All Articles Tagged hspa

TiPb, among others, has been hearing rumors for months now that Bell and Telus’ new GSM-based HSPA+ network would be up and running by November, and that the iPhone would follow along immediately there after. Nice to see some confirmation via Canadian stalwart, the Globe and Mail, however:

Bell announced Monday that it will launch national service in November on the $1-billion next-generation wireless network it has been building with Telus, months ahead of schedule. The project extends the two companies’ existing third-generation (3G) networks to include the same technology standard employed by Rogers, the nation’s largest cellphone company.

No comments from any of the carriers or Apple, of course, and it remains to be seen what if any downward pressure competition in Canada — like in the UK — would put on iPhone pricing for consumers.

Our question: Bell and Telus will have HSPA+ but no EDGE (to our knowledge), so if an iPhone on Bell or Telus couldn’t get a 3G signal, what exactly would it fall back on? EVDO/CDMA is not an option…

Welcome to iPhone Analysts vs. the Magic 8-Ball, where we take the often outlandish, sometime surreal predictions of iPhone analysts and pundits, blogeratti and the ‘net elite, and compare them to the potentially equally precise prognostications of a… magic 8-ball (running on an iPhone, of course!)

Mike Abramsky, seasoned veteran of of RBC weighs in on an iPhone 3G “Pro” with the following specs, and the Magic 8-Ball chimes in with its pedictions in italics:

• iPhone 3G “Pro” nickname. As I see it, yes
• Retail price to stay the same $199/$299. My reply is no
• Wireless UMTS/HSUPA, Wifi, Bluetooth. My reply is no
  (Note: our understanding is that HSUPA is to uplink what HSPDA is to downlink, and someone’s mixing up their UMTS technologies there and really means a 3.5G system)
• 3.2MP camera with flash and video recording. Don’t count on it.
• 16GB/32GB storage. Most likely
• 0.1″ thinner. Yes
• AT&T to get it before the rest of the world. Most likely.
• Growth will not accelerate. Don’t count on it.

Okay, so both of their predictions seem a little hinkey to us, but what do we know? Bring on WWDC 2009, and until then, thanks everyone for playing Analyst vs. Magic 8-Ball and be sure to leave your predictions, and your thoughts on their predictions, in the comments!

[Via Apple Insider. Thanks to Jimmie for the tip!]

This is it. We’re in the home stretch. Bottom of the 9th, basebands loaded with 3G, and Steve Jobs is at bat. In 7 days we find out if Apple scores a home run, the two-peat for smartphone (even gadget) of the year, or if they strike out with their mostly evolutionary, not so much revolutionary, next generation handset.

What’s the difference? The big one — at least this time around — is in the name. 3G, which stands for 3rd generation, but not for the device itself — for the 3rd generation cellular technology that powers it.

Read on after the break to find out just why 3G will make a big difference to you!

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