“There is no doubt a 3G version of Apple’s iPhone is in the wings and it could be announced soon, according to wireless chip and DSP sector analyst Will Strauss of Forward Concepts,” John Walko reports for EE Times Europe.
“There is also speculation that Apple will announce the Wideband-CDMA 3G capable version of the phone when it finally reveals which operators it has chosen for the European launch of the handset,” Walko reports.
“An announcement is expected imminently, and could come as soon as this week,” Walko reports. “Whether the iPhone’s 3G baseband chip would also include the higher-speed HSDPA capability for the next release is uncertain, according to Strauss.”
Full article here.
I think we’ve already seen the holiday lineup..
My guess would be no new version before MacWorld. Buy hey, I’ve been wrong before.
Not for US any time soon !!
So after the $200 price drop fiasco, do you really think Apple is going to release a new 3G version just shortly after the price drop and risk pissing off even more people? I don’t think so.
If a 3G version is on the imminent horizon, it would have been released along with the price drop for the holiday season.
I went to the AT&T;site today. They are advertising other phones with 3G connectivity. Of note are the new MOT phones. The 3G icon is a little fireball.
Just my $0.02
@Tre or they’re spreading out the bad news for early adopters, like me. My guess is that they’ll release at 3G 16GB iPhone in Paris on September 25th. I’m only a B student when it comes to guessing Apple movement, but I would think that if they are selling 3G iPhones in Europe, they’ll sell them in the States as well. That T-Mobile ad yesterday touted such a device going on sale November 6th, assuming the leak to be legit.
usually, apple has made their products obsolete instead of dropping the price, so that their product offerings just get more features.
If you think of it historically, you’d have to assume that at the recent Apple event, they didn’t just drop the price of the 8GB iPhone, but they just shifted their products around waiting for the new high-end piece to come out.
I’m with this guy. I think a new 3G phone is coming out, and Apple didn’t drop the price on 8GB iPhones because they’re losing steam but because they already have a new update. 3G would make more sense in a European launch, and everyone knows that it’s got to be coming soon to the states. Why not before the holidays?
This will be revealed when they do the European event, I’m sure.
MDN word: sense, as in, this makes sense based on apple’s history.
I really am curious to the reality of 3G – I read about speeds around 3 mbps, but also real-world speeds being much lower. And the drastic reduction in battery life.
3G makes sense for Europe and Asia. I think this is what the article is referring to. The European and Asian cell phone network is more advanced than any carrier’s here.
So was Steve Jobs just blowing smoke up everyone’s ass when he said just two months ago that:
1. Current 3G chips are currently too large and battery hungry for the iPhone.
2. 3G coverage is too sporadic at this time.
Yeah, technology moves fast, but not that fast.
People are really going to have to get over the fact that improvements to product and price or going to be made after they buy a product.
Someone is ALWAYS going to be on the cusp of the better model or the better price. The only way around it is for Apple to stop selling that product for 3 months, and then re-introduce the new version later on after that buffer zone has been established.
I can just imagine it now. The 2nd gen iPhone comes out, and everyone that bought a 1st gen 2 months prior is going to get their panties all up in a bind.
It’ll be yet another whine-fest of epic and melodramatic proportions. Lots of “Woe is me”, type of stuff, along with the usual, “I’ll never buy anything from Apple ever again! And this time I mean it!”
Just my 2c:
The now missing 16 GB top-model will feature 3G/UMTS.
There will be a 3G 16GB iPhone in the US, but it won’t be announced until January. Apple is going to want to blow thru all of their 2.5G 4GB and 8GB iPhones thru the end of the year first.
The 3g version will be for us Europeans and not for you yanks! 😀
I cant wait!
Will the current iPhones be upgradable to 3G when apple decides to do it? Or is the chip so integrated with the circuit board that upgrades are not possible?
A fee for the new chip would be acceptable, but requiring a new phone would not.
I know Apple doesn’t talk about unannounced updates or products, but some insight in this would help its customers.
@macZeus,
You hit the nail on the head, IF this is true, then Jobs has a lot of explaining to do.
I bought based on the Job’s well publicized reasons for not using 3G–Battery life etc.
If Apple turns around 3 months later and comes out with a 3G model, then Jobs has really screwed his loyal fan base twice.
I don’t see this happening at all until next year.
Wondering if there is a software release to unlock 3G in current iPhones much like the Wireless-N. Because of Apple’s accounting methods they would not be required to charge for this unlock.
Also, the functionality would seamlessly switch between 2.5G and 3G as coverage provides. I’m sure I am blowing smoke here but if anyone could pull that off, Apple could. And wouldn’t it grab a ton of media and take sales to even a higher plateau?!
Apple has paid the gate-keepers for access to 3G technology, why would they have done that and not used it? What SJ said about 3G is true – in the US. Not in Europe. Not in Asia. They will be selling their 3G models in those markets before they bring them to the US. Possibly at MWSF, possibly in the summer of 2008. We can certainly expect an iPhone announcement of some sort every quarter for the next year or two … a price drop, a new function, extra memory, a new bunch of apps/games, a new market … something. Every quarter. Free buzz is good for the bottom line, and Apple needs to support their stock price somehow.
MW=good – ‘nuf said.
DLMeyer – the Voice of G.L.Horton’s Stage Page Pod Cast – for theater people everywhere
No way will apple be selling a 2.5G iPhone and a 3G iPhone at the same time. They will drain their inventory then intro the new phone. That’s how Apple does things.
CDMA????
what other countries use CDMA?
I believe CDMA is also used in Japan
EU Cell Regulators are testing an Apple iPhone for regulator compliance. The FCC in the US is not testing any new iPhones.
If there is a G3 or even a Wideband iPhone in the works it’s not in the 4 to 6 month US government compliance testing phase yet. So, even if Apple did a 3G or Wideband version of the iPhone that version wouldn’t even be available in the US until late Feb. or March. OfCom has already signed off on an Apple Mobile device. Don’t see a G3 or Wideband iPhone till Apple solves the Battery life issues that result from using the G3 and Wideband radios a reduction in battery life of almost 20% to 40% when compared to similar or like CDMA phones is nothing to sneeze at and it a major issue for Apple and all G3 phones.
I think the 16gig iPhone is going to be priced at $499, with the 3G 16gig version at $599. Steve couldn’t announce them last week, because that would have overshadowed the iPod announcements; however he had to reprice the current iPhone, because of the pricing gap to the iPod touch.
Anyway, the other thing is that major product announcements are separated as much as possible, ie by quarters, and if not, at least by months. So, I expect Leopard next month, and the new iPhones in early November, before Thanksgiving, then nothing until Macworld in January. That’s my interpretation of Apple’s approach to rollouts.
Steve said 3G was too large and battery hungry when? I thought it was around the preannouncement in January, nine months ago in any case it would apply to when FCC approval had to be sought. If asked subsequently he would surely repeat it and it would still be true with the caveat ‘for currently shipping/approved models’. You can be sure a) Apple has been kicking some butt for the integrated low power chips and b) manufacturers have been keen to get business from Apple and have been striving to meet the requirements.
It will happen, may have happened already, it’s not so difficult to predict what but much more so when.
Anyone know how to get the $100 iPhone credit?
I’m ready to buy something.
Ok lets just clear the air here. It is not possible for a 2.5G (edge) chip to turn into a 3G chip. No way no how. In the future they could make a 2.5/3 G chip but there’s not one in the iPhone. Plus, even if you had a 3G chip in it, att’s network 3G coverage is so rare that for most of the people, it would be like not having it at all so 2.5G is definately a better choice until att gets its act together.
Over in Europe and Asia, however, 3G is much more common and the people are used to sacrificing battery life to get more speed.
Plus, it’s been awhile since the iPhone was announced so surely they’ve come up with better 3G chips but I’m just assuming here. &.02