3G iPhones Definitely Coming Says AT&T

Confirming an open secret, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that Apple will introduce a new version of the iPhone in 2008 that can operate on third-generation wireless networks.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has repeatedly said that battery life is the major concern, and that they're awaiting new chipsets with better power management.

While true, another stumbling block to 3G lay in the fact that AT&T has been slow in rolling out coverage throughout the United States.

Where's the network?

According to the latest chart from AT&T, 38 states currently have some form of 3G support, though in many access is limited to just a handful of major metropolitan areas.

Compare this to Sprint, who claims to reach more than 200 million people in the United States with their EV-DO-based Mobile Broadband Network.

When the iPhone was introduced the lack of 3G access was quoted by many as the number one "missing" feature, with GPS functionality as number two.

But unless you were fortunate enough to live in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York, the inclusion of 3G on the iPhone would have done most of us little good.

In fact, AT&T had a hard enough time boosting the speed of its slower EDGE "2.5G" network prior to the iPhone's June launch date.

I just hope that when we finally do get a third-generation iPhone, there'll be a network to support it.

iPhone sales...

The prospect of a new handset may make some shoppers put off buying an iPhone this year, says Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray. But in my opinion consumers are used to the technology curve, and know by now that there's always something better coming down the road.

But the true gadget-hound doesn't care, and many will be willing to play the "upgrade game" once a more advanced handset is released. Even Munster agrees that the fence sitters won't be "enough to make a difference".

And of course, with Apple being Apple, "next year" could just as well be late November as early March. Notice how the iPhone and Leopard releases, said to be coming in June and October, each hit in the last week of the month. Or as late as possible while still meeting the stated deadline.

Jobs has repeatedly stated that he plans to sell 10 million iPhones worldwide in 2008, which would give Apple one percent of the mobile-phone market. Apple had sold 1.4 million handsets through the end of September, and has just started selling into the European market with the same EDGE-based handset that it's selling here in the US.

But with a higher penetration of 3G handsets throughout the continent, it's facing some resistance among buyers unwilling to make the "step down" in speed.

Battery life...

The current iPhone has an eight-hour "talk-time" battery life, but Jobs has said that we've got to see the battery life get back up into the five-plus-hour range before 3G can be implemented.

Personally, given the choice between 3G and better battery life, I'd take battery life hands down. Apple, in their seemingly never-ending quest to produce ever-smaller ever-sexier devices, occasionally tends to forget that some people may want to use their cool toys for more than an hour or so at a time.

So let's assume that a 3G chipset burns more power, and takes talk-time down from 8 hours to 5.5 hours.

What's your choice? Longer battery life, or faster downloads?

[via Bloomberg]

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Continued in More 3G iPhone Mania

Comments

[GregR]

I would take 3G over battery life, with one request. Allow us to swap batteries. I would take 3G with 5.5 hour battery life if I can have a spare in my pocket to swap out when the battery does go dead. I typically need to use my iPhone from 8am until around midnight, so 5.5 hours wouldn't be very good. But I do get tired of the speed of Edge networks, to the point where I sometimes won't even use the internet unless I'm near a Wifi point.

[PiperP]

When comparing data throughput, remember to consider not only the theoretical max speed of the air interface (2G, 2.5G, or 3G), but also the number of people sharing it (3G shared by two people = "1.5G") as well as the distance to the nearest antenna (3G is much more sensitive to this than 2G). Further, the back-end speed must also be considered, as the total data throughput depends on that too.

[Zbend]

PiperP, wow thats a load of crap. Have you ever used an EV-DO or otherwise 3G connection? Or are you to insecure and defensive about your 2G one to even try?