So where the bloody hell's our iPhone 3G S?

Aussie networks have anounced release dates for iPhone 3G S - but nobody here seems really sure...

In Australia, Optus, Telstra and Vodafone have all confirmed they will offer the iPhone 3G S handset there from June 26th.

Over here ... no one seems really sure. Vodafone has the iPhone supply contract, but Telecom, reportedly a suitor to Apple, has its new faster 'XT' cellphone network as a dowry.

Asked about when we will see Apple's latest iPhone, Vodafone just says the 3G S will be here "in July sometime." Apple says the same.

The iPhone 3G S works on GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800 and 1900mhz bands. The iPhone currently works on both Vodafone NZ's 2G and 3G networks, but Vodafone has just finished a third network, the 900mhz 3G Extend. This will not work with the iPhone 3G, but the 3G S will probably work fine on Telecom's new XT network.

The new iPhone's 'S' stands for speed, you see. Not just network speed: Apple claims the new model is twice as fast as the 3G. It will take videos, something the soon-to-be-replaced model doesn't do, as many have remarked.

The new iPhone 3G S uses a PowerVR SGX graphics processor core, according to sources, which allows OpenGL ES 2.0 support offering improved 3D graphics. New games and apps should still work on previous models, apparently, using the older fixed-function 3D pipeline, says AppleInsider.

The iPhone 3G S has twice the RAM (256MB) and the CPU runs at 600MHz (the 'old' 3G runs at 412MHz). The new chip appears to be a new class of Cortex A8 processor made by ARM, according to most, including 9to5 Ma.

Another hardware change is, apparently, an 'oleophobic' (oil-resistant) screen for fingerprint-resistance.

So next year's iPhone might get a dual-core ... that's right: CNet reports that ARM's dual-core A9 will be available in 2010.

What really grabs me, though, is the new iPhone's ingenious camera - look at the screen displaying the view you want to snap, touch what you want it to focus on, take the picture. This, to me, is one of those ideas that seems blindingly obvious once you know it. How did the concept remain unsubstantiated for so long? And why isn't it on cameras? (No doubt it will be, soon, if it isn't already).

The iPhone 3G S goes on sale in the US for somewhere around US$199 (NZ$316) to US$299 (NZ$475).

T-Mobile Germany just announced its iPhone 3G S pricing. T-Mobile is the only German iPhone carrier. The 16GB model will sell for as little as 1 euro (NZ$2.20) but only if purchased with the with the most expensive (120 euro per month, roughly $263) plan on two-;year contract. It will cost 130 euro ($285) with T-Mobile's least expensive plan: at 25 euro - that's about $55 a month. The 32GB model will run from 1 euro to 250 euro (~$547), respectively. All the German plans offer unlimited data except the cheapest (capped at 200MB per month).

Vodafone NZ's current iPhone plans show you can get a plan-free 8GB iPhone 3G (not 3G S) for $979. It's $499 on the cheapest ($40 per month) plan, or $199 on the priciest plan ($130/month). If this is going to change in any way for the 3G S, we don't know yet.

Of note is that Bruce Currin (of Mac and iPhone accessory vendor MacSense) has told his dealers he can "100 per cent confirm" that the upcoming iPhone 3G S will fit all the current iPhone 3G cases and all the current iPhone 3G car chargers and other dock accessories.

Developer tax bungle

In NZ developer news, Alexey Kojevnikov (creative director of Muli Mobile would like to pass something that could be very useful for all NZ-based iPhone app developers:

"It appears Apple has inadvertently made a mistake in the tax documentation provided to NZ-based developers. According to Apple, the rate of US tax on royalties paid to NZ-based entities is 10 per cent (assuming you complete the famed form W-8BEN). However, due to an updated tax treaty, that rate should be 5 per cent. (See Article 12 of the recently updated NZ-US tax treaty.) NZ developers should specify this rate when filling out form W-8BEN, or contact Apple if it's too late.

This may not sound like a huge difference, particularly considering the fact that you should be able to claim all overseas tax paid back from our own IRD, but it makes a positive difference to your cash-flow.

Alexey's latest app, by the way, is a flower encyclopaedia. Just on on sale, FlowerPedia features a huge flower photo gallery of useful flower knowledge plus a flower identification wizard, which Muli Mobile thinks is a world first.

You can use it to identify and rate flowers. You just select a flower picture to see the flower names (common and scientific, identifying features, what family/genus it belongs to). You can even email the pictures straight out of your iPhone, and the photos can also be used as iPhone or iPod Touch wallpapers. It's only $6.49.

Alexey says gardening tips and medicinal properties are coming soon - maybe MacSense will bring in an iPhone hardware attachment that lets you dig in the garden while you're using FlowerPedia - how about it, Bruce?

But hey, if you're looking askance at your now 'old' iPhone 3G, today marks the official release of iPhone OS 3, which adds some pretty excellent improvements even to existing models. It's free for the iPhone, and will set you back just $19 for the iPod touch.

- Mark Webster mac.nz