That video was removed from YouTube at the demand of Apple, suggesting the contents were legitimate. The video showed that the break points in the frame between the two antennas have been moved to different locations, indicating that the antenna design has been tweaked despite a very similar overall appearance for the new iPhone.

The Telegraph reported the story over the weekend, claiming that outraged network operators stood together and forced Cupertino to back down over the plans – skirting over the fact that such standing together would be operating as an illegal cartel, and that an iPhone with a built-in SIM wouldn’t be permitted for sale in Europe, not to mention that Europe’s network operators have all the backbone of a jelly baby and are about as likely to stand up to Steve Jobs as Greenpeace is to develop an independent nuclear deterrent.

But the Telegraph‘s “senior source at a mobile operator” claimed to have sent Apple executives “back to the drawing board with their tails between their legs”, which is a nice image but unfortunately bollocks. Apple’s next iPhone can’t have an embedded SIM, the one afterwards probably can’t either, but the one after that can, and probably will.

In Europe, all mobile phones are required to conform to the GSM standard. That’s not optional – if you want to sell a mobile phone in Europe then it must be GSM-compatible, that’s why we have such a superbly-homogonous network. GSM is not just a standard, it’s a legally mandated standard, and one that includes the requirement for a removable SIM.

That would seem to make any kind of software SIM impossible, but Apple went to the operators’ forum – the GSMA, which manages the GSM standard – and asked it to expand GSM to include a software SIM.

After some discussion*, and not a little browbeating, the GSMA has agreed, and last week announced that it would be creating a Task Force with a view to publishing specifications towards the end of next year.

Hardly sending Apple running, more like asking Cupertino politely to wait, though given the lack of balls on most network operators perhaps we should be impressed by that.

So the next iPhone will, as The Telegraph reports, have a removable SIM – but don’t thank the network operators, as it is only their inability to do the paperwork faster that is holding Apple back.

* I’m not identifying my sources within the GSMA who told me about the discussions, but the result of them is a matter of public record.

DeNA, the Japanese social game giant, said Tuesday that it would acquire Ngmoco, a Silicon Valley iPhone game developer, for $400 million – one of the largest deals ever involving an iPhone application developer and another sign that the iPhone is fast becoming the hottest game device on the market.

DeNA’s pursuit of Ngmoco comes as the Japanese firm seeks to rapidly expand its existing focus, which includes a dominant mobile social gaming platform in its home country, to an international and cross-platform scale.

Though the company is little known outside Japan, DeNA’s projected revenue for this year is already on par with estimates for Facebook. DeNA booked sales of about ¥48 billion yen, or $575 million. Ms. Namba said it was on track to double that figure this fiscal year to more than $1 billion.

DeNA has purchased or invested in several other U.S. gaming firms in recent months, but the deal for Ngmoco marks by far its largest foray into the market.

Ngmoco was one of the initial recipients of money from the high-profile $100 million iFund venture capital pool offered by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company had some early App Store success with the likes of Topple and Rolando, but has since become more focused on social gaming with such titles as its We Rule/We Farm/We City series.

Standard Chartered bankers in Asia told Reuters that the London-based lender was giving its corporate Blackberry users the option of switching to the iPhone, with the company agreeing to continue to pay monthly billing for business-related telephone and data services.

“It’s a group-wide initiative involving wholesale and consumer banks globally,” said a Singapore-based spokeswoman for Standard Chartered, told Reuters.

With 75,000 employees worldwide, Standard Chartered’s acceptance of the iPhone may mark the beginning of a shift away from exclusive use of Research in Motion’s BlackBerry smartphones in the banking industry.

The report notes that security and other technical issues make it somewhat difficult for companies to pursue the necessary testing and implementation to make such a switch, but that Standard Chartered is a significant entity to come down on the side of allowing iPhones onto its business networks.

Internet tethering was a feature introduced in iPhone OS 3.0 and is supported by many international carriers. It allows users to share their iPhone’s 3G internet connection to other devices such as their laptops over Bluetooth or USB. AT&T, however, has been slow to roll out the feature to its customers due to concerns about increasing strain on their networks. iPhone 4.0 is due for public release this summer.

Ocarina was released in November and achieved 400,000 downloads in less than a month. Wang’s company which originally set a goal of taking $100,000 dollars in revenue this year will instead end up making closer to $1 million.

Another interesting story is that of Steve Demerter a programmer who built an iPhone game called Trism in his spare time, working nights and weekends. By the end of last year he’d earned $250,000 in just two months. He’s now quit his day job and formed a company and hired five programmers to develop a slew of new iPhone games.

If you’ve got an idea for an iPhone application then why not give us a call on +44 114 2238333 and you too could see some of the success that these guys have had.