the number one music retailer in the US. iTunes features the largest online music catalog with over eight million songs. 

Apple also reveals that customers are buying and renting over 50,000 movies every day making iTunes the most popular online movie store as well. iTunes now houses over 20,000 TV episodes and over 2,000 films including over 350 in high definition.

Apple first reported it had become the number one music retailer in the U.S. in April.

Apple announced the winners of their annual Apple Design Awards (ADA) tonight.

The Apple Design Awards, held at Moscone West during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, recognize technical excellence, innovation, and outstanding achievement in software development. With new categories for iPhone development, this year's Apple Design Awards will be more exciting than ever.

The ADAs feature categories in both Mac and iPhone categories this year. TheiLife reported the winners from tonight's presentation ceremony. The winners include:

Best OS X Student Project
- Squirrel (finance management) by Axel Peju
Best OS X Graphics and Media Application
- ScreenFlow (Screencasting) by Vara Software Limited
Best OS X Application
- ScreenFlow (Screencasting) by Vara Software Limited
Best OS X User Experience
- Macnification (organize microscopic images) by Orbicule
Best OS X Game
- Guitar Hero III by Aspyr Media, Inc

Best iPhone Web App
- Remember the Milk (task management) by Remember the Milk
Best iPhone Game
- Enigmo by Pangea
Best iPhone Entertainment App
- AOL Radio by AOL LLC
Best iPhone Social Networking App
- Twitteriffic (twitter client) by The Icon Factory
Best iPhone Productivity App
- OmniFocus (task management) by The Omni Group
Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness Application Winner
- MIM (medical imaging) by MIMVista, Corp.

The native iPhone winners, of course, are not yet available to the public. Runners up are also listed at TheiLife. The winners received two 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops, two 30-inch Apple Cinema Displays, one 16GB iPod touch, one 8GB iPhone, an ADC Premier Membership, reimbursement for one WWDC 2008 E-ticket including airfare and accommodations, and one 2009 ADC Macworld Expo Exclusive Marketing Package.

In the wake of Apple's iPhone 3G announcement and AT&T's press release detailing their new agreement with Apple, additional details are surfacing regarding the companies' attempts to reduce the number of customers unlocking their iPhones for use on other carriers.

Gizmodo spoke with AT&T's President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie, who revealed that all iPhone activations will take place in-store. This is in contrast to the current system in which customers may activate their iPhones from home using iTunes. Additionally, Reuters reports that AT&T has said that purchasers who do not activate their iPhones within 30 days will be subject to penalties. No details on these proposed penalties have been made public.

After months of anticipation, the heavily rumored 3G iPhone was announced today during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference Keynote.

Features
- 3G-capable. 2.8 times faster than EDGE.
- GPS built-in
- Thinner
- Better battery life - 300 hours of standby, 2G talk-time 10 hours (as opposed to 5), 5 hours of 3G talk-time (competition is 3 hour 3G talk time), 5 to 6 hours of high-speed browsing, 7 hours of video, 24 hours of audio.
- flush headphone jack

Pricing and Availability
The iPhone 3G will be available July 11th in 22 countries for $199 for 8 GB and $299 for 16 GB. The 16 GB model also comes in white. Apple has posted details on their website, but it is currently overwhelmed.

More sealed boxes are reportedly arriving at Apple Stores worldwide with Arstechnica reporting that the London Regent Street Apple Store has received "a single box that is padlocked, and under orders to be put in a safe until Monday."

The image of the above box was sent in anonymously and correlates to the box that supposedly was sent to some Australian resellers. Web-mobile.net claims to have photos of the open box, but the authenticity remains up for debate. These images are provided for interest only and are not necessarily felt to represent authentic images.

We've also heard that Germany's T-Mobile has already received subsidized rate plans for the iPhone coming in at a subsidized 99, 199 and 299 euros. These are prices for hardware with a 2 year contract, but may only represent two distinct models, as the amount of subsidy depends on what rate plan is chosen. For comparison, T-Mobile Germany currently offers 4 prices (99, 149, 199, 249 euros) for the 8GB iPhone alone depending on the rate plan chosen. Meanwhile, the current 16GB iPhone (499 euro) has not been eligible for any discounts regardless of rate plan. 

Finally, news is coming out of Spain that the new iPhone will be sold there starting at 99 euros by Corriere.it. 

Apple will be announcing their new products at the WWDC 2008 keynote speech on Monday, June 9th at 10am Pacific. We will have live web/photo coverage at MacRumorsLive as well as Twitter, SMS and Spoiler free coverage.

Engadget and Gizmodo have posted videos and screenshots of a "Proof of concept" version of the SlingPlayer for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The included video demonstrates how to stream video from your Slingbox, though not all options are presently enabled.

Once you connect to your Slingbox, you control channels with an on-screen remote whose buttons scroll horizontally at the bottom of the screen. There's also a scrollbar full of channel icons that provide shortcuts to specific stations. Video ran pretty smooth and looked good over a wi-fi connection. And it goes without saying, but Sling also has their fingers crossed for a 3G iPhone.

Sling Media sells the Slingbox which allows you to stream video from your home television over the internet to any supported device (Mac, PC, Mobile Phone). This native SlingPlayer port would bring that functionality to the iPhone. Unfortunately, Sling Media has not yet been accepted into the iPhone developer program, but they are targeting a "fall or winter" release. 

Apple is expected to detail more about the iPhone Developer Program and the iTunes App Store on Monday, June 9th. We are providing keynote coverage at MacRumorsLive.com.

USA Today provides some additional confirmation to the rumors that the next generation iPhone will benefit from carrier subsidies. According to the newspaper, the new iPhone will start at $199:

The price also will rock: $199, according to people with knowledge of the matter, down from the current $399 and $499. Sources declined to be cited by name or affiliation because Apple and AT&T haven't authorized anybody to speak publicly about pricing until after Monday's announcement. The $199 price is being subsidized, though USA TODAY could not confirm details.

Rumors of a $200 rebate first emerged in April alongside claims of GPS and a thinner design. Similar claims were again echoed just last week. 

Meanwhile Barrons has heard that the Foxxconn, Apple's iPhone manufacturer, has only shipped "several thousand" of the new iPhone and don't expect to ramp production up until the middle of the month. This would suggest an actual launch date closer to the reported AT&T blockout dates (June 15-July 15th). 

Apple is widely expected to announce the 3G iPhone at today's WWDC keynote speech which begins at 10am Pacific. We will be providing live coverage at MacRumorsLive.com.

Apple is about to kick off the 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference with their Keynote speech which takes place at 10am Pacific, June 9th, at Moscone West. We will provide live Keynote coverage at MacRumorsLive.com. We also have alternative coverage via SMS, Twitter, Spoiler Free. Also a reminder that iPhone users can visit MacRumorsLive and will be redirected to a specially formatted site. 


Keynote line - flickr/feria
- Attendees have already moved indoors, and one covered banner has been spotted. 
- Apple Store Japan, Hong Kong, Australia Korea are down.
- iPhone Dev Center is down.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will kick off on Monday, June 9th at 10 a.m. Pacific with a keynote speech given by Steve Jobs and his team of executives. There will be no live video or audio broadcast of the event. Once the event is complete, Apple will post a Quicktime stream of the keynote to be watched on demand. MacRumors will provide live coverage of the keynote speech with the following methods:

Web

MacRumors will provide near real-time text updates and photos at MacRumorsLive.com. All visitors to MacRumors.com will be redirected to MacRumorsLive during the event.

A special iPhone-optimized version of MacRumorsLive with support for text updates and photos will also be available if you visit the site through your iPhone or iPod Touch. (Screenshot of iPhone/Touch version.)

Twitter Updates

We will also try to provide live updates through Twitter. Individuals who already have a twitter account may 'Follow' us at the following addresses:

http://twitter.com/macrumors - Live keynote updates (10-20 updates per Keynote)
http://twitter.com/macrumorsRSS - Updates with every new MacRumors.com story
http://twitter.com/arnoldkim - arn's Twitter account

SMS Updates

For those who don't have or want a Twitter account, you can still sign-up to receive SMS updates straight from your phone.

Sign up from your mobile phone
1. Send "FOLLOW MACRUMORS" to "40404"
2. You will be prompted for a username.
3. You should receive confirmation.

To unsubscribe
1. Send "LEAVE MACRUMORS" to "40404"
2. You should receive confirmation.

Samsung today announced the L870 phone. 

Interestingly, spec sheets obtained byphoneArena.com specify that the phone uses the Apple Safari web browser.

The "Safari" designation, however, would seem to indicate some cooperation with Apple, as Safari is an Apple-registered trademark. 

Regardless, the move appears to be yet another win for the Apple-supported WebKit rendering engine. Recently, Adobe has announced that the Air platform is utilizing WebKit, and Dreamweaver CS4 will be using WebKit for its Live View feature

Apple has continued to add new features to their upcoming iPhone 2.0 firmware release. The latest version seeded to Enterprise customers has a added geo-tagging to the Camera application, according to Appleinsider.


The latest iPhone 2.0 Beta (5A292g) asks the user for permission before transmitting their location information. Apple currently uses Wi-fi and Cell tower identification to pinpoint locations, but is rumored to add GPS support in the next version of the iPhone.

Essentially, geo-tagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to media files such as latitude and longitude coordinates -- or even names of places -- so that those files can later be referenced, searched, and grouped based on their origin.

This functionality appears to fall under a broader "Location Services" preference that can be turned on or off.

The use of location in mobile phone applications is a growing trend. iPhone developers are already working on location based social networks and even a multiplayer role playing game (MMORPG) set in the real world.

AT&T announced today that they will complete their deployment of High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology in the six remaining markets across AT&T's entire 3G (third-generation) wireless broadband network. 

This will complement its deployment of its HSDPA network, making AT&T the only U.S. carrier to have fully deployed HSPA technology on its 3G network. AT&T's 3G network is available in more than 275 markets and will expand to nearly 350 markets by year's end.

With the new addition of HSUPA technology, AT&T 3G users can enjoy uplink speeds between 500 and 800 Kbps. The technology is available in all but the few remaining AT&T 3G markets and will be included in all future deployments. The new upload speeds complement AT&T's 3G download capabilities, which currently offer up to 1.4 Mbps across all markets for customers who have capable devices, such as AT&T's LaptopConnect wireless modems.

The timing of the rollout conveniently coincides with the rumored Apple iPhone launch, though fast upload speeds, which is the technology described in this press release is less critical for the current version of the iPhone. In the future, as applications are deployed on the iPhone, uploading larger files, such as video, or even video chat from the iPhone could become more common. Regardless, the "completion" of their 3G network in time for a June iPhone rollout remains interesting.

U.S. customers can use this map to determine if they have 3G coverage in their area. Alist of cities is also provided.

I heard some rumors today that the Multiply Service is going through a HUGE upgrade very soon?!

iPhone Access: (Scale 1-10 = 10)

One thing I noticed yesterday was a New iPhone Interface!!

Now Multiply looks very slick on the iPhone....

No Lag - Instant click and view

Great User Interface - Photos lay out just like Apple's iPhoto

Clean and uncluttered - No Themes to slow down loading the page

Loads very fast even on the Edge Network

New Video Player: (Scale 1-10 = 3)

I noticed the roll out of a new video player.

Is it me or does each upgrade to the video appear to get worse?

The look of the player improves with each roll out but

the quality of the video just gets worse.

When I fist joined Multiply the first thing I noticed was how clear and smooth video looks compared to YouTube or MySpace.

I would have to say that the current Video Codec is very poor.

Even my current videos uploaded in 1080i using the Apple H.264 codec looks horrible now.

Not only that - the Video Size is so large that many are now complaining about the video over lapping custom themes and just appearing to be out of place.

Safari has never crashed on Multiply and 3 times watching a video Safari has locked up and crashes.  Full Screen doesn't return back when you press escape.

All around - Thumbs down.

Custom Themes

I saw this post from a very popular custom theme designer who may now leave Multiply:

I may be saying Goodbye..

May 21, '08 4:11 AM for everyone

Multiply is about to launch a major upgrade.
And I feel like a T-rex getting its first whiff of the on coming Ice Age. 
Extinction looms.

Today, Multiply implemented a code validator in their CSS box. 
Not only is the validator more bug infested than a roadside motel, 
now it's not possible to add any widget with"position:absolute" values ... 

I have made about a hundred themes distributed in more than 10 theme sites within multiply and outside of it. Each theme has a 'special' line of code which tells me when its being used. That's why I know when you use my theme...or when you edit it without my say so. >;)

That's more than a million lines of code which needs to be cleaned. 

And I do not have the time nor the inclination to do it. 

Update:

It appears that the Video is back to normal again like before.

It runs smooth, not jittery and looks very good.

The Video Screen is a little larger but that only affects custom themes at the moment.

Update #2:

Use a Multiply Theme and everything lines up perfect. I'm gonna stick with default theme for a while.

Many people today succeed without advance degrees...

Why? It's not what you think.

Lately it seems that everyone and his or her brother has been going back to school to get a degree, but the importance of this higher degree is getting diluted, and it's never really been a guarantee you'll get that plum job.

Believe it or not, the majority of CEOs running major companies in the United States do not have degrees. Research done by BusinessWeek magazine in 2007 found that fewer than 1/3 of executives who hold high level positions in corporate America have any type of degree!

And a more recent poll conducted by University professors Aron Gottesman and Matthew R. Morey found that out of 500 top companies surveyed, only 150 had CEOs with a degree at the helm.

The study also uncovered an interesting fact that may sound counterintuitive:
"There was no evidence that having a person with a degree helped the stock-market performance of that firm. In fact, "there was some marginal evidence that it might hurt," says Gottesman.

Even though tough economic times are usually thought of as a great time to go back and get some more education, plopping down big bucks on a degree in higher education doesn't mean doors will open up for you but almost always automatically creates SERIOUS debt for the student who ends up getting bad credit by not making monthly payments on time. This makes tough ecomonic times even WORSE for those who think getting in debt for a degree will make them finiancially better off in the future. Sad fact is that many get the same position with NO degree and have no worries about repayment of thousands of dollars.

"Colleges seem to churn out Master's Degrees like tissue paper," says Joanna Smith Bers, managing director and talent officer for New York-based DB Marketing Technologies. "There may have been a time when those three letters actually distinguished job candidates from the pack, but no more. As a senior manager at a business insights management consulting firm, I have found that a Masters Degree is more embellishment than substantive."

While there are still some jobs, particularly in the Medical or Law Sectors, where a Univeristy Degree is usually a must, recruiters and hiring managers say they're looking for applicants with real-world experience who actually KNOW something.

A higher education degree can surely open doors, says Jonathan Mazzocchi, a partner in the accounting and finance division at staffing firm Winter, Wyman, but "experience will always trump a Masters Degree."

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist, has hardly been hurt by his lack of a Univeristy Degree or any formal business training. In fact, he sees his lack of business credentials as a plus!!

Buckmaster questions the very meaning of success and in turn questions the very heart of what University programs espouse! Is it really about education or all about sucking money from students via hefty loans and NO promise of any real good paying jobs?

And, he points out, it's "interesting perhaps that Craigslist, which has never focused on business success per se, is widely viewed as being more successful as a business than 99 percent of Internet companies that have ever existed, virtually all of which did focus primarily on being successful as a business, the large majority of which have gone bust without making a dime."

Tom Glocer, the CEO of Reuters, doesn't have a Degree, and told me the philosophical writings of Honoré de Balzac served as a guide for him in the business world:

"With Balzac, ideas don't necessarily only come from a very direct path. Often the bigger lessons in life get learned in slightly indirect or abstract ways. If you're thinking of a problem in a narrow space, often the solution lies in reorienting in the way you approach the problem, and you end up solving a general set of problems."

"If you can find something that motivates you and hones your potential, that is what is most likely to help you climb the ladder. It's not the degree. It's what you do with it, a Degree is just noise."

This is not to discourage anyone from getting a University Degree, but rather students should understand there are limits to how much any degree can really help you in real life.