Apple inks iPhone licensing deal covering 3G technologies
Wireless technology firm InterDigital Inc. revealed this week that it has signed a seven-year, non-exclusive patent licensing agreement with Apple covering the current iteration of iPhone and any successive model.
InterDigital made the news public in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, stating that it had granted the license to Apple under its patent portfolio beginning on June 29, 2007 "covering the current iPhone and certain future mobile phones, if any."
The King of Prussia, Pa.-based firm designs, develops and provides advanced wireless technologies that help companies connect their products to 2G (EDGE), 2.5G, 3G (HSDPA), and 802 networks. Though responsible for technologies in a wide range of 2G devices like the current iPhone, InterDigital is now believed to be focusing the majority of its efforts on 3G-capable standards.
In a statement separate from the SEC filing, InterDigital increased its fiscal third quarter guidance and said it expects to receive a $20 million payment in the near future in connection with "a recently signed license agreement," but did not identify the source of the payment. One analyst, however, is convinced the royalties are tied to Apple and that they'll amount to an estimated $56 million over the course of the deal.
"They are going to be getting $2 million a quarter [from Apple] for the next seven years," Boenning & Scattergood analyst Michael Ciarmoli told Reuters. "The deal covers various 2G and 3G cellular technologies encompassing bandwidth allocation, roaming and power efficiency controls, and most likely also includes some type of packet data coding and delivery."
It would appear that the agreement between Apple and InterDigital will pave the way for a 3G-capable iPhone, which is widely expected to one of Apple's next moves in the cellular arena.
InterDigital made the news public in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, stating that it had granted the license to Apple under its patent portfolio beginning on June 29, 2007 "covering the current iPhone and certain future mobile phones, if any."
The King of Prussia, Pa.-based firm designs, develops and provides advanced wireless technologies that help companies connect their products to 2G (EDGE), 2.5G, 3G (HSDPA), and 802 networks. Though responsible for technologies in a wide range of 2G devices like the current iPhone, InterDigital is now believed to be focusing the majority of its efforts on 3G-capable standards.
In a statement separate from the SEC filing, InterDigital increased its fiscal third quarter guidance and said it expects to receive a $20 million payment in the near future in connection with "a recently signed license agreement," but did not identify the source of the payment. One analyst, however, is convinced the royalties are tied to Apple and that they'll amount to an estimated $56 million over the course of the deal.
"They are going to be getting $2 million a quarter [from Apple] for the next seven years," Boenning & Scattergood analyst Michael Ciarmoli told Reuters. "The deal covers various 2G and 3G cellular technologies encompassing bandwidth allocation, roaming and power efficiency controls, and most likely also includes some type of packet data coding and delivery."
It would appear that the agreement between Apple and InterDigital will pave the way for a 3G-capable iPhone, which is widely expected to one of Apple's next moves in the cellular arena.
Comments
Wireless technology firm InterDigital Inc. revealed this week that it has signed a seven-year, non-exclusive patent licensing agreement with Apple covering the current iteration of iPhone and any successive model.
InterDigital made the news public in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, stating that it had granted the license to Apple under its patent portfolio beginning on June 29, 2007 "covering the current iPhone and certain future mobile phones, if any."
The King of Prussia, Pa.-based firm designs, develops and provides advanced wireless technologies that help companies connect their products to 2G (EDGE), 2.5G, 3G (HSDPA), and 802 networks. Though responsible for technologies in a wide range of 2G devices like the current iPhone, InterDigital is now believed to be focusing the majority of its efforts on 3G-capable standards.
In a statement separate from the SEC filing, InterDigital said it expects to receive a $20 million payment in the near future in connection with "a recently signed license agreement," but did not identify the source of the payment. One analyst, however, is convinced the royalties are tied to Apple and that they'll amount to an estimated $56 million over the course of the deal.
"They are going to be getting $2 million a quarter [from Apple] for the next seven years," Boenning & Scattergood analyst Michael Ciarmoli told Reuters. "The deal covers various 2G and 3G cellular technologies encompassing bandwidth allocation, roaming and power efficiency controls, and most likely also includes some type of packet data coding and delivery."
It would appear that the agreement between Apple and InterDigital will pave the way for a 3G-capable iPhone, which is widely expected to one of Apple's next moves in the cellular arena.
Finally!
Only real question now is, will the iPhone go 3G in late '07 (in time for the European launch), or mid-'08 (Asian launch)?
Either way, very nice.
.
What are the chances that 3G will also be embedded technology in a future Apple notebook?
Probably very little.
Yep, Apple's moving quickly towards getting 3G into the iPhone, depsite what the "We don't really need 3G" crowd was originally saying. RDF, and all that.
Only real question now is, will the iPhone go 3G in late '07 (in time for the European launch), or mid-'08 (Asian launch)?
Either way, very nice.
.
True.
Yep, Apple's moving quickly towards getting 3G into the iPhone, depsite what the "We don't really need 3G" crowd was originally saying. RDF, and all that.
As an owner of the iPhone I would say 3G isn't absolutely necessary for satisfactory use of the phone. But this isn't new information, Jobs said the iPhone would eventually get 3G from the beginning. 3G will be a nice addition once it does not make the phone larger or draw too much battery power.
As an owner of the iPhone I would say 3G isn't absolutely necessary for satisfactory use of the phone. But this isn't new information, Jobs said the iPhone would eventually get 3G from the beginning. 3G will be a nice addition once it does not make the phone larger or draw too much battery power.
Nice that you've come around, Teno. I seem to remember getting some push back from you on this issue a few months back, but it's all good.
.
Probably very little.
Embedded (as in included)? You're right, no.
But, wasn't it announced somewhere that Apple planned to incorporate slots for 3G cards into their entire notebook lineup at some point? Pretty sure I remember that.
.
Nice that you've come around, Teno. I seem to remember getting some push back from you on this issue a few months back, but it's all good.
I don't recall saying that 3G is absolutely unnecessary. But I felt people made too big a deal of its necessity also.Of course we would all rather have faster speeds than slower.
I felt Apple gave a reasonable explanation for its absence. Increasing the size of the device and drawing too much battery power. Many people ignored that and could only see that there is no 3G, which Jobs had already said was going to be in the phone eventually.
Now, if they also eliminate most of the other weaknesses, such as no voice calling, no GPS, no Flash support, no MMS, etc., I think we have a home run here.
.
Well, its all water under the bridge. Judging from the reviews and reaction, Apple did wake up to the fact 3G was a higher priority for potential iPhone customers than they thought. And they appear to be taking steps to deliver it sooner, rather than later. 'tis good.
Now, if they also eliminate most of the other weaknesses, such as no voice calling, no GPS, no Flash support, no MMS, etc., I think we have a home run here.
.
Dude, stop gloating. I think in the interview the day of or after MWSF, Steve promised that 3G was coming soon and given the planned European release later this year, everyone was expecting 3G in this time frame. The argument was that 3G was not necessary and in fact better off without it in the US since it is not widely available.
Dude, stop gloating. I think in the interview the day of or after MWSF, Steve promised that 3G was coming soon and given the planned European release later this year, everyone was expecting 3G in this time frame. The argument was that 3G was not necessary and in fact better off without it in the US since it is not widely available.
Who's gloating? I think I summed the situation pretty accurately, actually.
My memories of the discussion (and yeah, I was here all through it) was that Steve simultaneously promised 3G, but also downplayed the lack of it... which he had to, frankly. I was one of the people who had to remind everyone that Steve had promised 3G, actually... usually in response to ppl who were buying too much into Steve's "We don't need 3G" two-step.
Overall, there was a pretty heated debate here, with RDFers echoing the (temporary) Apple party line that '3G sucked compared to WiFi' and 'Why have 3G when you can have WiFi' and "You won't see 3G on the iPhone for TWO YEARS at least!", while others like myself were saying, "Umm... no, trust us, a lot of ppl want 3G in the iPhone, and that's just in the US. In Europe, it'll be more ppl still, and in Asia, it'll be mandatory. It's gonna happen sooner than later, 'cuz it has to."
We were right. If that's gloating, oh well. Sue me.
.
Can you imagine the screams of outrage then?
.
Embedded (as in included)? You're right, no.
But, wasn't it announced somewhere that Apple planned to incorporate slots for 3G cards into their entire notebook lineup at some point? Pretty sure I remember that.
.
That would be possible. But, it's different.
The problem would be the carriers. How would they react?
Would Apple want to install, permanently, a technology that few might use, and bring the price up at the same time? This would be something that you would likely have to pay a monthly fee to use, not like WiFi, where you might have a home network, or find a free hotspot. Nor would it be like Bluetooth, where there are no networks, but is intended for personal use.
The new slots Apple uses in the MBP should, hopefully migrate down to the MB. That should be able to take these cards, should Apple, or third parties, decide to provide them.
Well, its all water under the bridge. Judging from the reviews and reaction, Apple did wake up to the fact 3G was a higher priority for potential iPhone customers than they thought. And they appear to be taking steps to deliver it sooner, rather than later. 'tis good.
Now, if they also eliminate most of the other weaknesses, such as no voice calling, no GPS, no Flash support, no MMS, etc., I think we have a home run here.
.
Apple knew, from the beginning, that 3G was coming in their phones, they said so last MacWorld, before the phone was out.
The question has always been?when?
Apple knew, from the beginning, that 3G was coming in their phones, they said so last MacWorld, before the phone was out.
The question has always been—when?
Exactly. And that was the debate here, pretty much... 3G, how necessary? 3G when?
Camp A said it was pretty gosh-darn necessary, and needed to be on the iPhone soon, months not years. Camp B said it wasn't that necessary, and probably wouldn't be on the iPhone for two years at least.
Camp B ended up being wrong. End o' story.
Far as Apple goes, yes, they knew 3G was necessary. In fact, I told people that. But Apple downplayed the fact, because they didn't have a 3G product to offer right out of the gate. Jobs pushed WiFi instead, because, well, he had to.
I'm sure we all remember the interviews he gave where he did that. Camp B looked at those and said, "See!"".
That's when I had to jump in and remind ppl that Jobs had also promised that 3G coming to the iPhone eventually, i.e. the two-step.
.
The new slots Apple uses in the MBP should, hopefully migrate down to the MB. That should be able to take these cards, should Apple, or third parties, decide to provide them.
I think the article did state it would be MB as well as MBP.
But who knows? You know Apple... always try to get 'em to buy the $2000 notebook, even if its overkill for their needs.
.