The Rumour Mine: iPhone 4G, Brothers in Arms 2, and The Sims 3

You'd think January would be the slowest month of the year, but with mobile gaming becoming such a hot industry things are really moving in early 2010. There's lots of talk about Apple's next move, the entrance of Ubisoft to the iPhone games market, and what to expect from key publishers.

This all while PSP and DS seem to be losing serious stock in the public eye. Ubisoft's decision to pull back on DS development is a bad sign for Nintendo, particularly as iPhone and iPod touch continues to blaze.

Hardly anyone is talking about big PSP and DS titles - all we keep hearing is iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.

Summer Love: iPhone 4G dialled in for July release

This is the one everyone is buzzing about behind the scenes. Precisely when Apple releases a new iPhone is something the company won't publicly discuss, yet we've heard the company has slated the powerful-sounding iPhone 4G for a summer debut.

Irked by the attention Google earned for its powerhouse Nexus One handset, Apple is planning to unveil a much-improved iPhone that more than doubles the power of iPhone 3GS and introduces new features.

Our favourite addition has to be the LED flash, which finally makes the camera usable in low lighting. Of course, you'll be inclined to use the camera a whole lot more given the rumoured 5MP specification.

Other hardware tweaks include a totally new screen: not keen to be one-upped by Google, Apple wants high quality OLED screens for the new device.

The most important improvement, though, has to be the purported dual-core processor. A better CPU was a given, but including a dual-core processor would open a whole new chapter in the mobile industry.

Just think what could be done with a dual core iPhone 4G equipped with a new, more powerful dedicated graphics processor that supports OpenGL 3.2.

Then there's the amazing touchscreen technology that Apple just patented, which reduces screen thickness. The company has publicly stated it wants to employ the technology in mobile devices. Analysts have assumed this refers to iSlate, but there's nothing to prevent it from being used in a new iPhone.

iPhone 4G concept image courtesy Jim Young

Brothers in Arms 2 out just in time for 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge Rumour has it that Gameloft's next game will be out just in time to celebrate the end of World War II's bloodiest battle.

No firm date has ever been provided, but we have word that a release is sooner than anticipated for the war game. It's been well over a year since Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes was released with moderate acclaim, so the timing seems right for a second iPhone instalment.

The game purportedly remains in the European front, though it boasts much greater detail than Hour of Heroes thanks to that gorgeous updated graphics engine shown off in N.O.V.A.

We don't have details on gameplay specifics, sadly, but if the release is as close as reported, you won't have to wait very long to find out firsthand.

Date of Departure: The Sims 3: World Adventures out January 18

EA Mobile hasn't said a word regarding a firm release date for The Sims 3: World Adventures on iPhone, but we've heard that it's queued up for release Monday.

It make sense to us - the PC version of the expansion pack has been out for two months. The original announcement made by parent company EA slated the standalone iPhone version for a January release.

Guess what? It's January and we're keen on seeing World Adventures released.