NBC at iTunes UK; Caris ups outlook; new '3G iPhone' photo

[AppleInsider]

NBC has tentatively dipped its toes back into iTunes' waters. Also, Caris & Company has raised its estimates for Apple; Piper Jaffray sees Vodafone as having no iPhone exclusives; iTunes France may be the next to have a full-fledged video store; and yet another alleged 3G iPhone photo has appeared at AppleInsider's door.

NBC shows at iTunes UK

In what may be a sign of further reparations between two media giants, NBC Universal has put some of its shows back on the iTunes Store through its UK branch, according to reports.

Although limited to just a handful of shows such as Heroes and House, the move marks the seeming return of NBC to Apple's service after a heavily-publicized feud that saw Apple pull all NBC shows after the companies were unable to reach an agreement over the flexibility of TV show pricing. NBC is believed to have used its Hulu web-based service as well as deals with SanDisk and other Apple rivals as alternatives to an iTunes presence.

Early visits to the restored content, however, reveal that NBC may have gained the upper hand in negotiating its reappearance and struck a deal for variable pricing: legacy shows cost as little as £1.19, while in-production shows sell for £1.89.

The discovery has been made at the same time that NBC has offered TV shows for the Zune Marketplace in the US at a currently fixed $1.99 price.

Caris lifts price target based on high iPhone, Mac estimates

Caris & Company on Tuesday continued a recent precedent of more optimistic forecasts for Apple by increasing its share price target for the Mac maker from $170 to $200.

Analyst Shebly Seyrafi at the financial firm views both the iPhone and the Mac as the key factors in Apple's healthy state. While the Mac has shown a recent ability to grow above industry trends and merits attention, the potential for a 3G iPhone debut at June's Worldwide Developer Conference is a particularly strong "catalyst," according to the researcher.

An iPhone with the faster Internet access is likely to spike sales and will reach further than the current model, which is both incompatible with some areas and less desirable in Europe. A possible subsidy on iPhone prices may also help accelerate sales, Seyrafi says.

Caris now anticipates that Apple will ship approximately 10 million Macs in fiscal 2008 (up from 9.6 million) and 10.2 million iPhones (up from 10.0 million) during the same year. As many as 12 million Macs and 17.9 million iPhones could ship in 2009, the company's analyst says.

Piper: none of Vodafone's iPhone deals exclusive

Vodafone's announcement of ten national iPhone deals is noteworthy for the lack of exclusives associated with the contracts, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

In an investment note, Munster notes that carriers to date have been quick to trumpet any exclusivity contracts they might receive -- a behavior unusually absent from Vodafone's release. The telecoms firm is already known to be sharing the spotlight in Italy with Telecom Italia, which also has rights to the device.

An open model across multiple nations is likely to hurt Apple's revenue share starting in 2009, but may be compensated by the expansion allowed by the new model. Vodafone's announcement by itself came as a surprise, Munster says.

"This announcement is both sooner and more expansive that we were expecting," he explains. "With the announcement of these 10 additional markets, the iPhone's international rollout is about 6 months ahead of our original expectations."

iTunes France to receive TV shows?

French iTunes customers will soon have access to TV show downloads, say separate reports from local media outlets collected by MacBidouille.

A recent news post by ElectronLibre claims that Apple has struck deals with both international and French studios to offer TV episodes in the country, including Disney, EuropaCorp, and Paramount. The launch is "almost" ready, according to the claim, and could occur within three weeks of the original post, landing sometime in mid-May.

The American electronics company may have to contend with resistance from Canal + and TF1 to close a deal, the report adds. Both are considered key backers of programming in France and are said to be reluctant to embrace an on-demand video download service.

Additionally, French TV industry publication Telerama suggests Apple is eager to give France and other European countries the expanded iTunes video store and may take advantage of European Union rules to obtain a blanket license for videos by hosting them from Luxembourg; a service headquartered in the small nation wouldn't require individual national licenses, Telerama's newsletter says.

Another purported 3G iPhone photo appears

After a succession of alleged photo leaks, AppleInsider this evening has received another photo that is claimed to be an image of the next-generation iPhone.

The lone photo suggests a more squared-off design than the current phone and with a less conspicuous chrome trim as suggested by a recent iLounge report.

As with earlier shots, AppleInsider can't vouch for the accuracy of the image and is posting it with the assumption that it is a mockup, purely for the sake of analysis and discussion by readers.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Eduardo]

Wow, this new 'leak' looks pretty good; more svelt than the current iPhone.

[TBaggins]

I would guess that most or all of the '3G iPhone prototype' spy photos we've seen were of red herrings.

It's just something Steve would do.


.

[interwebs]

Apparently Microsoft has made a deal with NBC/Universal to offer it's programs for the Zune:

See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080506/...soft_zune_dc_2

[rjharary]

Best iPhone fake yet. This could be the real thing. Especially the camera reflected in the screen.

[MacVicta]

Wow, that looks nice. You can see the front-facing video camera in the upper left (our left) hand corner.

[Foo2]

Is it just an illusion or is the "home" button off-center?

[Jensonb]

Is anyone else dubious? It looks 'shopped for one thing. The home button looks off somehow. Incidentally, I'm not keen on the new industrial design either in that picture or as similarly described by iLounge

[Delfoniq]

Originally Posted by MacVicta

Wow, that looks nice. You can see the front-facing video camera in the upper left (our left) hand corner.

Think so too. Judging from the frequency of new (fake or not) iPhone picture leaks (one per day), it looks like it might be coming before anyone of us expects!

[11thIndian]

As with any of these the only proof we'll see if it it gets pulled. And even then...

[ALPICH]

I am not so taken with this one. It reeks "Its boxy but its good" like a Volvo car. But what I really don't understand is why Apple would have put a rim around the screen when one of the defining aspects of the touch interface was that it had a flush surface with the body of the iPhone. Why go backwards?

[EagerDragon]

Bottom of the phone looks odd, like someone sliced a wedge section off. Maybe it is just my eyes.

[solipsism]

— Caris' unit sales for Mac and iPhone are woefully conservative.
— That image is so obviously photoshopped.

[NasserAE]

This is the same iPhone photo seen here http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=1031

Doubt it is the real deal

[potterhead4]

Originally Posted by Delfoniq

Think so too. Judging from the frequency of new (fake or not) iPhone picture leaks (one per day), it looks like it might be coming before anyone of us expects!

Here's the problem with that and my problem with all of these leaks: If the 3G phone were coming out before software 2.0, which would have to be really soon, you'd assume that any leaked phones would have an OS on them, so leaked shots would be taken with the phone on. However, and one poster noted this in the previous leaked iPhone thread, a lot of these shots look like production models without the internals, which I think is probably supported by the fact that none of the shots actually have the phones turned on.

This makes me believe that Apple's probably planning to release the 3G model a few months after the 2.0 release, which would mean that it wouldn't be out of the question for Apple to be considering the final 3G prototypes right now ahead of a release in late 2008. What we're seeing is probably leaks of several possible versions of the next gen, and maybe, if you believe the rumor mill that has Jobs behind it all, just the rejected ones to throw people off.

[ALPICH]

Originally Posted by potterhead4

This makes me believe that Apple's probably planning to release the 3G model a few months after the 2.0 release, which would mean that it wouldn't be out of the question for Apple to be considering the final 3G prototypes right now ahead of a release in late 2008. What we're seeing is probably leaks of several possible versions of the next gen, and maybe, if you believe the rumor mill that has Jobs behind it all, just the rejected ones to throw people off.

Problem with this idea is that Vodafone is set to release the iPhone in a lot of places. Most with good G3 services. In Australia you would have to be brain damaged some way to buy a standard GSM product since all major players are now offering 3G services.

Here is an article link to state that GSM in Australia could be turned off in 2010.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...fm/684948.html

Why would anyone spend up $1000 Aus for a phone that will be useless in two years? Maybe because they are going to upgrade. But many of us will use this phone till it dies. I would rather that be due to it failing after many years of faithful services and not because the GSM network is turned off. The reality seems to be that no matter how you present it the iPhone is not a mission critical devices and if waiting 1 to 5 months get me a G3 then it is worth it.

And really all I want is for Steve Jobs to come out and say "What is the price for this 3G iPhone. Well you will get it for the same price as the current generation iPhones."

[christopher3071]

Here's why:
Download the photo from the site and look at the image properties. It states it was taken with a Minolta Dimage XT, well that reflection in the picture is no Dimage XT, that's a Sony cybershot.
FAKE

[zeasar]

erm... this photo somehow reminds me of a LG phone, too fake to be true.

[Berzerker]

Another well-shopped LG Vu.

[Virgil-TB2]

It's an obvious fake. It looks exactly like an LG Phone, either the KS-20 seen here :

... which rips off the iPhone IP, or any one of the other LG models that all have the curved top and bottom like the fake image.

Notice it has a button on the lower right side where an iPhone has no button?

[NOFEER]

ok lets say it's not fake, where are the "buttons" and if indeed there was a front camera, what hide it behind a smoke glass, wouldn't that decrease video quality???
and what about the zirconia case.
hmmm seems much is made of things for misinformation, maybe it's by LG so when someone goes into a att store they just grab what looks like an "iphone"

it looks worse than the iphone 1

[icfireball]

Originally Posted by christopher3071

Here's why:
Download the photo from the site and look at the image properties. It states it was taken with a Minolta Dimage XT, well that reflection in the picture is no Dimage XT, that's a Sony cybershot.
FAKE

Yes, and apart from technicals, the reflection appears to be photoshopped in (poorly) so as to give the appearance of authenticity. It just looks funny to me. That strong of a reflection would not be made in a dark room and poor lighting like that.

[NasserAE]

Originally Posted by ALPICH

Problem with this idea is that Vodafone is set to release the iPhone in a lot of places. Most with good G3 services. In Australia you would have to be brain damaged some way to buy a standard GSM product since all major players are now offering 3G services.

Here is an article link to state that GSM in Australia could be turned off in 2010.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...fm/684948.html

Why would anyone spend up $1000 Aus for a phone that will be useless in two years? Maybe because they are going to upgrade. But many of us will use this phone till it dies. I would rather that be due to it failing after many years of faithful services and not because the GSM network is turned off. The reality seems to be that no matter how you present it the iPhone is not a mission critical devices and if waiting 1 to 5 months get me a G3 then it is worth it.

And really all I want is for Steve Jobs to come out and say "What is the price for this 3G iPhone. Well you will get it for the same price as the current generation iPhones."

Turn off GSM network?!! the article is talking about turning off 2G network not the whole GSM network!! read it again. However, I am not sure if that will effect the 2.5G iPhone. Even if it did, Australia will be getting 3G iPhone not 2.5G.

[PatsFan83]

Originally Posted by ALPICH

I am not so taken with this one. It reeks "Its boxy but its good" like a Volvo car. But what I really don't understand is why Apple would have put a rim around the screen when one of the defining aspects of the touch interface was that it had a flush surface with the body of the iPhone. Why go backwards?

Isn't the 3G chipset larger than the current one?

That must have been one heck of a backlight to produce a shadow of the fingers holding the camera onto the table (seen on left side of photo).

Everyone has decent digital cameras, so until I see a spy shot with at least 1600x1200 resolution, I will continue to be doubtful.

[Eduardo]

Originally Posted by christopher3071

Here's why:
Download the photo from the site and look at the image properties. It states it was taken with a Minolta Dimage XT, well that reflection in the picture is no Dimage XT, that's a Sony cybershot.
FAKE

Logic wins every time!

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by interwebs

Apparently Microsoft has made a deal with NBC/Universal to offer it's programs for the Zune:

See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080506/...soft_zune_dc_2

NBC is operated by a bunch of idiots which is why it is usually at the bottom of my list of channels to check when watching tv at home and I never bothered with a purchase of any of it's shows when they were available on iTunes. I see where the Zune store will have "Those shows and more than 800 TV episodes including Comedy Central's "South Park" and MTV's "The Hills" will be available at the Zune store starting on Tuesday for the equivalent of $1.99 in Microsoft points that must be purchased in advance." Wait a minute. A dollar ninety-nine?!?!?! Wasn't that one of the gripes NBC had with Apple and their pricing of $1.99 per show???

If I never hear of another mac related rumor or news story about NBC coming back to iTunes, it will be too soon!

[stonefree]

I think all these iPhone rumors and supposed photos are getting ridiculous. It seems to have devolved into just link baiting.
All you have to do is post some alleged scoop and an image and next thing you know every mac site is linking to you. Credibility and photoshop skills are not even important.

[Ireland]

I don't get that rim round the edge, it would hit off your finger. That alone makes me call this a fake, unequivocally.

[StainedGlassPoet]

The top corners look very much like a Blackberry

[bdkennedy1]

They might have squared it off to fit more into the case.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by Foo2

Is it just an illusion or is the "home" button off-center?

Exactly what I was thinking. I didn't try to measure it though.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by ALPICH

I am not so taken with this one. It reeks "Its boxy but its good" like a Volvo car. But what I really don't understand is why Apple would have put a rim around the screen when one of the defining aspects of the touch interface was that it had a flush surface with the body of the iPhone. Why go backwards?

Are you sure the original is flush? I thought it is set back a bit so that if it were laid on a surface with the screen down there would be less chance of it getting damaged.

[probably]

Originally Posted by melgross

Are you sure the original is flush? I thought it is set back a bit so that if it were laid on a surface with the screen down there would be less chance of it getting damaged.

ehhh the screen is actually less than a hair higher than the bezel

the glass they used made this not matter so much.

[melgross]

Originally Posted by probably

ehhh the screen is actually less than a hair higher than the bezel

the glass they used made this not matter so much.

You would be surprised. Put this down on a concrete or other hard stone surface, and you will quickly find out that not only diamonds scratch glass!

[Rogzilla]

Originally Posted by christopher3071

Here's why:
Download the photo from the site and look at the image properties. It states it was taken with a Minolta Dimage XT, well that reflection in the picture is no Dimage XT, that's a Sony cybershot.
FAKE

You are exactly right, in fact, its this one. (I apologize for the size). <big_ass_image>

Look carefully at this picture...when I say it is this one, I don't just mean this model, I mean its THIS PICTURE! This person really didn't even try.

Edit-Happy?

[solipsism]

Originally Posted by Rogzilla

You are exactly right, in fact, its this one. (I apologize for the size).
<big_ass_image>
Look carefully at this picture...when I say it is this one, I don't just mean this model, I mean its THIS PICTURE! This person really didn't even try.

I understand linking to the actual image used in the photoshopping, but it's .8MB, you should really just post a link to the image. Not everyone has a fast connection and I'm sure AI servers don't want to resend such a large file each time someone access this page.


edit: Thanks, Rogzilla. Helps with the page formatting too.

[polarisdigital]

Its fake.

If you look at the angle of the camera relative to the phone, the reflection of the camera should not be visible at all!

[Staedtler]

Originally Posted by ALPICH

Problem with this idea is that Vodafone is set to release the iPhone in a lot of places. Most with good G3 services. In Australia you would have to be brain damaged some way to buy a standard GSM product since all major players are now offering 3G services.

Here is an article link to state that GSM in Australia could be turned off in 2010.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum...fm/684948.html

Why would anyone spend up $1000 Aus for a phone that will be useless in two years? Maybe because they are going to upgrade. But many of us will use this phone till it dies. I would rather that be due to it failing after many years of faithful services and not because the GSM network is turned off. The reality seems to be that no matter how you present it the iPhone is not a mission critical devices and if waiting 1 to 5 months get me a G3 then it is worth it.

And really all I want is for Steve Jobs to come out and say "What is the price for this 3G iPhone. Well you will get it for the same price as the current generation iPhones."

In addition, Vodafone New Zealand rejected the iPhone because of the fact that it was not 3G capable. There is no EDGE service here in New Zealand.
Yet New Zealand is clearly mentioned in the Vodafone/iPhone statement. This would support the idea that there is a 3G iPhone on the horizon.

[shawnathan]

I took the photo into photoshop and man, is it ever touched up. I agree with a poster above who said it's an LG phone photoshopped to look like it could be the 3G iPhone.

1) The bottom left edge of the phone - the shadow is so obviously placed, a black blurred shape, multiply'd and opaque. The bottom left corner to top left corner have a 'white' band that runs up, simulating glare/reflection, it's a perfect line, with no variants and minimal colour flux, which proves it's just a selection and white to grey gradient.

2) The home button IS off center, and according to the placement of the phone (and to a poster above) the camera apparently used to take this shot (if it was a camera and not a phone) is not on the correct angle to be reflected in the screen, and would be better at stabilizing a shot and reducing noise.

3) The photo noise - is clearly embellished with a photoshop filter. The noise on the background is stationary, while the noise on the phone is blurred, clearing up the fact that this is photoshopped. If the photoshop-ist pulled this image from say an LG site, they would have had to blur the phone to fit with the rest of the image. When they layered the phone on the background, they realized that the noise overlayed on top of the phone did not coincide with the fake blur on the phone itself - so they blurred the noise only on the phone to make it look close.

4) The colour - although the phone is allegedly black, nothing in a real photo is ever full blacks and greys. This phone is. So according to what I've said earlier, this was a mock-up photo, or an illustration. When you look close at the phone, you can see little colours everywhere, which is just a child of the photo noise. When I sample a section in photoshop, I clearly get a consistent RGB reading of the same 3, two digit numbers - making this an obvious mock-up because the greys are too grey, the blacks are too black and the edges of the phone do not reflect the colours of the surface it is laying on.

FAKE

or

Man will I ever be embarrassed when this turns out to be a real phone.

[pmoeser]

I just want a world where there are no borders between countries artificially set up by money hungry corporations!
Give us an iPhone. I don't care what gen it is
Give us movie downloads
Give us tv show downloads
It took 5 years before we got iPhoto printing
It took nearly 3 years to get the damn music store.
Do they want to stop piracy? Or increase it so they can sue grandmas and small children?
Make the stuff available at a decent price through a legitimate channel!