The iPhone model 3,1 has peeked its head above ground for a second time this weekend. You may recall the first appearance was in OS 3.0 beta firmware files back around June. Now the company responsible for iBART, a Bay Area Rapid Transit app, has found the model number showing up under access lists for the application. Someone in San Francisco has the new iPhone. DUN DUN DUN!

It’s not all that surprising. The more iPhones Apple makes, the more money it makes. It’s a simple business model for Cupertino. As for what this model will have, I don’t really know. The front-facing camera? Maybe, but my guess would be more speed, more wireless band support (new carriers) and maybe even a better camera.

As for timing, again, it’s all guesses. iPhone model 2,1 first showed in October 2008 and went on to become the 3GS eight months later. The first iPhone launched in June 2007, so it would be odd to see model 3,1 available within the same timetable as the 3GS, around February 2010. At the very least, I would guess AT&T’s exclusivity contract has a duration divisible by six.

Source: MacRumors

Apple’s iPhone OS 3.1 introduced some great new features, including that MMS thing we’ve all been waiting for, but the update also brought some hiccups, including even poorer battery life for an already thirsty device. Apple’s doing something different with this round of complaints, though. It’s getting involved.

This weekend the company started contacting forum users who had complained about battery life, asking follow-up questions like, “When you notice a power drop, does it seem to be a legitimate power drop, or rather an issue with the battery icon indicator?” The users were also prompted to install a battery life logging profile which then syncs back to Apple when you connect to iTunes. There are also instructions for turning off the logging feature once data has been collected.

Apple has gotten involved with some of the past iPhone concerns. Hopefully this time things will get fixed in a timely fashion.