Today, Apple released a guided tour that shows all the ins and outs of the new iPhone 3G with version 2.0 firmware. From GPS to the App Store, the new iPhone is coming with a mighty upgrade.

iPhone 3G and V2.0 Firmware are to be released on July 11th, 2008.

Watch the guided tour here.

Sirius and XM Satellite Radio are fantastic platforms that offer wireless, satellite-based forms of radio. Unfortunately, the two companies haven’t prospered. They continue to suffer losses and subscription rate decreases. One of the major reasons has been the poor economy, but even more disruptive to these satellite companies has been the problem of user accessibility.

They have car receivers, home receivers, portable devices–You’d think they cover the whole gamut. But they haven’t really been successful at marketing their portable devices since they’ve been expensive, small storage capacity, and no universality between computer platforms (PC and Mac).

The iPhone has come along and made application development a booming tycoon of business opportunities. Fortunately for the satellite radio companies, a basic program was created to allow consumers to login to their satellite radio account (subscription required). From there, users can scroll through the entire list of satellite programming.

Download the program at: uSirius

iTunes 7.7 is only a few days from being released. A special pre-release version was seeded to developers tonight.

Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store. — Source

So, in a free app, Apple will be giving users the ability to control Macs, Apple TVs, iTunes, etc. with the touch screen of the iPod Touch and iPhone. Look forward to this app coming with the next update of the iPhone firmware.

The iPhone is due to make a large international debut in only a couple of weeks. Alongside the rapidly approaching release date, Apple has just finished the iPhone 2.0 firmware and it has reached a state of “Golden Master”.

Golden Master means that this is the final version before shipment of the product and that it is ready for release. There may be online updates to come, but once the Golden Master is set, it’s final. Speculation over when v2.0 firmware will be released is unclear, but the consensus would suggest a simultaneous release with the new iPhone 3G on July 11th.

Apple is continuing to surprise Windows users every year. Macs have begun to beat PCs for Windows driven applications. Following in this new tradition of actually beating out Windows PCs, the new MacBook Pro has just been awarded the “Best in Class” award from Maximum PC!

Maximum PC had a face off between the Dell’s XPS M1530 and Apple’s MacBook Pro. The Apple notebook was the “clear winner” and was rated a 9 out of 10. Maximum PC highlighted the Mac’s graphic processor, Intel core, battery life, and the thinness of the computer.

There were some things that bugged Maximum PC nonetheless: Screen doesn’t angle far enough; no slot for cellular modem; hard to open up. These are problems, but nothing that would stop someone from buying the MBP.

Check out the article here.

The 1st generation iPhone was said to cost approximately $226 for Apple to make. Now, iSuppli, a supply analysis group, is estimating that the iPhone will ring in at $173–a savings of $53 per iPhone.

Not too long ago another product analysis group estimated the cost of the new iPhone to be $100 per unit, but new evidence by the trusted iSuppli group seems to discount this previous rumor.

Costs associated with 3G, GPS, and other expensive components and royalties have kept the iPhone expensive, but Apple has made incredible steps towards making the iPhone affordable to a greater audience.

iSuppli analysts are quite confident that Apple will be able to bring costs down to $148 per unit by 2009.

iTunes has grown into one of the largest and most popular places to buy music anywhere. With a collection of over 8 million different songs, it’s a audiophile’s dream. Today, Apple released news that they had officially sold the 5 billionth song through iTunes!

Even more interesting is the figure released today about Apple renting and selling 50,000 movies every day. Therefore, the iTunes store is also the most popular online movie store too.

It would be an interesting figure to realize: 50,000 (rentals/purchases per day) x $3.99 (avg. new release rental) x 365 (days per year) = $72,817,500 million in movie related revenue — low estimate as it doesn’t figure movie purchases at around $10.

While there are always a flurry of companies that grab the iPhone and rip it apart to size up all the product’s insides, there’s a company that’s already speculating. Their speculation puts the previous iPhone’s cost at around $170 for Apple, but is estimating that with deeper discounts, they’re making the new 3G version for about $100.

The number is just a rough estimate based on what the parts thought to be used may cost the company (hence it being quite speculative). There’s been a great amount of chatter about whether Apple’s earnings can sustain another price cut to the line, especially when it started at $599. There’s also a new theory that because the iPhone’s new price point is so low, it potentially could cannibalize the company’s own earnings with iPods.

Those things could materialize, but the $199 new price point is like saying 0% APR for 6 Months–it sucks you in (grabbing the new buyers that couldn’t spare $599), but it’s not like it’s free or cheap. AT&T still will be charging about $60 per month for the iPhone plan with data. It allows the regular iPod lines to continue to flourish. Then, the increased international exposure of the iPhone could increase general Mac hardware sales, a theory that would lead to major gains in Apple stock.

A recent article from TUAW has suggested that Apple should expect to “sell a boatload” of new iPhones with the combining price point and popularity. Less than a month until the new iPhone 3G is released, and it seems like it will be the most popular release yet.