iPhone 3G discontinued in Oz as report backs third-gen rumors

MacTalk is reporting that Vodafone Australia — one of three iPhone providers in the region — sent out an advisor (below) to its retail staffers this week noting that the 16GB iPhone 3G has been marked as “End of Life” (or discontinued) by its distributor Brightpoint.

"We have just been notified that the following devices are End Of Life and that there is only a few weeks stock available from Brightpoint," the carrier said, adding that Nokia's 6121 is also on the way out. "This is an opportunity to take advantage of these devices whilst they're still available."

Meanwhile, Apple blogger John Gruber on Thursday weighed in with his expectations for the upcoming generation of iPhones, in which he cited sources who essentially corroborate most of the recent rumors surrounding the new models.

First and foremost, he backs a report first discovered by AppleInsider on a Chinese mobile forum in which an insider claimed that this year's iPhones will see their processor upgraded from 400MHz to 600MHz, have their RAM doubled to 256MB, and sport little if any exterior changes.

Also accurate, according to Gruber's sources, are plans for the handsets to include a magnetometer (digital compass), higher-resolution camera with auto focus and video recording, as well as software for basic video editing (trimming).

Per expectations, he believes the 8GB offering will fade away in favor of new 16GB and 32GB models that will be offered at the existing $199 and $299 price points with a two-year AT&T service contract.

Gruber also threw out some less reliable rumors he's heard, such as Apple rebranding all of its aluminum MacBooks as MacBook Pros, leaving the "MacBook" moniker for only its plastic models. He also claims to have picked up on some chatter about an "iPhone Mini” about 3/4ths the size of the current iPhone.

AppleInsider isn't sure what to make of these last couple of rumors but publishes them for interest's sake.