All 3G Feeds

Will the 3G iPhone have Intel's Atom inside?

Rob Mead — 1210850195

iPhone owners are are used to having deep pockets - but it turns out they may need longer and wider ones too. That's because the boss of Intel Germany reckons that a future iPhone will have a much bigger display. Oh and it'll also be sporting Intel's ultra-mobile Atom CPU inside it too.

Hannes Schwaderer, managing director of Intel Germany, says that future iPhones will be slightly bigger than we're used to, chiefly because they'll boast bigger 720 x 480 pixel displays than the 480 x 320 version in current iPhones.

Of course the timing of Schwaderer's comments couldn't be more perfect - the 'future' 3G iPhone is surely a matter of weeks away, and his comments have reignited old - no, make that ancient - rumours surrounding the Mac Tablet, Apple's so far non-existent take on Wintel's Tablet PC.

Intel Atom

The presence of an Intel Atom processor would seem to be a shoe-in too. It's been specifically targeted at mobile internet devices or MIDs, with the aim being to usurp the current encumbent ARM, whose processors can currently be found in the iPhone.

At 24mm, the Atom is the smallest processor Intel has ever made, yet it packs in 47 million transistors with clock speeds ranging from 800MHz to 1.88GHz - ideal for a device that needs to play movies, music and surf the web.

Intel's naked ambition to be inside the iPhone has already led to some rather surprising results - for example the MID concept it showed off at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai was so iPhone-like Apple's lawyers probably should have sued.

Intel issues denial

Of course, Schwaderer may have just been drinking way too much Apple Kool-Aid. Intel Germany has already denied that he made specific comments about the iPhone, while Apple has taken its highly usual step (sic) of not commenting on rumour or speculation. We'll soon know the truth for sure.

At 10am on Monday 9 June Apple CEO Steve Jobs will walk onto the stage at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) and reveal his iPhone plans. And there's certainly enough evidence kicking around to suggest that a 'future iPhone' is definitely on the cards.

US operator limits iPhone sales

Gareth Beavis — 1210848600

AT&T, the exclusive operator for the iPhone in the US, has had a memo leaked stating customers will only be allowed to buy one of Apple's devices per person in the coming weeks.

It looks likely the stock-control is to keep supplies fresh for the release of the 3G iPhone, tipped to hit shelves at the end of June 2008.

The memo said: "Effective May 14, 2008, customers can only purchase one iPhone at AT&T stores. The prior limit of three iPhones is no longer in effect."

According to the document, requests to buy any more have to be approved by a director or general manager.

There can be only one

Intriguingly, cash or cheque payment is also no longer allowed, though it’s unknown why this block would be put in place, perhaps to allow even tighter stock management.

O2 in the UK has also reported running out of the 8GB version of the iPhone, though still has a number of the 16GB models still in stock and available for purchase.

The company is said to be “reviewing the situation” regarding re-stocking of the 8GB version, but has no plans to change its limit of two per customer, which has been in place since launch.

The memo, leaked to the retail department yesterday, also began new iPhone sales policies, so something will have to shift soon, as customers will become disgruntled with only being able to purchase one phone.

Especially those buying in bulk and apparently selling them overseas to countries where the device is not yet available…

RIM's Blackberry Thunder imminent?

Gareth Beavis — 1210783500

According to the internet rumours, RIM isn’t done releasing iPhone killers. Hot on the heels of the Blackberry Bold 9000 comes the Thunder 9500, and it apparently sports a full touch screen.

This means no QWERTY keyboard, but instead input will only be possible via the roughly 3-inch display. Whether business users will let go of their beloved full keyboard is unknown.

But does it actually exist?

Of course, this could be complete vapourware, but precise specifications have been leaked suggesting otherwise. Only four actual keys will be present, starting/terminating calls, Blackberry menu and the return key.

However, no word on memory, resolution, colour depth, haptic feedback, camera etc, coupled with a lack of actual pictures of the device mean you should stay suspicious for now.

A quick look back at the Blackberry touch screen patent filed a few months ago tells a different story, with a few more keys and a sliding QWERTY keyboard, but allow RIM the chance to change their mind of course.

The device will reportedly be in keeping with the Bold, as it will also sport high-speed data access, and reportedly will be offered by Vodafone and Verizon worldwide.

Launch is tipped for Q3 this year, so if the rumours are true expect an announcement from RIM in the coming weeks in preparation of their attempt to topple Apple’s touch screen dominance.

Britain gets own 3G iPhone rumour

Gareth Beavis — 1210780140

In perhaps the biggest clue yet that the 3G iPhone is coming to the UK, Telefónica Europe chief executive Matthew Key said his company and Apple would make an announcement in the “coming weeks.”

This is likely to be regarding the new generation of the Apple device, especially as Steve Jobs just happens to be giving a keynote speech at the Apple WWDC next month.

When, when, when?

When asked for specifics on when the 3G iPhone will be available, he said: “Asked exactly when the 3G phone will be available he said: "That's more of a question for Apple ... but over the coming weeks we will do a joint announcement with Apple as Telefónica Group."

Given the only thing Apple and Telefónica have joint interest in is the iPhone, the 3G announcement seems to be the worst-kept secret in recent gadget history.

O2 apparently added 206,000 new customers in the first quarter of 2008, and a large number of these are believed to be iPhone buyers.

Other rumours have said Apple may re-think its policy of locking the iPhone to a single supplier, given the large proportion of unlocked devices in existence, but as O2 holds a multi-year exclusive deal to sell the iPhone this may not happen anytime soon.

Vodafone extends HSDPA network

Gareth Beavis — 1210765800

Vodafone will extend its 3G High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) network to other cities in the UK in order to maintain its presence in the mobile broadband game.

Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester and Reading users will get access to its 7.2mbps 3G network by 2009 according to the network supplier.

You want a U with that D?

To add to the acronym pie, High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA, and yes there is a difference) will allow users to send files up to a theoretical maximum of 1.8mpbs, and will be rolled out at the same time.

This means all of you who just love to shoot a video then upload it to YouTube straight away so all your pals can see how funny you are can do so a little quicker. Yay!

Vodafone has been fairly aggressive in the mobile broadband market, not just with phones, but in the lucrative mobile broadband for laptops, via a dongle. Network Three is also a big player in this area, and already has a strong HSDPA network in place, so constant updating is needed from competitors.

Vodafone has also recently announced plans to scrap additional internet access charges for its pay monthly customers, and improved access to the high-speed network could help the company forge ahead in the mobile broadband stakes.

Switzerland: The iPhone is coming and it's colourful

Gareth Beavis — 1210755720

The news from the groove (or this Google translated macprime.ch site) is the 3G iPhone is going to hit the shops in June this year, with a variety of flavours to choose from.

The main talking point is the appearance of the 32GB version, and it will be available in white, silver and black.

Colour matters…apparently

However the 16GB version, which will become the entry level iPhone, is only available in black, thus inciting those fashion conscious Apple lovers to fork out a bit more to be the most Jobs-ilicious.

The 16GB will be cost CHF 659 (£322), and the 32GB version - which will mirror the capacity of the top-level iPod Touch - coming in at CHF 699 (£390), when taken with two year contracts.

Hopefully that’s just Switzerland putting a huge premium on the devices, otherwise nearly 400 quid for the 32GB for nearly two years - when a new version would clearly be released in that time - might be a little too much for customers to afford.

3G iPhone update - what is actually happening?

Gareth Beavis — 1210597200

The rumours over the 3G iPhone are coming so thick and fast it’s like living in a milkshake blender (we’ve all got one. Either that or a George Foreman grill).

A keyboard, GPS, 5-megapixel camera, bigger storage space and smaller phones…depending on which paper you read in which country, the 3G iPhone is going to be a dramatically different piece of kit.

Firmware updates have also hinted at big changes to the capability to the iPhone’s next generation, so obviously the theorists have been hard at work (or avoiding actual work, you could say).

However, it could just as easily be nothing more than UMTS / HSDPA 3G connectivity, and the ability to switch it on and off as desired.

So keep coming back here to find out what's actually happening in the muddled world of the 3G iPhone.

May 16th

Could the next iPhone be free?

The new 3G iPhone could be available for nothing in the UK through O2, as the operator plans to offer heavy subsidies in a bid to win more customers.

The company saw sales of the iPhone climb significantly when it knocked £100 off the price of the 8GB model earlier this year, and looks set to repeat the trick if / when the new iPhone is released.

May 15th

Apple to 'sell' 5 million 3G iPhones in June and July

A Taiwanese camera lens maker is banking on boom times ahead - thanks an to order it's received from Apple for the 'second version' of the iPhone.

Largen Precision Co. 'projects sales of the products to reach up to 5 million in June and July', according to Taiwanese economic news site CENS.com

Will the 3G iPhone have Intel's Atom inside?

May 14th

Britain gets own 3G iPhone rumour

In perhaps the biggest clue yet that the 3G iPhone is coming to the UK, Telefónica Europe chief executive Matthew Key said his company and Apple would make an announcement in the “coming weeks.”

This is likely to be regarding the new generation of the Apple device, especially as Steve Jobs just happens to be giving a keynote speech at the Apple WWDC next month.

Switzerland: The iPhone is coming and it’s colourful

The news from the groove (or this Google translated macprime.ch site) is the 3G iPhone is going to hit the shops in June this year, with a variety of flavours to choose from.

The main talking point is the appearance of the 32GB version, and it will be available in white, silver and black.

However the 16GB version, which will become the entry level iPhone, is only available in black, thus inciting those fashion conscious Apple lovers to fork out a bit more to be the most Jobs-ilicious.

The 16GB will be cost CHF 659 (£322), and the 32GB version - which will mirror the capacity of the top-level iPod Touch - coming in at CHF 699 (£390), when taken with two year contracts.

May 13th

Jobs to kick off Apple’s WWDC

“A team of Apple executives, led by CEO Steve Jobs, will kick off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address” according to Apple, lending more credence to the rumour the 3G iPhone will be announced.

The WWDC, which begins on the 9 June in San Francisco, has long been tipped as the date when the evolution of the iPhone will be announced, and Jobs’ presence there means it is now more than likely.

The iPhone - now in black?

The US carrier of the iPhone, AT&T, has started showing the ‘iPhone Black’ alongside the regular model, sparking rumours it is ramping up for the release of the 3G iPhone.

AT&T have moved to dispel the growing tide of opinion, simply saying the extra option was designed to distinguish between the various memory capacities of the models, which makes very little sense to be honest (black=4GB/8GB/16GB? What?)

May 12th

The story so far

The main difference between the 2.5G and 3G phones is…well…3G. And that’s something everyone agrees on.

However, despite being desirable for web browsing, the addition of unlimited Wi-Fi to most data tariffs has helped take the edge off that need, though the frustration of a hedgehog-slow EDGE connection is annoying, especially in the low-coverage areas.

If only 3G appears, it might not be enough to push some maybe-buyers over the edge into Apple-y goodness, as mobile web-browsing is surprisingly low on many users’ consumption habits.

Picture…perfect?

The obvious difference between the iPhone and other top-end smartphones is the 2-megapixel camera. Although the business user might not be interested in high-quality snaps from the phone, the iPhone is being pushed to all and sundry, so a better camera would make sense to turn up. The chip rumoured to be used in the new phone can handle up to a 5-megapixel sensor, but one that advanced is unlikely.

The addition of GPS makes perfect sense too, as a geotagging feature would really propel the iPhone into the social networking stratosphere. Plus, Google maps just isn’t the same without a GPS backbone, right?

Where can I get it?

Well, here’s where the rumour mill kicks into overdrive. Taking the UK as a case-in-point, O2 has an exclusive agreement to sell the iPhone. However, UK-based Vodafone has signed a deal to sell the iPhone in 10 other countries.

The rumour, according to Italian paper La Repubblica, is Apple could abandon its revenue sharing deal with carriers, instead moving to the standard ‘we sell you the phone, you subsidise it’ model. It makes sense not to lock it to one operator, as now the phone is now known and desired, so proper competition with the relevant price wars can only be a good thing.

Chris Phin, deputy editor of MacFormat magazine, says: "The latest beta firmware for the iPhone does seem to suggest that there will be the option to turn 3G on and off.

“That makes sense when you think how power-hungry 3G can be, though as some have already suggested, it would be nicer if this was handled automatically, with background mail checking happening over EDGE, only switching to 3G when actively using the web connection such as when surfing in Safari.

"Though a June launch at WWDC would make sense, we're starting to hear murmurings that it could be earlier. It's not unknown for Apple to launch products before big events such as WWDC to keep the focus on the show's big news.

“With supplies with O2 and even Apple surprisingly patchy even now, it's difficult to escape the conclusion that the channel is being cleared out in preparation for a new model."

So we might see a iPhone Nano, a larger capacity memory, or even the much-fabled Mac Tablet - essentially a bigger version of the iPhone with more processing power.

Or Apple could announce it is scrapping the iPhone and moving instead to offering RFID-tagging of dogs. Only time will tell…

RIM’s Blackberry Bold - cleaner and crisper

Gareth Beavis — 1210583820

RIM has unveiled the new Blackberry Bold, with a few tweaks and updates to help stave off the smartphone challenge.

The screen is an impressive 480 x 320 display, which on a device this size looks nice and large. The Bold may be a little longer than similar devices, such as the AD830, but makes up for that with some decent build quality.

One of the big talking points of the new release is the inclusion of UMTS / HSDPA 3G support worldwide, signalling the faster networks are finally being taken seriously. Wi-Fi is also included to 802.11 a/b/g standard for those 3G-deniers.

The OS has been rehashed to provide a cleaner, easier-to-use interface, and comes with a variety of themes for the teenage-minded businessperson to use alongside their crazy Spice Girls ringtone.

Geotagging

Speaking of audio (spuriously, in the case of the SG) the media player has lovely stereo speakers that certainly bang out some sound, though they do have a touch of the ‘bee in a baked bean tin’ feel to their sound quality.

But it’s not so much of a problem given the Bold is unlikely to be used at the back of a bus to annoy the rest of the passengers.

The phone also comes with GPS, and allows for geotagging of photos, which is soon to be a big part of social networking / Big Brother movement stalking (delete as appropriate). The camera and the video recording are decent without setting the world alight, which is nicely par for the course for this business-minded phone.

Dates and prices for release are not yet available, though the word from the underground hints at a summer release.

Nokia Siemens shows off 10.1Mbps phone network

Gareth Beavis — 1210325448

Nokia Siemens Networks and Mobilkom Austria have demonstrated I-HSPA (Internet High Speed Packet Access) test results with 10.1Mbps speeds during a mobile data call.

As mobile usage is tipped to progress to on-the-spot downloading of content, for instance Nokia’s Comes With Music service, users will increasingly demand faster linking speeds.

Current HSDPA technology allows download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps in theory, but this is limited to a small number of handsets, and Nokia Siemens technology could bring ubiquitous higher speeds to all.

Evolution to revolution

Nokia Siemens Networks’ I-HSPA network introduces a flat architecture to 3G networks, by connecting the base station directly to the internet.

The technology, which is designed to make the whole business of network deployment and use more cost-efficient, is also a good transitional step towards Long Term Evolution (LTE) networking, the next step in mobile data transfer with speeds of up to 178Mbps mooted.

Nokia Siemens has long been an advocate of this technology, in the face of competition from another 4G system, WiMAX, so to begin a transitional step between devices could help swing the balance in LTE’s favour.

No word on when I-HSPA will be available in the UK as yet and which networks will be deploying it, but we’ll keep you posted.

3G iPhone looms as Far-Eastern versions prepped

J Mark Lytle — 1210139545

The 3G iPhone is so obviously going to arrive soon, it hardly qualifies as rumour anymore, but we'll still bring you the latest pointers to next-gen nirvana anyway.

Countries that haven't yet been blessed with a 2G model are a pretty good bet for being near the front of the 3G queue, so the news that iPhone handwriting recognition software for Chinese and Japanese has been spotted adds to the case.

Korean too

Throw in Korean firm Diotek's new iPhone version of its Windows Mobile DioPen scribble-reading application and 3G from Apple is all-but nailed on.

Remember, Japan has no GSM network, so any iPhone there has to use a 3G standard, probably W-CDMA.

Lastly, if you needed any convincing, T-Mobile Austria has let slip that it will be testing a UMTS iPhone shortly. A loose-lipped spokesperson even said Austria will be "among the first countries in the world with the UMTS iPhone." Nuff said.