Yup, pretty much right on schedule identifiers for iPhone 3,1 (which would be the 4th generation iPhone — likely set to debut next summer at WWDC 2010 — have shown up in PinchMedia analytics, which tracks device usage, this time for iBART developer Pandav. (Apple is based outside San Francisco, so a SF public transport app makes sense as a test app).

To recap, the original 2007 iPhone 2G was internally classified by Apple as 1,1, and the similar guts in the 2008 iPhone 3G (radio notwithstanding) was classified as 1,2 (a minor revision). The 2009 iPhone 3GS, with its enhanced internals, was classified as 2,1, the first major revision. If the next iPhone is showing 3,1 (and we saw this in firmware leaks back in March), it should be a similar scale hardware upgrade.

We should see some web analytics for this baby soon, and of course a slew of rumors over screen size and other hardware. Oh yeah, it’s ON.

[via MacRumors]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

4th Generation iPhone (3,1) Now Being Tested in San Francisco

A year to the day after the previous version was released, Handbrake has hit 0.9.4, and boy is it faaaaaaaaast:

There’s an old proverb in the video encoding world: “Speed, size, quality: pick two.” It means that you always have to make a trade-off between the time it takes to encode a video, the amount of compression used, and the picture quality. Well, this release of HandBrake refuses to compromise. It picks all three.

If you have video you want to get onto your iPhone, Handbrake is the way to go — and it’s free. New, streamlined presets still include Apple Universal, iPod, iPhone & iPod touch, and Apple TV (as well as others if you’re rocking the Xbox, PS3, Zune, or whatever floats your video boat).

Improvements include much better H.264 encoding via the x264 project, a new build system, new soft subtitles, live preview, and constant quality encoding. As can be seen by the list above, they’re all about x264 now, so they’re also winding down support for AVI, OGG/OGM, and XviD — they’ll tell you why via the link above, but basically they want to pull you kicking and screaming into the better looking future. Love them.

Here’s the direct link to downloads for Mac OS, WIndows, and Linux.

Note to 64-bit Mac users: If you decide to go with Handbrake 64-bit for OS X, and intend to rip DVDs, know that Handbrake uses VLC for the task and VLC 1.0.3 doesn’t yet have a 64-bit version, so you’ll have to stick to 32-bit Handbrake, or downgrade your VLC to 1.0.2 64-bit.

If you give it a spin, let us know how it transcodes for you!

[via TUAW]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Handbrake Video Encoder Hits 0.9.4

We saw a preview of Gameloft’s N.O.V.A back at WWDC 2009 for iPhone/iPod Touch. Even then it looked suspiciously like Halo. But now, there can be no doubt in saying that Halo “unofficially” makes its way to iPhone. This teaser trailer shows a lot of video reminiscent of Microsoft’s Halo franchise. The last 50-seconds of the trailer shows actual gameplay, let’s just say that the players involved look a lot like Master Chief a military soldier and The Covenant some aliens in an intergalactic battle.

Microsoft has to take critical eye to this game as the similarities are TOO close for comfort. But, at the end of the day, I am just excited to get a Halo-like experience on my iPhone; I’m not complaining. Thank you Gameloft.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

N.O.V.A Trailer Emerges- What Will Microsoft’s Lawyers Think?

Pre-orders for Apple’s iPhone, set to debut in South Korea Saturday, have already hit 53,000 on carrier KT Corp. With a market of over 400,000 smartphone users and 47 million handset holders in general, and entrenched local competitors like Samsung and LG, AP quotes the former as saying it thinks Apple will “invigorate” things.

Very likely. The iPhone has apparently already caused SK Telecom, the largest in South Korea, to drop service prices for the Samsung Omnia. Apple has also shown the ability to turn dumbphone users into smart, so growing that 400,000 towards that 47 million is no doubt what KT Corp is really interested in.

If you’re picking up an iPhone in South Korea, let us know how it works for you!

[Special thanks to cherryhead25 for previous iPhone in Korea tips!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

53,000 Pre-orders — South Koreans Can’t Wait to Get Their iPhones!