“Apple Inc. will introduce a version of the iPhone next year that can download from the Internet at a faster rate, AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said,” Crayton Harrison reports for Bloomberg.
“The device will operate on third-generation wireless networks, Stephenson said today at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California. San Antonio-based AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.,” Harrison reports.
“‘You’ll have it next year,’ Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut. He said he didn’t know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs ‘will dictate what the price of the phone is,’ he said,” Harrison reports.
Harrison reports, “The prospect of a new handset may make some shoppers put off buying an iPhone this year, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis, said in an e-mail. The number of shoppers who delay a purchase won’t be ‘enough to make a difference,’ he said.”
Full article here.
Is Stephenson trying to freeze sales or is he just stupid? As we’ve often explained (as iPhone users already know), they could cut the speed of EDGE in half today and you’d still have to pry our iPhones out of our cold, dead hands. And, as everyone knows, if you keep waiting for the next product update, you’ll never own anything.
Anyway, this is being treated as some sort of “news” by Bloomberg, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs has already said as much and more precisely, too:
“3G chipsets… are real power hogs. Most phones now have battery lives of 2 to 3 hours and that’s due to these very power-hungry 3G chipsets… [iPhone] has 8 hours of talktime life. That’s really important when you start to use the Internet and want to use the phone to listen to music. We’ve got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the 5+ hour range. Hopefully we’ll see that late next year.” – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introducing iPhone to the UK, September 18, 2007. [bold emphasis added by MacDailyNews]
We’ve had our iPhones since June, purchased at the $599 price (we did cash in our $100 rebates) and we’d buy it again today at $599 rather than wait another year. The device is that good and the EDGE “issue” is that overblown.
don’t think I’ll wait. I’ll buy one now, and maybe a 3G later and give the first to my wife.
“dictate” is just the right word for His Steveness.
Timing is everything-
There is a difference between Steve’s “hopefully we’ll see that late next year” delivered in a speech in September and AT&T;’s CEO categorically stating “You’ll have it next year” just as the Christmas shopping season is getting underway.
If AT&T;had any sense of market strategy at all, that sort of statement would best be saved for AFTER the new year.
@ Jack:
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“His Steveness” takes the world not as a dictator, but as a savior.
(Didn’t AtAT’s Jack coin this? AtAT Jack?)
“Say, bitch, how dat dictate?”
-Mike Tyson
I believe it will be out earlier, but they can’t say that for fear of depressing sales. I will just pass mine on to one of my kids and get a new one. Next Christmas.
It’s just like the Intel roadmap, now that Apple uses Intel chips, we know when Mac updates are coming. So, when low-power 3G radios are available, then we’ll know a 3G iPhone is coming, not any sooner. Someone at Ars must know if Qualcomm is sending out samples yet.
CEO of AT&T;to his secretary…If Steve calls, tell him I am out of the office. If he calls screaming, tell him I am out of the country for a week.
Thanks to our CEO pal at AT&T;, there will be a few hundred thousand iPhone sales this Christmas. Do people even think??
“The number of shoppers who delay a purchase won’t be ‘enough to make a difference,”
I won’t be buying an iPhone now that I know a 3G version is coming sometime in 2008. Why am I going to be stuck on a slow network for 2 years when I know something faster is right around the corner?
Maybe if iPhone sales plummet, Apple will rush this faster 3G version to market. As long as I can get 3 hours of actual phone/web use, fine. I can live with that. Can’t live with painfully slow networks.
3G, 3G, 3G, 3G, 3G.
3G sucks.
The tactics of His Steveness are not new. Car manufacturers invented this process long, long ago.
Get half dozen vehicles in the queue, introduce the first one – wow, buyers show up in big numbers and then have to have the latest and best and ‘improved’ model when it is trotted out.
So today we have the same ole crap in the tech world and Steve is the master maniuplator of them all – as confirmed by Forbes this very week.
The fact that he covers himself – or tries to for those suckers among us who believe his marketing ploys are some kind of ‘truth’ – by saying something like ‘we’re trying hard to address the shortcomings of the current model’ is pure, 100% sucker nourishment.
Go AAPL Go! Wow, just Wow!
I’ll wait for the 3G, more battery life and definatly a lot more storage.
Since I won’t be replacing it for quite some time, I want a device that can scale as my content increases.
If I ever had a partnership with Apple, I would be scared to death to comment about any future Apple products.
This is good news I’m sure, but I think it’s mostly for iPhone sales/Apple stock price. I love new technology and all that, but when it comes to UNDERSTANDING it, I’m not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. As far as I understand, though, 3G speed lies somewhere between EDGE and Wi-Fi. Having at this point a lot of iPhone EDGE vs. Wi-Fi experience, I’m not sure 3G on the iPhone will be as great as some people think. By that, I mean I’m not sure it will be THAT much faster than EDGE, therefore the user experience will not be THAT much better. I think a lot of people have in their minds that they won’t settle for anything less than 3G, regardless of what the actual difference in speed is. I will obviously be upgrading at some point, as the iPhone is by many many times the best cell phone I’ve ever had. The decision whether or not to jump in and get a second generation, however, will probably be made not because it has 3G, but because of other goodies that might be added.
I have said that many times before but I will say it again:
I want GPS in my iPhone!!! Forget 3G
3G is a real dog compared to WiFi. Besides 3G is only found in major cities. If you travel by car or train you’ll soon get bumped down to 2G or worse service.
Thanks MDN. I just want them to officially come to Canada.
The MDN take is dead wrong.
If you buy the 1.0 version of any microelectronic product…you are bound to be spending big cash again for the “fixed” version within 16 months. You think people would buy an OS from company that made you pay the full OS price for patches?
That said, there is an intangible part of the purchase. Are you happy with the iPhone? Does it make you happy to have visual voice mail, videos, and snap shots on your phone? Life is short and you only live once. It is okay to enjoy yourself with your disposable income. But please MDN…stop trying to make it seem like being on “Bleeding Edge” of technology is economically sensible. Stop telling us that it is okay to have slow EDGE technology over 3G. The iPhone is pricey enough. I mean this is like going to the Ferrari dealer and the sales guy says…umm yeah the car is $300k but, one thing, this is our new model that gets much better mileage so it is not as fast….please do not be alarmed if you get you doors blown off by the entire Saturn product line.
Just my $0.02
Just my $0.02
As far as he was concerned, he was probably just answering a quick question on a whim. Didn’t think it would cause this much of a stir.
Regardless, the 3G iPhone is worthless without coverage. AT&T;better be working even more dilligently than they did with EDGE pre-iPhone to get that 3G infrastructure in place. It’s crazy how much Sprint and Verizon are ahead there.
I’d reckon that has as much to do with the next iPhone’s arrival as any battery life issues. Steve’s giving them a year to get their shit together.
3G Blah-Blah-Blah.
Give it decent storage. If your going to sell it as a media device of any kind, 8 Gig isn’t going to cut it. They make a 16 Gig iPod Touch for God’s sake. Get a 16 or 32 Gig iPhone already. If I’m going to replace my iPod, make it worth my while.
And make it happen at Macworld!
I bought my iPhone the first day.
My wife is still using her Verizon phone (contract ends July 8).
It was always known that the 3G iPhone will come out when the iPhone is introduced into Asia.
I’m just waiting for July so I can buy a next gen iPhone and give my wife my hand me down iPhone.
@MrKruser
“Saviour” is just a bit too messianic for me. But maybe not in His Steveness’ mind.
Why does it seem that MDN cares more about the price of it’s APPL shares than Mac/iPhone/iPod comsumers?
Apple plans to enhance its products next year! Shazam!
Realist – you have forgotten something in your cynical analysis. You can only spend a realistic amount of time in development before you actually have to SHIP a product. Do you honestly believe that 3G was “ready to go” in the iPhone, and held back so that they’d have an upgrade to release in 6 months? If so, you are truly naive.
The problem is simple. When the iPhone development team started (2 years ago or so) they used the technology available. As the process continued, over time, new technology becomes available. Other technology that was too expensive becomes affordable. Where do you stop? Every month or two, new developments occur. Do you keep changing the design to incorporate the new technology options? When will it be finished?
At some point, you have to FREEZE the hardware design and actually start manufacturing it. Otherwise you end up with vaporware.
You’re cynicism is not only ill-founded, but it’s extremely unappealing. Just because Apple wants to make money doesn’t mean they are constantly manipulating you just to screw with your head. Realist, indeed.
@Wandering Joe
My wife says you’re an **se hole.
Sorry. I’ll rephrase that. She says typical chauvinist p*g.