All Signs Point to a New iPhone Next Month

The closer Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference 2009 gets, the louder the next-gen iPhone buzz grows. In the week since last issue's editorial, the question of whether or not June's WWDC event will yield a new iPhone now seems more like a foregone conclusion--for starters, AppleInsider reports AT&T is running low on the current iPhone 3G model, and customer service representatives are telling subscribers they don't expect the operator to restock. (For what it's worth, an AT&T spokesperson has denied the iPhone shortage claims, adding the customer rep supplied "incorrect information.") Then last week T-Mobile Austria briefly posted a website placeholder advertising a 32 GB iPhone--as Engadget points out, T-Mobile Germany made a similar gaffe two years ago, promoting the iPhone just prior to officially announcing it would sell the device. And now the Daring Fireball blog, which boasts a superlative track record when it comes to reading the Apple tea leaves, says it would "wager heavily" on a new iPhone for commercial release in July, speculating the device will feature roughly double the CPU horsepower and an improved video-capable camera.

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Microsoft Wishing Up a User 'Magic Wand'

As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, will users adopt something like a Magic Wand -- really a high-tech universal remote control -- to help them interact with the world around them via gestures and other movements?

If Microsoft has any say, they will.

That's because Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has applied for a patent on a "Magic Wand" -- literally.

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