MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

News continues to trickle out from various carriers about rate plans and prices for the upcoming iPhone 3G. We've compiled the most recent items here: - Telia in Sweden has posted rate plans, with only 100MB of data transfer on the lowest plan. - Mac4ever posted ...

TokyoMango publishes this Youtube video which demonstrates the Japanese keyboard from the iPhone 2.0 firmware: The demo appears to be running within the iPhone SDK simulator. We've previously posted screenshots of the iPhone 2.0 Japanese keyboards. Tokyo Mango describes the input method: You can pick from a muti-tab style kana keyboard or a sliding keyboard. Japanese kana letters are...

Telefonica announced that they had received 300,000 pre-orders for the iPhone 3G in the UK and Spain. Telefonica has allowed customers to reserve units on their website and will expand their iPhone sales into Spain, the Czech Republic and twelve Latin American countries on July 11th. Telefonica has sold the original iPhone in the UK and Ireland under the O2...

Firmware 1.1.4 on left, 2.0 on right Appleinsider is reporting that the latest iPhone 2.0 Firmware betas are offering a more extensive "Erase" function for users. There have been concerns and reports that the current method available to users in Firmware 1.1.4 does not completely erase your personal data from the device. The new firmware's erase function is said to be more complete and can ...

O2 has posted prices for their Pay & Go service. The new iPhone 3G costs 299.99 and 16GB for 359.99 for Pay & Go service which does not require a long term contract. This price includes unlimited browsing and Wi-Fi for the first 6 months after you activate your iPhone, but does require a 10/month plan to continue after that time. The 299.99 price is much lower than the prices that has been...

Businessweek has a recap of newly-released preliminary research from market research firm iSuppli indicating that the component costs of Apple's iPhone 3G will stand at $173 for the 8GB model, down from $226 from the original 4GB version. Another market research firm has previously estimated the iPhone 3G's component cost at approximately $100, however that firm had estimated a $170 cost for...

TimesOnline warns that iPhone 3G owners will be able to rack up large wireless bills faster than ever. While the UK carrier for the Apple iPhone offers an unlimited data plan, this only applies when you are located in the UK. Once you travel abroad, the cost to download 1MB of data can be as high as 6/megabyte (~$12 US). This means an average BBC iPlayer program could cost as much as 1,800...

Australian IT reports that Telstra will join Optus and Vodafone in launching the new iPhone 3G in Australia. Telstra stayed quiet as its rivals wracked up marketing points by standing in the glow of the local iPhone launch, but will now go ahead and sell the device according to people close to the company.According to their sources, Telstra's introduction will lag behind July 11th introduction and ...

Macworld reports that the MLB At Bat application that was demoed at WWDC last week will be sold on the App Store for $4.99. The application allows baseball fans to get live scores and watch video highlights while the game is still going on. Our goal is to be on any device a baseball fan carries, MLB Advanced Media VP of Corporate Communications Matthew Gould told me in an interview Wednesday.The...

Making the rounds today is a rather useless survey which claims that 91% of Japanese will not buy the 'iPhone'. While I may have a personal bias against online surveys and their overreaching conclusions, this one is particularly unhelpful. Much of the online press are describing this as a negative story, suggesting that 91% of the Japanese not being interested in the iPhone is a disappointing ...

During Adobe's quarterly conference call last night, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen confirmed that the company was working on a version of Flash for the iPhone. With respect to the iPhone, we are working on it. We have a version thats working on the emulation. This is still on the computer and you know, we have to continue to move it from a test environment onto the device and continue to make it...

Apple and AT&T have settled a lawsuit brought by Klausner Technology Inc regarding patent ownership behind the iPhone's Visual Voicemail. According to the press release, both Apple and AT&T have agreed to license its "visual voicemail" technology. No financial details have been disclosed: "The patent litigation with Apple has been settled. The patents have been licensed to Apple," company...

It seems there's a lot of confusion about iPhone 3G upgrades and activation. Here's what is known at the moment to try to clarify the confusion. All of this applies to the U.S. and AT&T only. The iPhone 3G is a subsidized mobile phone, which means that AT&T is paying ~$200 to discount the phone down to its final price. $199 for 8GB or $299 for 16GB. The reason AT&T is subsidizing the phone ...

United announced today that they have started deploying iPod and iPhone connectivity as part of its in flight entertainment system for certain flights and passengers. United is the first U.S. carrier to offer iPod and iPhone connectivity to its in-flight entertainment system, enabling customers to enjoy their individual content on a 15.4-inch personal television, all while the iPod or iPhone...

EETimes.com reports that technology teardown experts Portelligent have estimated that the bill of materials (BOM) cost to Apple for the iPhone 3G could be as low as $100. While merely an estimate based on assumed components used in the new model, this is significantly lower than the $170 BOM cost at launch for the original iPhone that Portelligent estimated based on their actual teardown of the...

MacRumors has set up a iPhone 3G Launch Meetups forum to help readers organize meetups for the iPhone 3G launch. The iPhone 3G will launch on July 11th, 2008 in 22 countries world-wide. If you are interested in meeting up or organizing with other readers, find the regional thread or create one yourself if none...

iPhoneAtlas received confirmation from AT&T that there will be no laptop tethering option for the iPhone 3G. With many existing Smartphones, customers can connect their phone to their laptop for use as a 3G modem. This is commonly described as "tethering" and allows individuals to use their phone's 3G connection from their laptop. AT&T will not be supporting a [Phone-as-Modem] plan for the...

NYTimes provides details on the upcoming AOL Radio application for the iPhone that won an Apple Design Award at this year's WWDC. According to the article, the new AOL Radio application will connect to AOL's servers over the EDGE, 3G or Wi-Fi and based on your GPS location will tune you to the nearest local...