Is There Going to be a 3G Apple iPhone This June?
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.
What does a 3G Apple iPhone mean, and why wasn’t the initial Apple iPhone a 3G?
3rd Generation is the term represented by 3G it can use one of two competing cellular phone data protocols. This allows for unbelievable download speeds that are about half what a DSL line gives for downloads, and very nearly equal for uploads. Only sheer speculation have covered whether or not Apple iPhone 3G will pick up HADPA, 3.5 generation protocol.
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.
But where’s Apple’s vaunted secrecy? When the iPhone launched last year, all the journalists had to sign non-disclosure agreements before they could see the hardware. If Mossberg can talk about 3G connectivity on the Apple iPhone, what new tricks does Apple have that he’s not allowed to talk about?
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.
The battery life is the one thing that is sure to remain unchanged. Though it is a let down for Apple iPhone fanatics we cannot expect much of a change; the facts are obvious, the 3G Apple iPhone is thinner and has a more powerful radio. This will prevent an expansion of the battery capacity the size that is, and its powerful radio will consume even more juice.
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.
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.
But where’s Apple’s vaunted secrecy? When the iPhone launched last year, all the journalists had to sign non-disclosure agreements before they could see the hardware. If Mossberg can talk about 3G connectivity on the Apple iPhone, what new tricks does Apple have that he’s not allowed to talk about?
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.
Tags: Computers and Technology
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