I am sure everyone who is reading this has heard about the soon to come 3G upgrade to the very popular Apple iPhone. Many are expecting it to premier with the full 2.0 software and the ability to use 3rd party apps with out the need to hack the phone. Currently if you look at Apple.com you will see that the iPhone is unavailable for purchase:

Many are speculating that this is just the result of Apple being sold out of the branded AT&T versions. While this could be, you will also find that the U.K. Apple store is also out of stock. When iPhone’s leave the factory they are carrier specific. What are the chances that Apple would run out of 4 different carrier specific models at the same time?

Also, over the weekend AT&T.com store had a strange option for a Black iPhone. While they said it was not for a Black iPhone the reason they gave was not to convincing:

An AT&T spokesperson just told us that the iPhone Black dropdown reference on the AT&T Wireless website is just a temporary placeholder. The spokesperson says that it was used over the weekend for a “scheduled catalog update,” distinguishing the various iPhone models (4GB, 8GB and 16GB).

It has been rumored for some time that Apple had been planing to realease a black iPhone. This rumor started when an image of a black backed iPhone surfaced. Many speculated that this was just a case or even a single persons case mod. You be the judge.

I personally think we will see the new 3G iPhone as soon as tomorrow, May 13th, 2008. I see Apple releasing the 3G iPhone before WWDC in June. This new iPhone will not feature the 2.0 software, it will just be 3G. The iPhone Application store and 2.0 software will come later as a software update to the previous models including the recently released 3G at WWDC. If Apple releases the 3G earlier, this will help to focus the media on the new applications store which I think is the next big step for the iPhone. Also, the application store has a lot of potential for additional revenue for Apple, so they will probably will want to focus the media on the new applications. Apple is infamous for releasing new products on Tuesdays, and with the AT&T store mess-up and the Apple.com store being sold out, I think it will come earlier then most expected!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention to, that a image has surfaced of a new 3G on/off setting in what is rumored to be the most recent beta release of the iPhone 2.0 software. This surfaced late last week.