This is in respect to the prevailing prices of the LG OLED touchscreen panels which now stands at $500 and will be used in these Apple tablet computers. Since this will account for roughly 30% of the overall price of the unit, if Apple pushes through with the original date, the production cost of the Apple iTablet could range somewhere between $1500 to 1700 which is quite steep. So, as a compromise, since prices of touchscreen displays are expected to considerably drop heading towards 2011, a delayed release will have a significant effect in lowering the over-all price of these tablet Mac computers.

Two models were mentioned in the report: a 9.7-inch OLED equipped tablet, and a larger 10.6-inch LCD variant. Of course, being that this is from Digitimes, we’re taking this bit of news with a grain of salt and classifying this under the rumor category unless we hear otherwise.

[digitimes via giz]

[source]

Techcrunch is saying that the Google Phone will be more exciting than the Motorola Droid and even the following super Android phones that will come–Droid and the HTC Dragon will serve as a warm up to–how do we say, The One?

Google will not instantly go to manufacturing–the phone will be made by a big mobile company, perhaps Motorola again? Google is said to be in total control, though, as far as design and specs, and the phone will not carry any other brand but Google’s. The manufacturer could be Taiwanese or Korean, but the safe bet goes to either LG or Samsung. The Google Phone will be backed up by a major advertising drive. It’s going to be Apple vs Google after today and in the foreseeable future, and Google will have another solid source of revenue, besides their Adwords.

[source]

Apple Insider’s sources are from Taiwan and is involved in the iPhone supply chain. This rumor makes a lot of sense, as the “leaked” midboard of the iPhone 4G does seem to be smaller in size than the current iPhone model based on the relative size of the camera hole.

OTR Global says iPhone worldmode will use a Qualcomm hybrid chip. Hon Hai, the rumor says will not be the iPhone maker, the privilege going to Asustek’s Pegatron. Asus, therefore, will be making both Mac and iPhone and, possibly, the new iPod Touch. We’ve of course have had a number of iPod Nano leakage with a 2.8-inch screen or thereabouts. I’m quite curious if the virtual keyboard will be retained with a screen this size. Possibly, iPhone 4G will be smaller but have a QWERTY keyboard.

With both CDMA and UMTS networks supported, the iPhone could be sold to all U.S. carriers.

[via appleinsider]

One interesting and very possible snag. What if the iPhone 4G we’ve heard about is none other than the CDMA Verizon iPhone? It’s been over two years since the iPhone was officially announce and we’ve gotten little or no indication that Apple is designing a new hardware.

[via mashable]

[slashgear via engadget]

Editor’s note: we wrongly stated that there will be a $100 decrease from the current iPhone 3GS model. No, the 8GB rumor is an entirely new model in addition to the current 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS.

[via bgr]

The common wisdom states that the iPhone 4G will most likely come out in 2010. It will be Apple’s big announcement of the year. With the sudden appearance of the leaked iPhone 4G midboard, the announcement date may very likely be pushed forward to very, very soon. This is Gizmodo’s thinking: “Like every company out there, Apple’s products are built just-in-time to avoid stock congestion or last minute changes. They don’t have parts ready eight months before release.”

An earlier iPhone 4G release also makes sense in the face of recent announcements in the mobile world. The Motorola Droid, for one thing, must have been making shockwaves at Cupertino. So is the photo above really the midboard of the iPhone 4G? It doesn’t look all that different from the current model. If Apple will insist on sticking to the original iPhone form factor, may I suggest a couple of new features? OLED screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and how about a more Mac-like user interface?

Oh, China Ontrade says they’ll publish more iPhone 4G leaks. We’ll keep watch.

[via gizmodo]

[gdgt via engadget]

“AT&T’s ’sweetheart’ carrier subsidy (~$450) for the iPhone would not be attainable at Verizon,” said Marshall in the note. “[But] diverse carrier support is a key element in driving global penetration of the iPhone. We believe the chances are high the iPhone will find its way onto the Verizon network in the second half of 2010.”

When Apple does stop selling the iPhone for AT&T’s GSM network, Marshall predicts Apple will lose significant chunk of the subsidy money, from the $450 per home that AT&T is giving them to only $300 when the iPhone lands on Verizon. The $300 per phone will put the Verizon iPhone on the same plane as other smartphones in network deals. In the long run, Marshall believes Apple will gain by about $7 billion, selling about 14 million iPhone by 2011. It will be AT&T’s big loss to the tune of half a million subscribers every quarter.

“Everyone is dissatisfied with AT&T on the iPhone, not only on voice, but data as well, especially in congested cities like New York and San Francisco,” said Marshall, echoing complaints that go back more than two years to the launch of the original iPhone in the summer of 2007. “If Verizon starts selling the iPhone, AT&T is going to have an issue on their hands.”

[via computerworld]