AT&T, the exclusive carrier for Apple's iPhone, is currently field testing base station software upgrades that will double the speed of its 3G network. The upgrades should increase speeds over high-speed packet access (HSPA) to 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps), up from the current 3.6 Mbps.

The company is also upgrading its network backbone to accommodate increasing data traffic. The release of a new iPhone model in June is expected to generate ten times the current demands on bandwidth.

Anticipating one billion iPhone app downloads, Apple has announced the best selling iPhone applications of all time. Two lists show the top 20 paid and top 20 free apps downloaded since the AppStore opened in July 2008.

According to Apple, over 953 million apps have already been downloaded. The company is holding a Billion App Countdown Promotion, offering the chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, an iPod touch, a Time Capsule, and a MacBook Pro to those downloading apps before the total hits one billion.

The list just keeps getting longer. Soon we're going to expect iPhones to finish up the laundry and walk the dog. More details have leaked about the extensive capabilities being developed for the next generation iPhone. Of course, hardware improvements are going to work hand-in-hand with the new OS.

Apple recently ordered 100 million 8GB flash chips, twice the number they ordered last year. Video recording is the perfect way to fill up 32GB of memory on your iPhone 3.0. Not only this, but Apple has ordered both 3.2 and 5 megapixel cameras. The iPhone camera will definitely see an upgrade, but there is even speculation that a front-facing camera could be added to the next iPhone.

Finally, the moment has arrived. Apple Push Notification service is live and ready for testing by iPhone software developers for the first time. The service promises to extend the usefulness of a wide variety of AppStore applications by allowing them to receive data even when not running.

This method eliminates the need for apps to run in the background constantly and drain the already taxed iPhone battery. All registered developers can now participate in the testing program and use the service immediately.

Apple has released the second beta version of iPhone OS 3.0 to developers (build 7A259). They are making progress and the latest beta includes several new operational features. Application developers can finally start developing for push notification service, as well as in-app purchasing capabilities. Apple will soon provide live testing services to a limited number of developers.

The home screen in iPhone 3.0 beta 2 allows for up to 11 pages of apps instead of the current 9 pages, which including the dock will provide space for a whopping 180 applications. Stability and speed have also been improved in the latest version.