UK iPhone no longer available

Ahead of next month’s all but confirmed 3g iPhone launch, stocks of the current version have now run out in the UK. O2’s web site is showing the image above even though there has been no official announcement of when the replacement will arrive. Speaking of which, there are more images online today claiming to show the next generation. Engadget has them so take a look and make your own mind up. With a (rumoured) month to go until the launch, do Apple have to spend any money on advertising this device?

iPhone for $199?

Looks like American iPhone buyers will be in for a treat when the ‘everyone thinks it’s due in June’ 3G iPhone launches. The latest gossip is that AT&T will heavily subsidise the device on a two year plan, bringing the price of an 8Gb 3G version down to $199. The story started at Fortune, so head over there to get all the details.

Other claimed details of the next gen iPhone include it being 2.5mm thinner than the current version, and will have a GPS chip for navigation and other location-based services. While this all sound good, I’m thinking there’s not much chance of us brits getting the 3G iPhone for the equivalent £99.

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iPhone UK price cut

News sites are buzzing today with the news that O2 is to drop the price of the 8Gb iPhone by £100 to £169 tomorrow. Mobile Today reports that O2 has confirmed the price cut, to be available on all tariffs. Is this a move to clear out slow moving stock of the lower capacity iPhone, or even make way for the 3G version? Lets see what happens tomorrow.

3G iPhone soon?

The rumours about a 3G iPhone are gathering pace. Wall Street journalist Walt Mossberg predicted it would be available within 60 days, then retracted his comments. Now Engadget has the news that the Ziphone team have found code in the latest iPhone beta 2 software that suggests the 3G iPhone will use the successor to Infineon’s S-GOLD2 which powers the current iPhone. Offering 7.2Mbps HSDPA and support for up to 5 megapixel cameras this would certainly up the spec quite a bit. I’m happy at the moment with my iPod touch but a 3G iPhone would certainly be tempting, especially if the ease of jailbreaking and unlocking continues.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

There’s another flashy interface sitting on top of Windows Mobile, this time in the guise of the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. Measuring a reasonable 110 x 53 x 16.7mm the X1 has a sliding keyboard that curves as it slides, a feature Sony Ericsson call an “arc slider”. Internal memory is a cramped 400Mb supported by a Micro SD card slot. Quad-band 3G HSDPA and HSUPA, quad-band GSM/GPRS/Edge, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with A2DP stereo streaming take care of the communication, and assisted GPS provides navigational duties.

The flashy display appears to be an application launcher much like HTC’s Touch interface rather than a task switcher showing running apps. Depending on how far Sony Ericsson go with this we may still have to wait a while longer to bin the Windows Mobile styli. I’m not totally sold on the styling either. Those buttons are a bit too Nokia Prism for my tastes.