10M Unit Order Could Mean 3G iPhone is on the Way
Ken Dulaney, an analyst with the well-respected Gartner firm, has been hearing some rumors from his Asian sources. According to a iPhone interview conducted with Dulaney, the iPod observer has learned that Apple may have just ordered a new round of iPhone production and this order could come to market packing the 3G network compatibility that the public has been clamoring for. Apparently Apple has recently placed a hefty 10 million unit order. If Dulaney is correct about this order, it stands to reason that this is in fact related to Apple’s next-generation handset. With the knowledge that the 3G iPhone is indeed due out this year, it wouldn’t make much sense for Apple to be ordering such a large quantity of the current model. Dulaney also goes on to speculate that Apple’s upcoming revamp will make use of OLED displays, although his sources on that matter are unclear. OLED technology would mean that the upcoming handsets could be thinner than the current model. In addition, the decreased power consumption of OLED displays would certainly help with battery life as 3G components can be quite a drain on battery life. Lack of high-speed 3G / HSDPA support is one of the biggest complaints that critics have when it comes to the iPhone, so let’s see what this news might do to appease them.
If they toss in 32gb of memory, it would probably be enough to tip the scales and get me to lose my blackberry. I love my BB, but I don’t feel like RIM can keep up with the pace at this point – they can only hang on to the “but we have a tactile keyboard!” argument for so long. For the feature-set in a 3G iPhone, I’ll learn to deal with a touchscreen.
To ak -
Shiiiiit I agree, I love my BB but apple updates there product so quickly and keeps it fresh to death!! while BB just keep putting out the same ol’ shit. Its good shit but just the same shit!!
I think my love for BB is gone, sign me up for and Iphone!!
I think alot of people will be on board again if they can produce a thinner version that has 3G or faster. Price will again be an issue for alot of people though.
bring on Galvatron and his hateappleboys.
Oh great now all the recent iPhone customers are going to bitch because they just “bought” an iphone and the 3G one just came out.
lol I can’t wait.
My question is .. where’s the bluetooth? come on apple, is it so hard to make a phone work with a set of bluetooth headphones?
so them ordering 10m iphones means its a 3g version i dont think so i mean i know the new iphones w/ 3g and whatever else will prob be here at the end of the year but this bit of news doesnt signify that….
3G and 33 flash drive would be nice. Though thinner it’s already too thin. Any more and I won’t know it’s in my pocket. Maybe a bigger screen would be cool 4in would be cool, and dual camera’s was a rumor I would to see.
A few blogs mention the 6 month FCC filing issue. What’s up with that? Did they keep the first iphone secure when they registered it with the FCC? is this possible? or does the FCC have to publish the filing? if so where is the 3G iphone on the FCC site since June is only 3 months away.
I’ve been waiting for 3G since Jan. 07.
This would be phenominal I really do hope that the order was for the next gen 3g iphone hope they add flash
ya… where is galvaltron? ha ha ha ha…
I agree that I’m not sold on the fact that this “means” that 3G is on its way. Could this not mean that maybe they are ready to enter a large market… i.e. China/Japan?
I’ll get u beerbaron!
The claim about the next iPhone, due out this year, will sport an OLED display is doubtful. The only company that currently has any meaningful OLED product is Universal Display Corporation (stock ticker: PANL). UDC’s products can be seen on selected Samsung and Sony products, with more manufactures signing up to incorporate OLED displays into their respective products.
Apple approached UDC for the iPhone. However, due to the limitation on screen size at the time, as well as the high cost, the deal never materialized. As recently as this month, the CFO of UDC told an exclusive group of investors, approximately 10 of them, that Apple has not resumed talk on the possibility of using OLED in any future products.
The technology itself is not ready for prime time. To date, there is not a true OLED display that meets even the minimum level of usage demand. All OLED displays uses OLED red and green, but LED blue. As of this month, their OLED blue has an operational duration of less than 5,000 hours, far short of the standard 10,000+ hours required by commercial products. Furthermore, there are infrastructural considerations that drastically increases the cost of production, thus further reducing OLED technology’s attractiveness against LED technology.
Overall, it should be a surprise if OLED is used, in whole or in part, as this 3G iPhone’s touch screen.
@Beerbaron:
Seems like an awfully big re-up on existing (read: old) tech in advance of entering an untested new market – especially when most foreign markets (e.g. Japan) are way ahead of the US in mobile devices/networks. IMO
The FCC thing means really nothing. Apple announced it way ahead of time not just because of the FCC and possible leak, but because they were coming to market with an entirely new product, a mobile phone, and had to get the public informed and ready. That’s not even counting the numerous delays with the software and changes to the final hardware build. For the second time around, Apple can release the phone the day after it gets the FCC certification and it’s not like these things get rejected for the major companies submitting the devices. I wouldn’t expect a “heads up” with the new iPhone, just possibly a one or two week out event that will take place where it will be announced and launched.
WHY MAKE IT THINNER?
Use the extra space to put in a real GPS a better camera and a better battery for gods sake
BG, the FCC thing realy bothered me, and I actually started believing it and thought the 3G iphone wasn’t coming out until the holidays. Now I’m going to wait for the (hopefully) June release. Thanks
I’m not gonna bitch even though I just got mine in January. I’m going to give the the wife version 1 and get version 2 for myself. Besides the fact that she wouldn’t know the difference she just wants an iphone. Probably doesn’t even care what it does!
RIM? Are you there? Are you listening?
I’m a loyal Blackberry user, but you know, Apple and their visual and practical (thanks, Microsoft, for the enterprise support) appeal are making this a very difficult decision. Maybe it’s time to start dropping (read, LEAKING) some hints to keep people from crossing over to the dark side…
Who cares? Call me when the 4G Voyager is coming out.
Who’s with me, people?
Chirp… chirp… chirp…
what im wondering is why would they release a “new” iphone in june? it makes no sense since they are making such a big hype about the new sdk kit and apple’s “official” 3rd party applications. and all firmare 2.0 is supposed to be for the current IPhone?
Could be a 3G iphone. Could also be another round of exhisting iphones to go to another carrier. That would only be possible if the exclusive deal was ended by agreement from both apple and att.
Let’s wait and see the real specs of this iPhone 2.0. Then let’s comapre them to existing and upcoming phones from other manufacturers.
Or you guys can just keep on riding the hype machine and worship the iPhone as a GOD.
However you might just want to remember that out there ther are quite a few phones that cost less and do MUCH more then an iPhone.
The agreement with AT&T was just for the iPhone original. The new model could be for all to have – thus the large production numbers.
i was under the impression that apple and at&t have a 5 year exclusive deal