All Articles Tagged iPhone 3G

Apple is reportedly in talks with Telstra about providing the iPhone in Australia. Sol Trujillo, Telstra CEO, confirmed that Apple and Telstra had discussed the move, but that nothing had been confirmed.

“We have been testing the iPhone as we would any device that comes into the country.”

Marketwatch claims that Apple would have to make a special 850MHz version to work on the Telstra “Next G” Network, but I’m going to call B.S. on it: the Next G network is an HSDPA network; I think it’s more likely that Apple would provide their standard EDGE iPhone before they developed a 3G iPhone specifically for Australia. And I’m guessing that any HSDPA towers that Telstra puts up will include the slower varied 2G data networks: GPRS and EDGE.

figure 1: a mockup of a device on Intel’s Moorestown chip

The Apple iPhone is currently based off the ARM processor platform, but they are reportedly considering a switch to Intel in 2009. Some sites are expanding that news as justification for no 3rd party development, but I don’t buy it. And why not? Because a web widget — the simplest form of native 3rd party development — can be written in processor-agnostic fashion. Indeed, most of them would.

The chip that they’re reportedly considering, the Moorestown MID, would give the iPhone an unprecedented amount of computing power for a mobile device in its size class as the chip is designed for use in ultramobile PCs. Moorestown can also pair with chips for 3G, wi-fi, and wimax. Speaking to Jobs’ earlier quote about horrible battery life, Moorestown can idle with 10% of the power than its predecessor chip Menlow, meaning drastically longer standby times. Of course, it could just indicate that Apple is coming out with a UMPC of their own, who can say? [picture credit]

Even though the iPhone just came out in late June, analysts are desperate for a new version. Over at the Street, for example, they expect a 3G iPhone (with GPS!) in 1Q (January, February, or March) 2008.

Many sites had been saying January earlier, but Jobs’ statement about 3G chips not being ready and to expect an iPhone in late 2008 apparently forced some sites to revise their earlier statements. Even after Jobs’ statement, some sites are still reporting on a January 3G iPhone introduction and 1Q release.

Dont’ get me wrong, I’d be really happy to get a new 3G iPhone with GPS and whatnot. But frankly, I’d rather have improvements on the software side. Features like cut&paste, Office-style software, and actual 3rd-party software support would be smart. I already have a GPS puck, all I need is for Apple to release a version of their iPhone Maps.app that is GPS compatible. Full Exchange support would be pretty awesome. Also on my want list is A2DP, or stereo bluetooth. And yet another, the Nike+iPod compatibility. What’s on your want list?

Steve Jobs was asked at “Mum is no longer the word” press event why there was no 3G on the iPhone. His response was telling; it’s important enough that I transcribed the money quote of his response:

“We’ve got to see the battery life for 3G get back up into the five-plus hour range, before it’s really suitable for [the iPhone]. I think we’ll see that hopefully late next year. But right now, you make a really big tradeoff to go to 3G, and that’s really bad battery life.”

I think it’s safe to say that by “late next year,” he doesn’t mean January or something. Some analysts were predicting a 3G iPhone would be announced at today’s UK media event. I bet those same analysts are thinking “Perhaps he’ll announce some new hardware at Apple Expo Paris next week….”

My guess is no, but there’s a “leaked” T-Mobile Germany document that shows it. And it looks like a bad photoshop to me, as if someone turned the quality knob for jpeg compression all the way down. I’m not going to link the image, as I won’t sully the front page with such a heinous job. If you like, you can see it here, here, here, or here. The best summary I’ve read comes from the last link:

To me this looks like a MS Paint project.

I’d also like to add that a 3G iPhone in November this year is unlikely if Apple is just licensing the tech for it now.

I’ve learned why the iPod Touch was snuck through without any leaks to the FCC. The trick of the trade is to certify only the wi-fi chip module that went into the iPod touch. Once that module was certified by the FCC, Apple could put it into whatever device it pleases, as long as that wi-fi module is the only transmitter present. If Apple wanted to add another radio transmitter (such as a Bluetooth chip for stereo Bluetooth / A2DP), they would have to recertify the new device.

Also of note, if Apple is planning a new 3G phone like the rumors say, they will have to recertify the iPhone 3G with the FCC. It’s worth noting that when Apple started testing their iPhone International, nothing new popped up at the FCC.

Apple is hosting another media event today. iPod Nanos are expected, and they look drastically different than the current nano. Not everyone is happy with the new look, but from what I can see it looks pretty functional. I think I’m withholding judgment until I’ve seen what all of their iPod lineup looks like.

Meanwhile, ThinkSecret basically guarantees touchscreen iPods. They also say the iPod nano, featured in the above Gizmodo link, will pack some seriously updated iPod software, and it will be great; it will be revolutionary. Or evolutionary. One or the other, really.

Please note that the screenshots from ThinkSecret above include albums from the Beatles that aren’t yet available in the iTunes Store.

Microsoft always seems to pop up with a little snippet of news on event days like this. I think they do this so they can play the ’sour grapes’ role of the day, now hints that making a Zune phone is ‘not unreasonable.’ This is more or less the opposite of what CEO Steve Ballmer said at the D5 conference, so I’m glad to see that they’re still talking from both sides of their mouth. They’re champs of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Emphasis on the ‘uncertainty’ part here. And now you know why they play the sour grapes role — it gets them in the news. But everyone knows somebody that can’t tell the difference between negative attention and positive attention, and it’s not like there’s surging demand for a Zune phone, though I’m sure Windows Mobile users would be happy for the extra functionality.

But back in focus, there’s no shortage of hype — read a paragraph and you can see why Apple’s stock is so volatile after announcements. Taken from Jeremy Horwitz of iLounge:

I seriously believe tomorrow is going to be different. I think it’s going to be the day when iPod die-hards, technology geeks, and mainstreamers alike are all going to be genuinely excited by what Apple is going to show. In short, if the release of the iPod mini signaled the start of Apple’s dominance of the digital music player business, and the nano and 5G signaled the end for most of its small competitors and beginning of its video initiative, tomorrow is going to be the final nail in the coffin for Microsoft, Sony, and the bigger players as well. Yes, even with their recent announcements. The only people who will be upset are those who aren’t already on the bandwagon, or the few who (sorry, NBC) jumped off early and got hit by it.

You know though, the scary thing is that he could just as well be right. John Gruber thinks so, so it must be true.

And in other news, T3 reports that a 3G version of the iPhone will be announced today. I think that’s a pipe dream; there’s no way Apple would update a flagship product 2 months after it came out for the first time. That would flat-out anger the almost-1-million purchasers of an iPhone here in the U.S.A.

Of course, any time Apple updates iTunes, it’s always possible that they will also update the iPhone, so I’ll be keeping my ear close to the news to see what they have planned. There’s plenty of speculation for iPhone Games and ringtones. And it’s not just the iPhone Ranch that’s expecting it, it’s also the New York Post.

Mobility Today has posted a list of features rumored to be coming in future software revisions of the iPhone. It’s a good list, and it includes several morsels that would be great to have. I’ll spoil the surprise to mention that Exchange support is not listed. Two key omissions are supposedly coming to the iPhone “very soon” or “before Leopard,” which is slated for October:

• Ringtone support
• iChat IM

And also in the works but with unknown timelines:

• File Browsing
• Something like USB Mass Storage / Disk Use
• Spotlight Searches
• iTunes Drag-and-Drop
• Cut and Paste
• landscape keyboard for every app
• Camera software update
• Mail app update
• iWork ported to iPhone, with Keynote presentation support

It doesn’t look like an official list, not by a long shot, but if it’s true I will be a very happy camper. Their list is much more exhaustive, it’s well worth checking the article out.
Update 11.07.07 11:37a: Regarding this rumor, Gizmodo isn’t exactly what you’d call convinced.

And, while we’re talking about rumors, there’s a persistent one that’s starting to seem very plausible to me. I don’t think that Apple is going to re-engineer a 3G phone just for Europe and the rest of the world, leaving Americans fresh from a $500 or $600 purchase in the lurch. Nor would Apple release a 2.5G EDGE phone over there either; Europeans have become attached to their fast internet data.

So I was perusing Ars Technica’s iPhone review but mostly just wanted their chip analysis. Ars says it best:

“The IC in the lower-left is purported to be a Multimedia Engine by Infineon by several sources. However, the markings on this device do not match up with any Infineon devices as far as we could tell. This particular part is a jack-of-all trades that can decode/encode audio formats, decode H.264 video, perform EDGE modem capabilities, and interface with Bluetooth, FM radio, and other systems, as well as drive the camera and the high-resolution display. Interestingly enough, the data sheet for this device claims that it is 3G upgradable and contains a WCDMA coprocessor.” [emphasis added]

But wait, there’s more! Ars Technica isn’t the only one talking about a software update to the iPhone that turns it into a 3G phone, so is notable online analyst Robert X. Cringely:

“I think so. The question here is whether 3G is already built into the iPhones shipping now or whether it will require a new model? Given that it is coming so soon after the iPhone introduction, I can’t believe that even Steve would make us buy new phones. It is very likely that a firmware upgrade will awaken the 3G within all you iPhone owners.” [emphasis added]

Some people think that Cringely is in the same league as online writers such as Dvorak and Enderle, and they don’t mean that in a respectful way. And admittedly, Cringely does seem to delve into the improbable every so often. At the same time though, his articles build on a kernel of truth. Cringely reports that a firmware update has to be out by Christmas, and I think he’s absolutely right. Apple is going to have to do something to turn those 8/10 scores into 9/10 scores or 10/10 scores. Also, when fantastic Cringely and dependable Ars Technica both agree on something, it’s probably worth reporting.

It has to be said that if Apple were to upgrade the radio to include 3G HSDPA for fast browsing, they’d have to re-certify the iPhone with the FCC. I don’t know if we’d get a 6 month lead time on the news like with the iPhone, but we’ll be keeping an eye on those FCC tests to see if faster 3G certification is on the way.