According to reports, AT&T is preparing to subsidize $200 of the cost of Apple's new iPhone. If this is true, watch out. The Apple market share story just entered a new realm of mad growth.

Remember what happened when Nike hooked up with Michael Jordan? The $199 3G iPhone is Apple's MJ. The world is about to change. By Christmastime, if you're not ichatting, igaming, or ipoding on your mobile device you will be severely outdated. It is rumored that the new applications will allow the iPhone to access your home computer and your home television. This technology will allow users to stream any movie, television show, or song directly to your phone over the 3G network.

The iPhone 2.0 rumors are swirling. Pretty much everyone is sure that a new version of Apple's smartphone is coming out in June. Speculated features include GPS, instant messaging, 3G high-speed Internet, some sort of Wi-Fi–based remote control for iTunes, and a non-recessed headphone jack.....

But nobody's talking about what the iPhone needs most of all: It needs to be a better phone. The iPhone's fair-to-poor phone-call quality is a well-known problem among phone reviewers. I've been comparing phones side by side for four years, and the iPhone falls short on signal strength, speaker volume, and call audio quality, especially when held up against the latest BlackBerrys or anything on the Motorola RAZR2 platform. You know you have a real problem when Engadget is suggesting that you stab your speakerphone with needles to get rid of the muffle.

Given the very limited information Rogers Communication Inc.'s provided in its announcement that it will offer Apple Inc.'s iPhone in Canada sometime in 2008 (CEO Ted Rogers said the company is under contract not to say anything more), the market and consumers will just have to wait and see whether it will be the current model of the popular smart phone or the 3G version, which is expected to be released sometime around July.

Research in Motion, originator of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, may in fact be seeking to develop applications for Apple's iPhone, anonymous sources tell AppleInsider. A job listing for such a role is said to be circulating internally, with so few details that even RIM employees may not fully understand what their work will entail. "As part of a newly-created team, you'll influence the development and design of BlackBerry software," the notice reads. "This is a very confidential brand new team and a senior position within RIM so I can't provide too many details. I guess you can figure out what it might be about though."...

It is unknown why RIM would consider developing on Apple's platform; the project could be an attempt at reverse-engineering certain concepts, but it may be more likely that RIM is developing a client that would access BlackBerry push e-mail from an iPhone....

Apple might as well put out a press release.

By sticking with its promise to sell 10 million iPhones in 2008 on a recent call with analysts -- even as it announced sales of just 1.7 million handsets during the current quarter -- the secretive Cupertino, Calif.-based computer and gadget maker made it plain that it's about to overhaul its iPhone lineup.

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