Report hints at next-gen iPhone in June
Coverage of Apple's plans to launch the iPhone 3G in the United Arab Emirates later this month appears to also signal a June release date for the handset's successor.
On Monday, Emirates Telecommunications - Etisalat said that it had struck the first iPhone deals of 2009 when it announced in a local newspaper plans to bring the iPhone 3G to the UAE and Saudi Arabia (under the Mobily brand) later this month.
Mark Davis, Program Director for iPhone at Etisalat, later spoke with Dow Jones and revealed the precise launch date to be February 15th. The same report went on to say that the "next version of the device, which is due out in June, will be launched in the UAE at the same time."
The source of the June comment is not entirely clear, but appears to have come by way of Davis. That said, industry watchers generally expect Apple to take the wraps off its next-generation touchscreen handset in June, approximately one year after the iPhone 3G made its debut.
To this end, the hardest supporting evidence to date has come from Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who in a post Macworld 2009 interview last month outlined the Cupertino-based company's general product cycles, which he said include an iPhone cycle in June.
Recently, references to an iPhone 2,1 have begun to crop up in weblogs and versions of Apple's firmware, suggesting testing of the next-gen iPhone is beginning to heat up.
Unlike the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, which were referenced as the iPhone 1,1 and iPhone 1,2, respectively, the iPhone 2,1 designation appears to signal a major architectural overhaul that is more significant than last year's upgrade.
Specifically, a lengthy breadcrumb trail laid by Apple and its partners suggest the new model will include the use of customized "System on a Chip" components developed by Apple using ARM processor cores and incorporating new PowerVR video and graphics processing core designs developed by Imagination Technologies.
On Monday, Emirates Telecommunications - Etisalat said that it had struck the first iPhone deals of 2009 when it announced in a local newspaper plans to bring the iPhone 3G to the UAE and Saudi Arabia (under the Mobily brand) later this month.
Mark Davis, Program Director for iPhone at Etisalat, later spoke with Dow Jones and revealed the precise launch date to be February 15th. The same report went on to say that the "next version of the device, which is due out in June, will be launched in the UAE at the same time."
The source of the June comment is not entirely clear, but appears to have come by way of Davis. That said, industry watchers generally expect Apple to take the wraps off its next-generation touchscreen handset in June, approximately one year after the iPhone 3G made its debut.
To this end, the hardest supporting evidence to date has come from Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who in a post Macworld 2009 interview last month outlined the Cupertino-based company's general product cycles, which he said include an iPhone cycle in June.
Recently, references to an iPhone 2,1 have begun to crop up in weblogs and versions of Apple's firmware, suggesting testing of the next-gen iPhone is beginning to heat up.
Unlike the original iPhone and iPhone 3G, which were referenced as the iPhone 1,1 and iPhone 1,2, respectively, the iPhone 2,1 designation appears to signal a major architectural overhaul that is more significant than last year's upgrade.
Specifically, a lengthy breadcrumb trail laid by Apple and its partners suggest the new model will include the use of customized "System on a Chip" components developed by Apple using ARM processor cores and incorporating new PowerVR video and graphics processing core designs developed by Imagination Technologies.
Comments
-Forward facing camera for iChat AV
-Higher end Digital Camera on back to help with motion blur and low light environments
-"N" Wireless chip. I'm finding a lot of "N" only networks that I cannot connect to.
I love my iPhone so much!
Well the only hardware changes I would like seen would be:
-Forward facing camera for iChat AV
-Higher end Digital Camera on back to help with motion blur and low light environments
-"N" Wireless chip. I'm finding a lot of "N" only networks that I cannot connect to.
Umm... How about more ram and a faster processor so that applications can run in the background.
Apple is going to have a new iPhone product this June just like the last previous 2 years. Must be a slow news day.
That was my initial reaction to this article, too. But it is worth pointing out that the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G was 1.0->1.1, and this year's jump is 1.1->2.0. Which leads to wilder speculation. Which is what rumor sites excel in.
The 3G upgrade last year didn't really change the chips substantially. They were still the same processor (with a tiny speed bump, I think), acceleration, screen, etc. I would expect this year's machine, especially considering the App Store's success, to really focus on gaming performance. I suspect it will blow the Sony PSP and their ilk out of the water. It will probably be comparable in performance to a "2.5G" console... and if you can hook it up to a television easily, will essentially *be* one.
2.) MMS - text and pics
3.) Video recording along with improved camera.
4.) Expandable memory
5.) Flash- both for the camera and for Safari
6.) and last but certainly not least - cut and paste
Toshiba New Touch phone looks awesome.....
Well, it better be thinner, faster and quicker... and larger screen...
Toshiba New Touch phone looks awesome.....
Toshibas new TG01 (a qualcomm snapdragon device) that has a nice interface to hide the Winmo 6 ugliness. So, like lipstick on a pig then.
Well the only hardware changes I would like seen would be:
-Forward facing camera for iChat AV
-Higher end Digital Camera on back to help with motion blur and low light environments
-"N" Wireless chip. I'm finding a lot of "N" only networks that I cannot connect to.
All those i could use. I really hope for the second one though and with a flash. Mobile phones are really starting to replace point and shoot cameras.
That was my initial reaction to this article, too. But it is worth pointing out that the original iPhone to the iPhone 3G was 1.0->1.1, and this year's jump is 1.1->2.0. Which leads to wilder speculation. Which is what rumor sites excel in.
The 3G upgrade last year didn't really change the chips substantially. They were still the same processor (with a tiny speed bump, I think), acceleration, screen, etc. I would expect this year's machine, especially considering the App Store's success, to really focus on gaming performance. I suspect it will blow the Sony PSP and their ilk out of the water. It will probably be comparable in performance to a "2.5G" console... and if you can hook it up to a television easily, will essentially *be* one.
They will have to REALLY REALLY increase the speed of the phone. I mean atleast double the processor. Get it running somewhere around 750-950 mhz. More than double the RAM... They really need more RAM. Most apps lag so much. Maps works sometimes.... but if you get mail while using maps or a phone call... ugh the lag is herendous... Everything else I do not mind. If they increased the strength of the GPS antenna and increased the processor and RAM, I think I would buy it. If they allowed backround processes, copy/paste, better camera and silverlight 3, ajax, and flash.... lol. OKay that last one is a long long shot. But you know. There will definitely have to be some significant changes for me to switch last time. I was very disappointed switching this time. I live in LA and it switches from 3G to edge quite often. And the GPS is so inaccurate it is unusable. I kind of wish I just kept the old iPhone and waited for this newest one.
That's because I discovered something a long time ago called a "case." I have full functionality and chargeability using this revolutionary device, and (again) not one scratch, dent, or other kind of physical incursion have I registered.
I hear there are a bunch of these innovative shells out there in the wild. Trapping one might be good for any iPhone user who values the aesthetics of his device.
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Well, I owned the first iPhone and have the 3G, but now that I have the 3G they are gonna have to have some really good features to make me upgrade.
I love my iPhone so much!
Agree.
I would love to upgrade but I don't think it is going to happen this year. My friends at AT&T are already waiting at the door. Another two-year contract at again a higher price? Ha! I don't think so. I have two iPhones plus a "regular" phone in my family plan. That generates a healthy monthly bill of $150.00 plus oh, like 3,000 minutes rolled over. The iPhone is great, and I will not go without it, but AT&T spoils a lot of the fun.
Jan
iPhone 3g Pro? iPhone 3? iPhone 3g 2?
Well, it better be thinner, faster and quicker... and larger screen...
Toshiba New Touch phone looks awesome.....
Then buy the Toshiba if it is so damn great!
No firewire no purchase
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My wishlist:
1.Faster ARM processor (pretty much a given)
2 PowerVR SGX graphics with OpenGL ES 2.0
3.iPhone firmware 3.0 background processes, Push Notification, OpenCL support (for capable HW) CnP and more.
4.Better camera including video capability
5.32MB option
6.Video out port for playing back HD video
7.OLED screen
8. Tethering for cheeeeap.
9. Bluetooth 2.1 with NFC and A2DP whatever
10. 802.11n Wifi at 2.4 or 5Ghz
What's interesting in all this whining about faster processors and more ram is no mention of battery life. Faster proccies, more RAM, wireless N, background processes (which already exist, WE just can't get to them), faster graphics, etc isn't going to help the already anemic battery performance and are is likely the reason why we have the performance characteristics we already do. Perhaps Apple will switch to some lower powered display technology that will help in this regard.
Well we cannot assume that today's technology isn't superior in not only performance but also power consumption. I know that there are bluetooth cores and Wifi cores that exceed the current iPhone parts in functionality and power consumption. I doubt that the new ARM and PowerVR portions will take a significant amount of power over the current solution. Plus battery techn is certainly not standing still. I'd love to see an AMOLED screen for additional power savings and wide viewing angle.