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Thinking you can keep your iPhone 3GS and take advantage of all the new features and improvements that iOS 5 will offer this fall? Think again. Apple is rumored to be leaving the 3GS hardware behind when it updates its mobile operating system to the latest and greatest version. Already the previous discontinued model iPhone 3G is stuck at iOS 4.2.1 and can't take advantage of many iOS 4 features.

The move could signal major changes in iOS 5 that will require improved hardware such as that found inside the iPhone 4. Apple is expected to focus on the next version of iOS and mobile software development at the annual WWDC coming in the first week of June. The fifth generation mobile operating system is expected to support new cloud-based features including streaming media and storage solutions provided by Apple.

A curved front glass screen could be on its way to the fifth generation Apple iPhone. Sources in the component supply chain tell Taiwanese tech paper DigiTimes that Apple has purchased 200-300 glass cutting machines and is storing them at assembly plants for future use. Apple has been working with touch sensor and cover glass manufacturers, glass cutters and lamination suppliers to improve yield rates.

According to the report, the new machines will be used when manufacturing is up to speed. Apple purchased the machines because they are an expensive investment for cover glass makers. Industry sources claim Apple is working on a curved cover glass for the next iPhone model that will utilize the equipment. These investments will ramp up production and make the curved glass possible at an unspecified date in the near future.

Another day, another next generation iPhone prediction. This one seems to make sense, at lease based upon historical Apple iOS event dates and iPhone hardware announcements. Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray calculated the number of days between these two events for the past three years. Also listed in the chart below from AppleInsider is the actual iPhone ship date.

Extrapolating these numbers based on this year's iOS event in San Francisco scheduled for June 6 points to an August 24 iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S announcement. This would place the shipping date for the new hardware squarely in the middle of September. These predictions mesh well with previous information we've heard over the past few months.

Ever wish you could carry around an old Super 8mm film camera in your pocket just to get that unique looking footage? The Super 8 iPhone app converts your iOS device into a retro film camera without all the trouble of film developing, light leaks and mechanical malfunction. The app even features a projection room, where you can pull down a screen and watch your edited creations.

Super 8 is free for a limited time, and is part of a promotion for the real-life movie directed by J.J. Abrams titled Super 8, which will be released by Paramount Pictures on June 10. As you play back your films in the projection room the app ties into the movie by revealing missing frames which can be collected to unlock clips on S8editingroom.com. When it comes to the recording capabilities of Super 8, the app is a full-featured retro film machine.

Despite the rampant rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone, thanks to Verizon Wireless at least two points of speculation have been cleared up. Thanks to an interview of the Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo by Reuters, hardware and data plan details for the iPhone 5 have been divulged. First the hardware: it's widely known that the Verizon iPhone 4 already has a hybrid wireless modem installed, making it possible to connect to GSM or CDMA networks.

Currently the chip is locked into CDMA mode for the Verizon network and can't be used on GSM networks in the US or overseas. In contrast, the AT&T model iPhone 4 has only a GSM modem. Shammo explained that Apple's next hardware release would take place on both carriers simultaneously, indicating that the hybrid chip would be installed and activated for use on both network technologies.