Report: 3G iPhone 22% thinner, better battery life

By Katie Marsal

Wired's Leander Kahney, arguably the most credible yet of those who've weighed in with alleged specs of Apple's upcoming 3G iPhone, is reporting the handset will be 22 percent thinner than its predecessor, not thicker as some earlier reports had suggested.

Citing "a programmer at a major software publisher," Kahney adds that the handset should also sport better battery life than the "up to 8 hours" of talk time advertised alongside its predecessor. It will also include GPS and twice the amount of NAND flash memory: either 16GB or 32GB.

What's more, Kahney's tipster claims Apple will allow subsidies on the new model as a means of attracting some of Research in Motion's existing and would-be Blackberry customers.

He points to an article by the UK's TimesOnline, which cites a UBS Investment Research analyst as saying the device could be available in Britain for as little as £100 (or ~$200) beginning in July.

Still, Kahney hedges his bets with a warning that he has not confirmed the integrity of the information offered up by his tipster.

AppleInsider is maintaining a running list of 3G iPhone-related rumor and news reports on its 3G iPhone topics page.