iPhone News Round-up: 1-18-10

It has been an extremely busy week for Apple and Apple fans. As we get closer to iPhone 4’s release date, we are going to hear about more leaks, more lawsuits, and sensational claims that have no base in reality. This weeks is not going to be different. Apple and Nokia ended last week by playing the cat and mouse game between themselves. Nokia is planning to get a chunk of Apple’s profits from its top products. Apple is planning to ban Nokia imports to the U.S. I guess it’s an eye for an eye. Nokia may be right about its patents being infringed by other companies, but Apple has the best punch-line:

Other companies must compete with us by inventing their own technologies, not just by stealing ours

Not too many experts believe that this battle will end anytime soon. Apple is not going to give up its profits to Nokia easily, and Nokia is quite honestly a bit desperate here. Besides, Apple is not going to let a lawsuit ruin its iPhone 4 pre-launch party. After all, now’s the time for anyone who’s good at making up rumors to come out of the woodwork. And it’s now being done in an international level. As expected, there has been a leak in Korea that reveals iPhone 4.0 may be on target for June/July 2010. What will the new iPhone offer? Apparently, it’ll support video chats, come with a touch sensitive housing and two camera modules. Let’s not forget about the addition of an OLED iPhone screen either.

Are any of these rumors true? That’s tough to say as iPhone rumors tend to portray a version of reality but often we get less than what these rumors claim. Apple is not going to put all its cards on the table just now. Considering that it is planning to release a tablet as well, I wouldn’t expect too many revolutionary changes to the new iPhone this time around. So some of the patents that have been discussed in the media may be for the next generation iPhone.

You can’t truly cover the latest iPhone news without discussing an app that could be more expensive that some people’s cars. BarMax is an iPhone application that only costs $999. Everyone knows that passing the bar exam in any state is not going to be too easy, so this app may actually be worth the price if you need help passing the exam. I am less impressed about this app and more about the doors that it will open. The concept of mobile training is nothing new. But online universities and colleges have not yet found a good way to take advantage of the iPhone platform to expand their business. That could be coming in the near future with mobile courses designed exclusively for smart-phone owners. I wouldn’t expect them to cost $1000 each, but there is a market for such apps.