Rumors Focus on New iPhone as App Store Grows

 It wouldn't be an Apple conference without a debate and speculation about new software, new products, or CEO Steve Jobs' health. This week the debate focuses on a redesigned iPhone and whether it will debut at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June at San Francisco's Moscone Center.

The event has already sold out and analysts and observers are weighing in on whether a redesigned device featuring the new iPhone OS 3.0 will appear.

One analyst said the device won't launch at WWDC and instead will be launched at a special Apple-hosted event, while others say Apple will use the WWDC to debut a redesigned device, as it did when launching the first iPhone.

Ramon Llamas, an IDC senior research analyst, said an introduction at WWDC is most likely.

Stealing the Spotlight

Those who say WWDC is the place for the debut are citing competition. They think Apple, after all its marketing and success surrounding the iPhone and its App Store, won't allow Palm -- which is expected to launch the Palm Pre smartphone just days before WWDC -- to take away the spotlight.

Waiting until after the Pre is launched is a more strategic move for Apple, they say, because an iPhone announcement at WWDC 2009 would steal the spotlight from Palm and the Pre.

Apple's App Store recorded one billion apps downloaded this month and new ones are still coming. On Thursday, Citrix launched the Citrix Receiver app, a free download. In addition to running desktop Windows apps, Receiver also supports Silverlight, Flash and Flex-based applications.

Citrix Receiver includes a new feature called Doc Finder that runs on XenApp but provides an iPhone experience to allow users to easily find, view, edit and send documents, according to Chris Fleck, vice president of solutions development and community evangelism at Citrix. "Because the documents are hosted securely in the data center, nothing is downloaded and Doc Finder provides fast one-click access to all of your important files," he said.

Banking and Investments

Also Thursday, USAA, a financial-services company, launched USAA Mobile App for the iPhone. The free app allows customers to manage a combination of banking, insurance and investment accounts on a single, secure platform.

"Our USAA Mobile App goes beyond traditional banking transactions such as bill pay and fund transfers<" said Jeff Dennes, executive director of e-business at USAA. "It also enables users to make stock trades, retrieve a digital copy of their auto insurance ID, and get tips and instructions for handling an accident situation."

"In addition, iPhone geolocation technology enables location-specific features such as getting roadside assistance, finding a nearby ATM, and rental-car services," he said. ( NewsFactor.com )