The only big surprise so far is the price. It’s going to be an awesome phone, but the price is going to be somewhere around $1200! I love my N95 and would surely like to have an N96, but that price might put it out of reach for a lot of people. Hopefully they’ll revise it down by a few hundred before it’s released.
Google has been showing off some excellent new Android features at the Google I/O conference today. There are a handful of videos and a ton of pictures over on the AndroidCommunity site. Here are the videos:
I’ve always felt that the big hold-up to quality gaming on the iPhone was going to be the lack of buttons. You simply need that kind of control for a lot of games. Enter the iControlPad.
This thing looks cool. It attaches to the dock connector on the bottom of the phone, then cradles it in place. The unit is still in the prototype phase, but is apparently progressing well. When the new iPhone launches next month, presumably with downloadable content from SDK developers, this could become a big seller.
The Google Earth Blog has a great story today about a Google Earth-like product that is in the works for the iPhone. The company is called Earthscape. They have a desktop product which is in beta that they hope will compete with Google Earth. However, the iPhone product they’re developing is revolutionary. Check out the video below:
They product has been built using the iPhone SDK, so it should run under the 2.0 firmware when it is released. However, it still has more work to do before they can release it. For starters, it’s using built-in imagery rather than streaming it over the net.
I’m really looking forward to seeing more from these guys in the next few months.
It’s not a huge surprise, but Gizmodo has revealed the official launch date of the 3G iPhone. From their site:
someone very, very close to the 3G iPhone launch has told me that Apple will announce their new model at the WWDC Keynote on June 9th.
Also, the phone won’t be available at a fixed price point, meaning carriers will be able to offer discounts if you sign a contract. That seems like a good thing for everyone, since the majority of iPhone users signed contracts anyhow.
There’s no word on new features, but it’s presumed that it will have Flash Lite 3, Demand Paging, Web Runtime support, etc. Here is the official word from Nokia:
Nokia N95 US version (also known as N95-3)
Nokia is aware of consumers’ demand for a new software release, and our development teams are working to produce the new software as soon as possible. We estimate that the new software should be available early June.
Please note that your mobile service provider, operator, or carrier may not have approved the latest Nokia device firmware available. Nokia produces many different variants of each product (for different countries and languages) and not all variants will have the latest Nokia device firmware. It is our priority to update all variants as quickly as possible, and we apologize for any delay.
The CEO of Intel Germany, Hannes Schwaderer, apparently confirmed that a larger iPhone (or a mini-tablet) is coming soon. The quote from MacRumors:
As part of an Intel event for the 40th birthday of the semiconductor company at Munich’s BMW World, Germany managing director Hannes Schwaderer confirmed today what has long been a rumor on the Internet: namely, that there is an iPhone with Intel’s new Atom chip. The device is slightly larger than the current version, Schwaderer said. That is not, however, because of the Intel chip, but because of the larger display used in the new iPhone.
Personally, I’d rather see a larger version of the iPhone. The problem with most mini-tablets is that they require a wifi connection. If this was a phone, I could use bluetooth for phone calls, but still have 3G internet anywhere I went.
We knew it was coming sometime this year, but according to Unwired View the Nokia N96 might start shipping on July 31.
I’ve always felt that the big hold-up to quality gaming on the iPhone was going to be the lack of buttons. You simply need that kind of control for a lot of games. 
