By now you probably are tired of hearing that the iPhone 4th generation would be launched in June or July of 2009. Is there a 4G network? Lets just say upgraded 3G for now. The iPhone firmware 2.2.1, Apple Product roadmap and predictions of many analysts all indicate that iPhone upgrade indeed is due in mid of 2009. Someone also blurted out in UAE iPhone launch that the next iPhone upgrade is coming in June, though the credibility of the commenter is questionable. The talk about the iPhone nano has recently died down, seems people are more eager to see the upgraded 3G.

It’s time to count the features that we would love to have in the upgraded iPhone 3G. This means change on both the hardware and the software front. Few days back, Gizmodo has even posted the likely design of the 4G iPhone. To be frank many people do not like it, I am out too. Well, these are the features that I would love to see on the iPhone 4G if it really come.

32 GB: For many reasons the storage capacity of the to be launched iPhone should be only 16GB and 32GB. One silly reason for this is we have waited for the 32GB for too long. Another sane reason for wanting more storage is to store as many games, songs and movies to show off to friends who don’t use the iPhone. Well, the need for more storage is required for multi tasking purposes too.

Multi tasking capability and push technology: This is one feature that I missed on the iPhone after chucking my old Nokia 6300. I often used to record live calls from friends just for fun. It is very disheartening to live with the iPhone without a feature which even a very low cost phones have. It was really good to hear the rumor that Apple is planning to support multi tasking on the iPhone. I can see people running a VoiP application fulltime on the iPhone along with other applications in the future provided the battery life also gets upgraded.

Built in Video recording app: Steve Jobs does not want the iPhone to be used for recording crappy video? No one knows why there is no video recording feature on the iPhone. Jailbroken iPhone users have more than one video recording application. It is simply illogical to leave out legitimate iPhone owners from the fun of having this feature. Apple should provide this as a built in feature in the coming upgrade.

Removable Battery: Apple has cracked the secret of making effective battery that last longer than normal ones with the launch of the 17″ Macbook. It’s likely that the iPhone too would get that kind of durable battery in the coming upgrade. Over and above that the battery should be removable; when the battery is gone users  should simply go get an extra battery without sending the whole phone to Apple. It is all illogical.

Cut and Paste: Cut and paste feature should be there, or I am not going to shelf my present iPhone 3G. Apple has broken promises regarding this.

MMS: Well, for people who have issues using mailing option to send/share photos and images, Apple could think of providing MMS feature. I prefer mailing though.

iChat: Is this a joke? How about having iChat on the iPhone? Figure out for yourself how it might work. Yes, iChatting with friends on the iPhone could be real fun. The image posted by Gizmodo has a front camera meant to be video conferencing camera. I have seen this before the launch of the present iPhone 3G. With the coming upgrade, video conferencing can be expected.

Flash: Adobe is working to bring flash on the iPhone, so for the coming upgrade, flash would come pre-loaded or we add it as an add on. If the storage capacity and the ARM chips are upgraded, flash would not make the iPhone crawl.

Better Camera: The present 2 Megapixel camera is no good that too without flash though the iPhone camera is the most popular camera in Twitter. Apple should roll out the upgrade with at least a 3.2 megapixel camera with a flash preferably.

That’s quite a lot. If you have any wish list, add up for Apple to see. And yes AT&T should also do whatever is needful before the upgrade to avoidf being sued continously for patchy connectivity.

Updated: Here comes the new iPhone 3G S. Watch the full feature video demo:

The combination of Google Maps, GPS, WiFi and cell tower location data can track you down wherever you are. You can also track your spouse, children and friends. This is what Google’s latest service “Google Latitude” brings to Mobile users. The service is compatible with most color BlackBerries, Windows Mobile 5.0, phones powered by Google Android mobile software, Symbian S60 Device and very soon the iPhone and the iPod touch.

How does it work?

Download the latest version of Google Map on your mobile device. After this you send out email invites to your friends or whoever you want to track to join. When the invitations are accepted, if the invitees have Google account with a profile picture, you’d see them on the map. You can determine the distance and the direction to get to their locations. The service is not a totally service, but an extension of Google Maps. You can even see the locations of your friends through iGoogle on your PC.

What if you don’t want to be stalked?

Google respects the need for privacy, so there are many ways to use this service. You have the option to select who among your friends and family members can track you. Thus you have the option to display to selected people or hide your location from all by shutting toggling off the service.

Steve Lee, product manager for Google Latitude describes the capability of the new service: “For example, a girlfriend could see if her boyfriend has arrived at the restaurant and, if not, how far away he is.”

iPhone and iPod touch users have to wait for some time for this new Google service. We will know soon whether this service is a good or a bad stalking tool.

Is the iPhone a smart gaming device? You bet so.  InfromationWeek report provides some numbers in this context (Citing a ComScore report):

ComScore said. Overall, 32.4% of iPhone users have downloaded a game, compared with a market average of 3.8%.

And this has pushed the overall preference of smartphone users towards using their devices as gaming consoles by quite a few notches. The InformationWeek has some other numbers to hit you as well:

1. Downloading of mobile games has grown by 17% this year
2. At least one game has been downloaded by 8.5 million people, which roughly comes to about 3.8% of the total number of mobile users.
3. 6 out of the top 10 devices used for mobile downloads this year are smartphones. In 2007 there was none.

While BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile, all have contributed to this phenomenon, it is undoubtedly the iPhone that has pushed smartphone to a smash-hit gaming platform. So much, so that recession withstanding, the mobile gaming market itself can hit $4.5 billion this year.

Why iPhone? The message is clear and simple. Superb touch screen and accelerometer controls, robust processor, 3-D graphics capabilities and the indomitable App Store.

For more on this, read the detailed analysis by iphonefootprint.

Feel free to tell us what you think about this.

You have a mission to undertake stretched across intriguing dreamlike landscapes to find 6 missing golden carrots. Bobby Carrot Forever from FDG Entertainment is one game that you should have on your iPhone to know the excitement of playing puzzle games. The developer bets that the game gives you 15 hours of fun; well, it might take longer if you are not fast in cracking puzzles.

The Game

Bobby Carrot a rabbit is the hero of this game, as a player you are the guide to help the rabbit find it’s way out of all the levels. There are 6 different worlds with 10 levels in each. You’ve to unravel the puzzles in each of the levels to exit to the next level or world. When you enter a level, you have to collect objects, unlock pathways, switch buttons to go to the locked exit. In most of the levels the object you have to collect are carrots. There are also obstacles, which can be cleared by hitting some cunningly placed buttons.

In some of the levels, obstacles need to be cleared in a predefined sequence. In order to scale a wall, Bobby needs to walk on the bean seed so that a bean stalk grows out of it; only then Bobby can enter the protected fort to collect the object needed to unlock the exit. There are dragons, stone boulders, water, mirrors, spikes, conveyor belts, etc, to obstruct Bobby from advancing further. However, there are lotus leaves and rockets to cross the canals, there are bean seeds to scale walls and buttons and keys to neutralize other obstacles. You need a little foresight to crack some of the puzzles in the advanced levels. That’s where the real fun starts.

Sound and Graphics

The game comes preloaded with CD quality music that goes well with the neat graphics. Design wise the game is awesome with an equally interesting narrative to guide through each of the levels. The controls are kept simple too, however, given the chance I would prefer a simpler control button like the one in Archibald’s Adventure or Real Soccer 2009. Tapping on different corners of the phone to navigate is somewhat tiresome.

Bobby Carrot Forever is retailed at $7.99, which I am sure would not be a problem for people who love puzzle games. 15 hours of fun for the asking price is cool. I am yet to complete all the levels, so have not experimented whether the game offers the same kind of excitement if you’ve to play all over again.

• App Name: Bobby Carrot Forever
• Price: $7.99
• App Category: Games
  
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• Developer: FDG Entertainment

There is an indication that Apple would soon implement multi tasking feature on the iPhone. The main concerns that held back Apple from introducing this feature is memory limitation and the draining of iPhone battery. At present you cannot run multiple applications on the iPhone. One basic feature missing on the iPhone, which you find even in low cost mobile phones is live call recording. There are many voice recording applications for the iPhone that you can use for recording audio, but sadly not call conversations that you’d love to record.  

With the introduction of multitasking feature, there would be background processes running on the iPhone. However, this is still a rumor as Apple has not provided any hint on this line. The need to introduce this feature comes from the speculation that Palm Pre the device considered as a threat to iPhone has this. 

With a limited temporary memory of 128 MB and a 412MHz ARM processor, it would be hard for the first generation and the present 3G iPhones to support more than one or two background applications. In view of this, there is a possibility that the feature might be implemented with a restriction on the number of apps that can be run at a time. For this limitation, it’s also possible that background running process might come with the next iPhone revision if Apple is looking for a 100% multitasking feature. 

Based on the product cycle followed so far for the iPhone, analysts believed that the next major iPhone revision would come in either June or July 2009. The 32GB iPhone which has been expected for so long now could also be coming in the next revision.

The App Store has given us the ease and comfort of 1-click shopping. What if you could use the App Store for 1 –click selling as well? The Thirty Pocket app lets the users do exactly that. It removes the hassles that are involved if you are trying to put up something  of your choice in the heaven of selling, This app makes the process of selling the item of your choice as simple as taking a picture of your last iPhone 2G and putting it up for sale.

Rephrase: “Technically: The app removes all the hassles that an e-bay or amazing account will have. (registration, auctions, post expiration) and speeds up the entire process. In place of the usual 20 minutes (and more in most cases) time taken in those places, you will need just about 60 seconds here.

The process is simple. Take a picture with the iPhone and post the price and description. Thirsty Pocket grabs the user’s location and presents local ads based on category and keyword searches.

The user can then browse search results by using the iPhone’s “flick” feature (similar to camera roll) and contact the sellers through the iPhone as well.

Sure enough, it was just a breeze. Neat interface, fast process, simple and comfortable to use. And it’s for free. This is just 1-Click selling made as simple as it could get. These guys might jolly put the big retailers to some stern test. Yet another celebration of the cult of the App Store.

May be you could use this  to sell a  Sennheiser street line headset!

• App Name: Thirsty Pocket – Buy and Sell now
• Price: Free
• App Category: Lifestyle
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• Developer: Thirsty Pocket Labs