new prediction for iphone release

I 2ed that I would like 16GB but also NEED G3. I'm afraid that Safari and Google maps will be all but worthless using Edge.

The problem is that the device has to go in for FCC approval now, and the hardware specs are pretty much locked in at that point. Even something as simple as increasing the memory capacity would require re-evaluation by the FCC (although it's possible such a re-evaluation could be done faster than the initial approval process).

A 3G-level device, however, is almost certainly not going to happen in the device currently being prepared for release, as that's a fundamental design change that would probably require a complete re-certification.

The software on the other hand is another story entirely. I have no doubt that there will be additional software applications pre-installed on the device by the time it's released, since there are so many things that appear conspicuous by their absence (like an "iChat Mobile" client, for instance).

true that about the ichat mobile, however do we exactly know the specs that apple sent in to the FCC? (its a genuine question I'm not trying to prove anyone wrong)

For example: If apple sends in the specs which include:
(not real spec sheet)

screen
square button
F2345IDRG samsung flash memory card

Does apple have to include the size of the memory when sending in to FCC?

however do we exactly know the specs that apple sent in to the FCC?
Yes, the full hardware specs have to be included in the FCC filing, including all chips and components that are used in the construction. As I've said, upgrading memory might not be a big deal (it's chip-for-chip), but would require at least a short re-certification process to 'bless' the new hardware configuration.

The FCC approves a device in it's full hardware configuration, not just some components of the device... Otherwise they'd have no way of knowing whether secondary components are going to play nicely with the radio transmission/reception components.

The only way that Apple might get away with changing the memory and not requiring re-certification would be if the memory actually was a card inside the iPhone (ie, not user-replaceable, but not an integral component either). However, this is quite unlikely to be the case, since it would increase the production cost/complexity with little actual benefit.

As for whether we know for certain what has been submitted, I haven't been paying enough attention to bother checking the FCC web site. There are rumours that Apple had asked for an NDA from the FCC (which would preclude the specific specifications from being published), in which case we would know that a product called an "iPhone" had been submitted, and have a brief description, but few specific technical specs would be publicly available.

An interesting watch if you have some time to kill...
Yes, he picked up on some of the same issues we noticed while watching the Keynote. The fact that software like the Calendar isn't ready is really no surprise, as I suspect that most of the apps are only half-baked... Ready for demo but not finished. Apple's answers to us in our interview afterwards further confirmed this.

The "Ringtones" tab was a good catch that I had missed during the presentation, however (probably spending too much time looking at our IRC channel instead ;) ).