Thursday, July 31, 2008

3G Apple iPhone Coming This June or Not.

By wendy Matters


This is probably the most widely leaked secret in the IT community - there will be an Apple iPhone 3G released this June. We've had confirmations from the hardware specifications released by VodaPhone for Italy.

So what does this 3G mean and why wasn't the Apple iPhone a 3G in the first place?

3G means "3rd Generation", and can use one of two competing cellular phone data protocols, which allows speeds that are about half what a DSL line gives for downloads, and very nearly equal for uploads. Rampant speculation exists as to whether or not the Apple iPhone 3G will support the so-called 3.5 generation protocol, HSDPA.

However, that speculation is based on a lot of information that's coming from Europe, where HSDPA is the dominant standard. Both VodaPhone and StarOn use HSDPA networks, and press releases announcing a 3G Apple iPhone have been around on the Internet since April. Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal stated, in a round robin press conference that "A 3G Apple iPhone is guaranteed to happen in the next three months" back in April.

The interesting question to ask is this: Apple plays their industrial design secrets close to their chest; we already know the Apple iPhone in a 3G configuration is supposed to be slimmer (about 3 mm), and of course, it'll have a faster data access.

So where's Apple's over-hyped secrecy? There was a signing of non-disclosure agreements during the launching of the iPhone last year, before journalist could see the hardware. So one can only imagine if Mossberg spoke of its 3G connectivity, what other cool features does Apple have in store that he is unable to speak off?

Speculation on that has ranged from the 3G Apple iPhone having built in GPS capabilities, to new software from the Software Development Kit released last February, to graphic acceleration. (Apple has publicly released announcements about integrating with Microsoft Exchange-driven "push" email, the major competitive advantage that Research In Motion's Blackberry has.)

It's already been announced that there will be an 8MB and 16MB iPhone released this summer - some hardware connoisseurs, noting the success of the MacBook Air, that this may be a red herring, and the amount of Flash RAM may be higher in the 3G Apple iPhone.

One thing that likely isn't going to change, given the thinner form factor, is battery life. That's something of a let down for the Apple iPhone devotees; the 3G Apple iPhone is thinner and has a more powerful radio, which will prevent an expansion of the battery capacity in the first case, and consume more juice in the second.





What does a 3G Apple iPhone mean, and why wasn't the initial Apple iPhone a 3G?









Speculation on that has ranged from the 3G Apple iPhone having built in GPS capabilities, to new software from the Software Development Kit released last February, to graphic acceleration. (Apple has publicly released announcements about integrating with Microsoft Exchange-driven "push" email, the major competitive advantage that Research In Motion's Blackberry has.)



One thing that likely isn't going to change, given the thinner form factor, is battery life. That's something of a let down for the Apple iPhone devotees; the 3G Apple iPhone is thinner and has a more powerful radio, which will prevent an expansion of the battery capacity in the first case, and consume more juice in the second.

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