SAN FRANCISCO, USA - Pinch Media, a mobile application analytics company, has reported that it has evidence on the next-generation iPhone being tested in San Francisco. The handset identifying itself as iPhone 3.1 was spotted in the usage logs of the city's public transport application for the iPhone - iBART.

Going by the numbering scheme followed by Apple so far for the iPhone, the new model suggests a drastic makeover, as Apple changes the first number in the product identifier string only in cases of significant upgrades. The iPhone 1st generation was given the string iPhone 1.1, iPhone 3G as iPhone 1.2, and iPhone 3GS, which came with some major improvements, was given the string tag of iPhone 2.1. Similar numbering scheme has been observed in Apple's Mac series as well.

The Cupertino company has always released/updated its iPhone line-up during the summer, but the recent rumour seems to suggest an early launch of the next-generation iPhone. Further, with AT&T all set to lose its iPhone exclusivity in the US, a Verizon version of the iPhone in the first quarter of next year cannot be ruled out either. Whether Apple will stick to its summer launches mantra or it will launch the next-generation iPhone sometime, thereby catching market and competition by surprise remains to be seen.

Further, fuelling the rumors of major improvements for the next generation iPhone is the recent  job listing from Apple for a full-time software engineer to work on the iPhone Maps application. The iPhone has been using Google Maps as its navigation app by default ever since the second generation of iPhone capable of 3G was launched in the summer of 2008. However, with Google launching a free navigation app offering turn-by-turn navigation for the Android platform, Apple wants to end its reliance on Google for its default navigation app. With major manufacturers such as Nokia investing heavily on their dedicated navigation apps, Apple doesn't want to depend on third-party developers for navigation apps.

A few weeks ago, another job listing from Apple for an in-house game developer was spotted by Apple Insider. These job listings are suggesting Apple's move from over-reliance on third party developers for its iPhone eco-system to a self-sustained application environment. Apple, having maintained a track record of developing intuitive and easy-to-use software, the expectations for navigation apps and games from Apple are rather high.

Update: Insider Eldar Murtazin has just confirmed through a 'tweet' that Foxconn has received an order for the next-generation iPhone model.