RSSAT&T CEO lets it slip: 3G iPhone is on its way
By Ed Oswald | Published November 29, 2007, 2:39 PM
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that Apple is working on a 3G model of its iPhone set to debut next year.
Apple has a habit of trying to keep things under wraps. However, with that company partnering with others more often these days, and with those others apparently having less stringent policies on talking about future products, the curtains may be coming up prematurely on some of Apple's plans.
Case in point: At a dinner for the Churchill Club in California, where he was apparently seated next to reporters from Forbes and Dow Jones, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said that Apple was working on a 3G model of its phone set to debut next year.
Stephenson did not provide further details, other than to say it would come "next year."
But this is the first confirmation that development of a 3G-capable model outside of rumors from Apple enthusiast sites. The CEO also called Apple a "critical" partner, and said that the iPhone may be the first of a new business model for cell phones in the future that are sold for a profit right away instead of heavily subsidized by the carriers themselves.
try 4G
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|I can't tell you how many searches I'm doing on the internet at the moment and how often, about news of the 3G iPhone. I've been into an O2 store over here in the UK and I would truly love to buy an iPhone now I've had my hands on one. Just bring out the flippin' 3G iPhone already so I can friggin' well buy it!
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|You'll be waiting until August next year, is my guess.
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|General consensus seems to suggest May 2008 in Spain. I can't see 3 more months passing until August 2008 for it to be released in the UK.
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|apple definetelly has some great products. but when the iphone was released i was dissapointed that such a innovation was somewhat primitive in not incorporating 3g. in eu, 3g has been standard for many years, and no wonder apple is heavily criticized in that market.
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|I can't wait to see all the whining and complaining for all those early adopters who bought what really was a beta. Come on the iPhone has so much missing. Remember the complaining when Apple dropped the price a few hundred, like the market should stand still because they got to be cool for only a couple of months. Well now I can see them crying that they should get these new phones at a big discount because they spent all that money early and now somebody else is going to cooler then them. "Bboo hoo"!
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|iPhone 2.0. Giddyup!
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|Heh. Did anyone actually think they weren't going to be doing this?
The thing might actually be worth buying next time around (though I still very much doubt I will).
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|Same here... but there are still other changes to be made to affect my decision to jump on it. Multimedia texting would be a good start, as well as an easy way of transferring contacts from another phone.
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|Meanwhile Verizon actively tests 4g .... i think AT&T is late to the party.
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|One only wonders why it has taken so long!
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|Battery life
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|Didn't Apple previously state the size of the 3G chip was one of the main reasons it didn't include 3G technology in the first-gen iPhone? Regardless of what you think of that excuse, we'll see if the 3G iPhone is truly on the way.
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|correct.
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