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3G iPhone on the Way?
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Sat Feb 09, 2008 04:30 AM
from the still-waiting dept.
from the still-waiting dept.
mooseman93 wrote to point out Forbes is suggesting that if you haven't purchased an iPhone yet, you may want to wait just a little bit longer. Supposedly the next generation of iPhone will offer some substantial upgrades, including 3G capabilities. "To be sure, a 3G iPhone likely won't pop up over the next several weeks. The Unofficial Apple Weblog reported this week that Apple is hiring a television production firm in preparation for a high-profile late February announcement. That event, however, will likely detail the widely anticipated release of a software developer's kit for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. But the wait can't drag on much longer. AT&T is building out its high-speed wireless network as quickly as it can, announcing Wednesday that it will expand its 3G wireless broadband service to more than 80 additional cities by the end of the year for a total of roughly 350 markets."
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soem people still don't understand (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:soem people still don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:soem people still don't understand (Score:5, Insightful)
You are obviously correct that hardware is under constant development, but put my point above to consideration and add the really expensive hardware you must plunge out cash for, suddenly some advice does come in handy.
Parent
Re:soem people still don't understand (Score:5, Informative)
Over here in the UK, where 3G coverage is really very good, a 3G plan can *replace* wired network connections. Speeds of 180kB/s are pretty common, and the bandwidth limits are pretty high too. (Enough for me, and I'm connected for about 14 hours a day.)
This just isn't the case with EDGE, so you end up having to pay for both a mobile plan and DSL/Cable/whatever which makes it much more costly. Being able to tether a handset to your laptop wherever you go, avoid high wifi charges*, and probably get a speed jump over your existing 1mbit DSL for the same price makes 3G really attractive.
*In the UK even hotels charge for WiFi.
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Oh, yes. The cost.
$25/month.
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Yeah, but the downsides! You have to live in Sweden, speak Swedish, and deal with all those blondes.
Okay, so 2 out of 3 aren't bad, but still...
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In the UK even hotels charge for WiFi
Here in the USA, with our refined senses for extracting money from customers, only the good hotels charge for internet access. Go to a Quality Inn, or whatever, and it's usually free, but at the New York Palace, paying $700/night, it'll cost you an extra $20.
That's annoying when your employer is eating the $700 on a last-minute trip, and you're in a fine hotel feeling rich, and you don't feel like trying to justify the extra $20 on your expense report.
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Unless I'm mistaken...they still won't let you tether an iPhone to a laptop as a 'modem'. That's one of the deal breakers for me actually on the iPhone, that and waiting
You don't own an iPhone I take it. (Score:4, Informative)
That's odd, because I seem to be using maps, browsing the web, and checking in for flights online just fine today and I have been ever since I bought the phone at launch. Both over WiFi and Edge. A few million other people seem to agree with this assessment.
Yes 3G will make some of those things faster, but Google Maps is already plenty good as it is on Edge. Hardly missing any kind of benefit thanks.
Will I upgrade to the 3G phone when it comes out? Probably not, I'll wait a year or two for further improvements. 3G is not as required as some would like to believe, even if you buy the device for constant network connectivity.
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Bad Analogy (Score:2)
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The chances are, much as the original i
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this is speculation not news (Score:5, Insightful)
It's as though any headline ending in a question mark has a better than 50% chance of being an advertisement or a troll/flamebait piece.
Re:this is speculation not news (Score:4, Informative)
Makes me wish for a job at Forbes though - I could predict such great things like Vista SP1 coming in march
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Asinine (Score:2)
Why in the world would Apple prepare a high-profile media announcement for an SDK? That's just about the LEAST Apple-ish move anyone familiar with them could imagine! Consumers
Apple SHOULD go 3G (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Apple SHOULD go 3G (Score:4, Interesting)
the market use of these terms has changed over time. five years ago, nobody questioned that EDGE was 3G. the marketing hype was that once 3G (by which everyone meant EDGE) was ubiquitous, it would change everything. well, we got EDGE, and very little changed. so they kept the same marketing message - once we get 3G, everything will change - and just obliterated and precise meaning of what 3G was.
EDGE is explicitly a 3G technology. the speeds found in real-world applications are dependent on far more things than the underlying technology used. one can run EDGE slower than RTT (a clearly 2G technology) if you allocate few enough cells, or faster than EVDO if you allocate enough. if what you really mean is that we want HSDPA, please just say that. if what you really mean is that you want >300Kbps, say that.
Parent
Re:Apple SHOULD go 3G (Score:5, Informative)
"EDGE/EGPRS is implemented as a bolt-on enhancement for 2G and 2.5G GSM and GPRS networks, making it easier for existing GSM carriers to upgrade to it."
"Whether EDGE is 2G or 3G depends on implementation. While Class 3 and below EDGE devices clearly are not 3G, class 4 and above devices perform at a higher bandwidth than other technologies conventionally considered as 2G as 1xRTT). Because of the variability, EDGE is generally classified as 2.75G network technology."
While EDGE qualifies as 3G because it can reach a set minimum speed, AFAIK EDGE is based on 2G technology, not 3G.
Parent
good in the USA I should say (Score:2)
Although I fail to see how much use 7Mbps would be with a restrictive transfer limit. You can get an unlimited plan over here.
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If you feel like you have to spend a load of cash on a phone, then there's even one with a nice qwerty keyboard (E90 - I have one myself and it's very nice).
USA != the only iPhone market (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple's continued US-centricity is a ridiculous holdover for such a large company with even larger intentions. Their insistence on selling first to a US market which has always lagged behind the rest of the world in terms of mobile phone infrastructure is a case in point.
If Apple instead decided to throw their weight behind launching the iPhone that the rest of the world wants, it would force the US phone market to modernise, kicking and screaming on the way.
We already have data that iPhones exist (illegally and unlocked...) in most countries around the world, even some surprising locations. This shows what a strong global brand and product Apple has sitting ready to be unleashed. But instead, they insist on catering to the often backwards, domestic US market first.
Even worse, they have then tried to force a US-based model for phone subscription services on the rest of the world, where such practices don't exist.
I posit that the slow uptake of iPhones in Europe is due to a combination of initial outlay for the phone, high subscription rates not in keeping with the service provided, limited number of networks you can legally sign up to, and ultimately network lock-in. Each of these devices exists in the US. The do not exist in Europe for any phone other than the iPhone, and this is what the market is finding hard to swallow, even though we really love the product.
So my final message is this - Apple, get your head out of your arse and realise that there is a world outside the USA.
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Come on apple, there are a lot of people here willing to pay 100s of dollars for an iPhone in countries like Australia (I personally know a few people who would probably at least consider if not purchase one and my circle of friends isn't exactly very big)
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Broadcom, who manufacture a vast percentage of all the 3G radio chips in use, have forseen this issue and the new chip purported to have been sourced by Apple for the next-gen iPhone can use all international 3G frequencies.
My original point of a US company trying to force a US subscription model on Europe as their major failing still stands however. It's business arrogance, plain and simple.
Forbesian Bullshit (Score:5, Interesting)
Here are some questions that Forbes should have asked:
Again, Forbes shows that journalism takes the back seat. There are plenty of great articles that could be written. Instead, we get an article that isn't even worthy of an unpopular rumor blog. Like mine.
Article is way off base (Score:3, Insightful)
This only point of this article seems to be don't buy an iPhone. Even the headline is designed to taunt people that already bought one.
What evidence does the article provide?
- AT&T said a new iPhone was coming in 2008. Of course this leaves 10 more months assuming that AT&T even knows what Apple is working on which previous reports have said they don't. http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/16-02/ff_iphone [wired.com]
- Apple recently hired a television crew for... something. According to a Mac rumors site.
- Broadcom has started sampling a new lower power 3G chip. Which is implied to be a panacea, completely ignoring that redesigning the iPhone is more complicated than popping in a new chip -- there are antennas to redesign and software that has to be rewritten just to start -- and the chip isn't even shipping yet.
- "Apple can't wait much longer." The author uses this argument several times, backing it up with AT&T's plans to roll out 3G to more cities by the end of 2008.
Hasn't it occurred to anyone that it's going to take 6 months for the FCC to test a new iPhone and no one has turned up anything to show the FCC has even started this yet?
iPhones are pretty (Score:4, Insightful)
If people want a reason to wait, then they should wait for the "business iPhone" that has been predicted by some previous iPhone related article that made its way here some time ago. As a Blackberry user, I have grown accustomed to certain levels of functionality that, if not duplicated, will make iPhone feel broken somehow... and I'm sure one will come out because Blackberry has been working on competition for iPhone and I can't imagine it will take long to release.
Wait wait wait....the difference is.. (Score:2)
But the difference here is that you're locking yourself into an 18 month contract typically. The iPhone is a bit behind the times now, in 18 months it will be way behind.
There are some things you can wait for and others you need. For instance you might decide to wait for a new model of a car, but if you don't have a car then you can't really wait.
Stupid Title (Score:3, Insightful)
What am I to be sorry about? I've been using a really great phone since August. My option was to not be using a really great phone over the past seven months. Gee, Forbes really nailed this one!
3G != iPhone (Score:3, Insightful)
AT&T currently offers about 18 different phones that are 3G capable. While I'm sure that AT&T is looking forward to a 3G-capable iPhone, I think it's much more likely that their ongoing 3G expansion is more about supporting their current customers and current product lineup than about supporting future products.
Generally... (Score:3, Insightful)
Teaser trailers (Score:2)
Consuming. (Score:2)
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Re:Only now 3G in US? (Score:4, Interesting)
A great point: over in Great Britain 3G has been working (very quickly) for several years now, whilst O2 have only just started rolling out EDGE for the iPhone (mainly). When I tried using an iPhone in an O2 shop a few months ago, it was painfully slow under EDGE (but fine under Wi-Fi).
Parent
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If Apple would release it in Asia, Jobs would be often saying "boom!" with each sale.
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Here in the US you get to choose between 4-5 major carriers. However, most of them use different signalling technologies that make their phones incompatible with most of the other carriers. Because of this you can't just buy a phone somewhere and hook up with a carr
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Let's face it, if you want mobile service in the US it's like choosing between three shit sandwiches.
I like that. I'm going to use it to break the ice at parties in future. Thank you.
While the UK mobile system is far better than the US system, it still has its flaws. For example, some providers have the habit of 'locking' a phone to its provider, and demanding an unlocking fee to unlock it. If you want to transfer your number from an old to a new SIM, you have to phone both providers and go through rather intrusive security checks.
For example, last month I switched providers from Tesco Mobile to 3, and
Re:Only now 3G in US? (Score:5, Insightful)
This and the e-voting makes me wonder if those news about US being beaten technology by other countries isn't only for Japan/Asia/Europe, seems like in many areas even in-development countries are starting to be better.
It's really a question of cost - I'm pretty sure if you look at actual 3G coverage in Brazil (or Europe for that matter) you'd find a number of areas that lack 3G - but the concentration of population is such that say 80% of the population have it even with the holes. I'd further guess that if you hit Brasilia, then move along the coast (Rio, San Paulo, Belem, etc) with 3.5 you'd get most of Brazil's population of cell phone users who'd want 3G.
In the US, the population density is such that partial coverage by 3G will also get a significant percentage of users so they rollout has been focused there. Given the cost of new antennas, negotiating new leases on towers, ensuring there aren't interference problems it makes sense to go where you get the highest potential return and build out the rest as funds allow. Yes, that means the poor user in The Middle of Nowhere, Iowa will not have 3G for a while; simply because the cost of servicing that user is too high.
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ATT should be fixing their already nearly useless network before upgrading it. There's not a good excuse why you could lose ATT signals along any interstate highway in the US, or why there could be lar
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Check out softbank and docomo's web pages. My "free" handset from Softbank has a 320x240 display, two 2-megapixel cameras, bluetooth (duh), and is of course 3G with a nice high speed data connection. The current gen of phones, before you even have to pay extra, have "PC-style" (stupid marketing term) image capable web browsers, QC-code readers, kanji dictionaries, and do on. Then come the phones you pay extra for, which get super awesome pretty fast. [nttdocomo.com] (Link is for a phone series with a TV tuner, DVR, 3"
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Well, if your phone and networks support it, the transition goes from 3G to EDGE to GPRS, and of course other ways round, from GPRS to EDGE to 3G. In Finland we have 3G networks in all towns and urban areas, and when leaving to more rural areas you get EDGE and when being in the middle of nowhere you get GPRS. To a user the switch from network to network is seamless. Of course in some countries, as it seems in USA and UK, it's either 3G or EDGE and there are no previous generation techniques like GPRS avail