Repair site iResQ has posted photos of what they claim are parts from the iPhone 4G, which is expected to be announced later this year. Specifically, iResQ has what looks like an iPhone screen, only it's 1/4" taller than the current models. The site also notes that the screen is glued to the digitizer, which would make screen repair of the next-generation device more costly than 3G and 3GS models.

iResQ also points out that the part has a reflective, mirror-like surface right above the earpiece. They assume that this is where a proximity sensor would be located, which also happens to be a different location than previous models. Although iResQ has been around for a while, it's difficult to determine if this is a production part or just a prototype. Of course it might not be from an iPhone at all, but the photos are very convincing.

Check out the pics below!

Apple's iPad got a lot of hype before it's unveiling ("a LOT", a lot), but a recent study shows potential customers may not be sold on the new device just yet. According to a study by Retrevo research, not only did they miss the opportunity to convince a lot of on-the-fence potential customers, but they actually drove away many of those who used to be interested before they knew the specifics about the device.

If you've been following iPhone or Android news sites for more than a week or two, you can probably tell that Apple and Google are no longer joined at the hip like they used to be. Now that the iPhone and Android OS-based handsets are pitted against each other, the two companies now consider themselves to be the competition. Genius: SAT Vocab 2.2 by developer Flash of Genius made mention of Android, but now Apple has asked them to remove the word "Android" from their description.

Apple has posted a warning on their iPhone Developers news site, warning them not to use location data to provide location-based advertising in their iPhone applications. They are saying that CoreLocation, the API that lets apps see your location as GPS coordinates, should only be used by apps to provide "beneficial information", and not any sort of paid advertising to make the developer money.

One of the items on the long list of unusual things about the iPad is it's weirdly-small SIM card. It seems counterintuitive. It can't be to save space, because the iPad is way bigger than the iPhone and has more than enough room to fit a normal-sized SIM. It seems more likely that Apple gave it a different size for no other reason than to stop iPhone users from plugging the SIM card from their iPhone (or other smartphone—remember, it's unlocked) into the iPad whenever they want to do a little browsing, forcing them to sign up for a new plan.

When Apple announced that the iPad was running their own custom A4 processor, everyone assumed it was the work of the talent Apple assimilated when they acquired PA Semi, a processor designer. Now that is believed not to be true. Instead, the chip was actually designed by the already existing chip designing team that has existed within Apple for years in some form or another and made chips for other devices.

Cradit Suisse analyst, Bill Shope, says the Apple executives he met with last week gave him the impression that the $499-$829 pricing for the iPad would be open to fluctuate based on demand for the device when it launches. He also noted that they are likely to avoid significant cannibalization of their other products by "segmentation of capabilities", targeting a few key tasks that they believe it can perform more effectively than their other devices, like "browsing the Internet, using the App Store, and consuming mobile media (video, photos, and e-books)."

Yesterday we thought AT&T was making significant progress in the right direction when they said in a press release that they had worked with Sling Media to optimize the SlingPlayer for iPhone, and were then allowing it to work on their 3G network. When asked, Sling Media said the app hasn't been changed since before and AT&T never worked with them on it.

"We didn't change anything," Sling Media's John Santoro told Ars. "AT&T never discussed any specific requirements with us."

Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin issued a downgrade for Verizon's stock prices this morning based on the assumption that they are unlikely to get the iPhone this year. There have been a lot of people hoping to see a Verizon iPhone, but it now looks increasingly unlikely after the announcement that the iPad would be on AT&T's 3G network instead of Verizon's.

Earlier this week, Apple's infamously opinionated CEO, Steve Jobs, allegedly said in a private company-wide employee town hall meeting that they weren't putting Flash on the iPhone or iPad because Flash was still too buggy and insecure due to Adobe's laziness. Adobe's CTO, Kevin Lynch, responded to the claim in a lengthy blog post, in which he claims that Flash is "ready" for the iPhone and iPad.

A new security flaw has been uncovered in the iPhone's software that could have potentially serious ramifications. The issue lies in the ability to download system configuration files over-the-air through Mobile Safari, which enterprise businesses use to install configuration files to make setup possible. A group of anonymous hackers have figured out a way to make the configuration file register as being "Verified" on the device, and even have it show up as being sent from Apple Inc, allowing them to trick someone into install a malicious system config file without knowing it.

Attention jailbreakers: We've just received word from BigBoss that Apple stopped signing iPhone OS 3.1.2 restore packages today, making it impossible to restore to 3.1.2 without a workaround. This only affects the iPhone 3GS, the third-gen iPod touch, and late-model, second-gen iPod touches; other iPhone OS devices do not use signed restore packages.

So what does this mean? Well, because Apple released iPhone OS 3.1.3 earlier this week, the Apple servers will only let you restore to 3.1.3, even if you have an older 3.1.2 restore package lying around. And since the current jailbreak tools only work on 3.1.2, updating to 3.1.3 will leave you jailbreak-less — at least for the time being. But wait, there's a workaround!

AT&T announced today that they will now be allowing SlingPlayer Mobile [App Store, $29.99], and application for streaming TV to your iPhone to watch wherever you are, to run over the 3G network. The app was disabled over the 3G network due to bandwidth concerns and how it would effect the overall quality of the network, but now they say the code has been "optimized" which most likely means the developers had to change it to fit their bandwidth guidelines.

For a while, having a 5-megapixel camera in your smartphone was considered to be pretty hot stuff, but HD video is quickly becoming the next big thing for smartphones. Now a few hints are starting to come together that may be a sign that the iPhone will be jumping on the HD video bandwagon in the next revision.

That's right, kiddies, we have 20 tickets for the two best Macworld parties and we're giving them away! The first ten tickets we have are for the spectacular Cirque Du Mac party which features free drinks, The Macworld All Star Band, awesome light shows, roaming clowns, and tattoo artists! It takes place on Thursday night, so we'll give the tickets away that morning. This is the party to be at on Thursday. Did I mention free drinks?

We also have ten tickets for the official Macworld Blast party, which takes place on Friday night. This party features Paul Kent's band, lots of booze (not sure about open bar), and tons of fun. Again, this is the party to be at on Friday.

To win tickets for either of these parties, all you have to do is find us! For Cirque tickets, we'll send out a tweet on Wednesday night letting you know where and when to find us on Thursday morning. Show up, and you get 'em! For Macworld Blast Tickets, we'll tweet on Thursday letting you know where and when to find us on Friday morning. See you there, and be sure to follow us on Twitter if you want tickets!

IDG has just released an update to their Macworld Expo companion app, iMacworld [App Store, Free]. In addition to being completely rewritten, the update brings all of the maps, events, and vendors up to date with this year's Macworld. The app isn't pretty, but it gives you access to lots of helpful features for navigating the expo. It includes a list of exhibitors, their info, and the ability to star them so you can remember which companies you want to see.

If you're headed out to Macworld next week, grab iMacworld before you leave! It's free and incredibly useful.

According to Swiss software engineer Nicholas Seriot, Apple's app approval process is not enough to weed out certain malicious applications form getting into the App Store and being downloaded by millions of users. With the current system, apps disguised as a harmless game or other app could easily be created to harvest user data in the form of their mobile-phone number, address book data, and a notes section of the address book, and then send it to be stored on a web server without the owner knowing.

The hopes of Verizon fans ( or more likely, those jaded by AT&T ) got a boost when rumors started circulating about the iPad being released on Verizon's data network, but it never came true. Now some believe Verizon did once stand a chance, but were simply outbid by AT&T by agreeing to Apple's $30/month unlimited and $15/month 250MB plans, where Verizon usually charges twice as much for similar plans. Still, despite losing the iPad, Verizon is still said to still be in talks with Apple, and they hope to have both the iPhone and iPad some time by mid 2010. When they were asked, Verizon rep Jeff Nelson refused to comment on behalf of the company.

Apple's keynote presentation unveiling the iPad for the first time last week created almost as many questions as it did answers. One of the unusual things noticed was that the device is lacking many of the applications that come standard on the iPhone. It has even fewer built-in apps than the first iPhone did, with the Weather, Stocks, Clock and Calculator apps being strangely absent from the device. One theory now is that the apps are still there, but in the form of desktop widgets.