Apple may roll out 3 new iPhone models this summer

Apple may roll out 3 new iPhone models this summer

As if all the chatter about Apple iPhone’s pending arrival in Canada later this year wasn’t enough, we’re now hearing through a Taiwanese news site that Apple may roll out three new iPhone models this summer.

Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. has apparently received an order to make 25 million units of the next-generation iPhone and would begin to ship the phones in June, the Taiwan Economic News reported on Wednesday.

The online report says Apple plans to diversify its iPhone product line in order to widen its reach in the mobile phone market. The new models will adopt a smaller, plastic casing, instead of its current display of aluminum magnesium. Other reports even suggest the possibility of a 5 megapixel camera, video recording and playback and an FM radio tuner.

One of the three new models won't offer 3G support, but the report says Apple intends selling a higher-specified iPhone equipped with such support.

The new models will weigh between 110 and 120 grams, much lighter than the 135-gram weight of the current one. It will also offer a 2.8-inch screen, rather than the 3.5-inch screen currently offered on the iPhone.

Earlier this week, Rogers Communications Inc. confirmed that the all-in-one touch screen iPhone would be available on its network later this year.

nokia new mobiles

The two new models are part of the new series called Nokia Prism collection.

Nokia today unveiled the Prism collection, its latest range of mobile phones aimed at style-conscious consumers. The Prism collection consists of the Nokia 7900 Prism and the Nokia 7500 Prism, handsets which combine individual style and state-of-the-art technology. The two mobile models will be available in the third quarter of 2007 with an estimated retail price of EUR 400 for the Nokia 7900 Prism and EUR 210 for the Nokia 7500 Prism, before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia Prism collection is highlighted by cutting-edge colors, materials and graphics. Its signature diamond-cut design, featuring sharp angled lines, geometric patterns and graphic light-refracting colors, ensure these models stand out in the mobile phone market.

Nokia 7900 Prism
Opposite its sleek, liquorice-black front, the Nokia 7900 Prism comes with an anodized aluminium backcover, which is coin-stamped and laser-etched in Nokia Prism's signature diamond-cut design. Its design is amongst the first to feature an Organic LED main display that supports up to 16 million colors and displays light-focused screensaver graphics. In addition, the Nokia 7900 Prism features a "living wallpaper", which subtly changes throughout the day according to time as well as battery and signal strength, so that each screen is unique.

For greater personalization, the Nokia 7900 Prism offers a gallery choice of 49 illumination colors. Once selected, this color radiates from under the graphic key-mat as well as from the LED display. Lights are also emitted from the top of the phone to signal missed calls and messages.

The Nokia 7900 Prism features dual band 3G technology for fast and easy downloads and browsing, and quad band GSM capability for worldwide connectivity. In addition to a 2 Mpx camera, the Nokia 7900 Prism comes with 1GB of internal memory for lots of pictures, video, contacts and more.

Nokia 7500 Prism
The Nokia 7500 Prism is the Nokia 7900 Prism's quirky sibling. The Nokia 7500 Prism's slick black exterior is spliced with bright, interchangeable color accents. The Nokia 7500 Prism has a 2 Mpx camera and it can record high quality movies. The Nokia 7500 Prism can play music for nine hours and hold up to 1500 songs on an optional 2 GB microSD card.



Nokia 7900

Nokia 7500

iPhone Only Costs $250 to Make; Rest of Price is Fanboy Tax

So you thought the iPhone's insanely high price tag is due to all the fancy technology inside? Not so, my friend. That touchscreen that everyone is popping tents over only costs $33.50, with the touchscreen controller adding a mere $1.15 to the price. In fact, Apple stands to make a healthy 50% profit on both versions of the iPhone sold, with the costs of the 4- and 8-gig models only running $245.83 and $280.83, respectively.

All that profit and we're still forced to sign our lives away to Cingular AT&T for 2 years for the privilege of buying this phone. If it's not being subsidized, why the hell are we still forced to sign a contract? Weak, very weak.

Check the full cost breakdown of both iPhone models after the jump.

–Adam Frucci

iPhone models to cost Rs 31,000 & Rs 36,100 in India

iPhone models to cost Rs 31,000 & Rs 36,100 in India

Surajeet Das Gupta & Ishita Russell / New Delhi August 20, 2008, 0:28 IST

Indian consumers, who have waited for months to own the iconic 3G-enabled Apple iPhone, will have to pay Rs 31,000 for the entry-level 8GB memory mobile phone and Rs 36,100 for a model with double the memory.

Both Vodafone and Airtel will be launching the iPhone on August 22 and industry experts say bookings and pre-launch interest suggest that they would be able to sell over 100,000 phones in the next 12 months. Companies like Vodafone, which opened bookings for the phones in July, have already received booking requests of over 10,000 phones.

The domestic price, however, is much steeper than the US price. The handset is available for $199 (Rs 8,358) in the US, plus $99 (Rs 4,158) as an annual contract with the telecom company since the handsets are linked to the service provider.

These lower prices are possible because of the large subsidies that service providers are willing to provide to woo customers. In India however, neither company will offer a subsidy.

However, the non-3G Apple iPhone — which was launched by the company earlier — is available in the Indian grey market at around Rs 20,000, down from Rs 24,000 a few months ago. Grey market operators are now also cracking the codes for the 3G Apple iPhone and said it would be priced Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 cheaper than the Vodafone or Airtel price points. Second-hand 2G iPhones are available for around Rs 15,000.

The 3G iPhone will have faster downloads, an in-built GPS system and direct connections to YouTube, among other features.

Meanwhile, leading handset makers like Nokia, Motorola and Samsung have stepped up their R&D efforts to introduce feature-rich phones in India to compete with iPhones.