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No one outside Apple knows what it looks like or any of its newest features. But news that a fourth-generation iPhone may already be in use fueled a buzz Monday on when the must-have device will debut.

MacRumors, a blog that follows Apple products, broke the story Monday that Pandav, an application developer, has monitored usage by an iPhone 3,1 -- a moniker unused by any previous models of the combination iPod and smartphone.

The current version of the iPhone, 3GS, which has a faster processor, was identified as iPhone 2,1 on application-usage analytics several months before its launch, according to the MacObserver.

Ready for Verizon?

Pandav spotted the new ID on iBART, a guide to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in northern California. The first analytics sightings of the last iPhone were also in the San Francisco Bay area. Apple is based in Cupertino, a San Francisco suburb.

Judging from past experience, that could mean the new iPhone might be released in about eight months -- the period between the last field test and launch.

News of the new phone comes just weeks after another report that the next iPhone will be compatible with carriers around the world and, unlike current models, with Verizon Wireless in the United States. AppleInsider, citing a report by OTR Global, reported that the iPhone could be available in the third quarter next year and contain a hybrid chip made by Qualcomm and a 2.8-inch screen that is smaller than the current 3.5-inch display.

Verizon compatibility would be an "enormous" game-changer for the iPhone, according to Mordy Hackel, president of KJ Technology, a New York-based services provider for upscale residential clients and small to midsize businesses. "Among people that I speak to who love the iPhone, what they hate most are its problems with connectivity, and Verizon is known to...

LG Electronics is getting creative with its smartphone lineup again. The electronics maker is rolling out the LG eXpo in an exclusive partnership with AT&T.

The LG eXpo is not only the first phone in the U.S. with a one-gigahertz processor, it's also the first to come with a mobile projector add-on for business professionals who need to share data on the fly. The phone will run on AT&T's HSPA 7.2 network.

The LG Mobile Projector snaps onto the back of the device so users can share presentations, slideshows and even online videos straight from the mobile phone. The projector weighs 1.8 ounces, is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, and can project up to eight feet.

"LG eXpo adds to our growing portfolio of smartphones that operate on the latest upgrade to our 3G network and offer customers a great choice," said Michael Woodward, an AT&T vice president. "As we move to HSPA 7.2 technology, it is crucial to provide our customers innovative and future-proof smartphones."

An Exponential Smartphone

The LG eXpo has a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 16 million colors and a full-size QWERTY keypad. LG eXpo supports an RSS viewer, podcasts and GPS. The device also includes a five-megapixel camera with a built-in auto flash and can support up to a 16GB removable microSD memory card for music and photo storage.

The LG eXpo does away with the need for pin codes and passwords with a Smart Sensor fingerprint-recognition component from AuthenTec for security. LG said the Smart Sensor also complements the touchscreen user interface by providing precise cursor control for text editing, four-way menu navigation, and AuthenTec's unique turbo-scroll feature for rapid browsing of long e-mails, contact lists, and web sites.

The LG eXpo runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional to help business users stay more connected with...

Dell has unleashed an experimental version of Google's Chromium OS that runs on the PC maker's Inspiron Mini 10v netbook. Chromium, released earlier this month, is Google's open-source version of the Chrome OS based on the Linux kernel and aimed at netbooks.

Though the final product isn't expected to hit the netbook market until next year's holiday shopping season, Google decided to make the source code available to anyone wishing to create their own customized version of the Chromium OS. Taking up the challenge, Doug Anson, Dell's Linux technology strategist, modified the code so the fledgling OS wirelessly accesses the Internet on Dell's Mini 10v.

"Without a network connection, Chromium OS is not very interesting," Anson wrote in a recent blog. "With a network connection, Chromium OS shines."

At Your Own Risk

Chromium OS is a small, optimized operating system whose purpose is to make it extremely simple and easy to browse the web, Anson noted. "Boot time appears quick, too -- about 12 seconds from hitting the power button," Anson wrote.

However, Anson's Chromium OS image file is squarely aimed at avid Linux experimenters, not consumers. "Use this image at your own risk -- it comes to you totally unsupported and very minimally tested," wrote Anson, who previously worked with Canonical to bring the Linux-based Ubuntu interface to Dell's Mini 9 netbook.

Among other things, Anson's 7.5GB USB key image file, which is currently available for download from Dell, does not include a shutdown/restart menu option. "To 'reboot' the image, you have to press the 'power' key on the Mini 10v," Anson wrote.

Open-source developers also can expect to encounter a number of issues along the way. As examples of potential problem areas, Anson cited the software's connection manager and underlying components, which "can easily break or get hung. When in doubt, reboot and give...