3G iPhone: is June launch now inevitable?

Another press event, another 3G iPhone no-show. Man, just think how nice it would be to have a brand spankin' new HSDPA capable iPhone for downloading all those fancy new apps. Sure would come in handy for syncing your massive corporate email accounts (with attachments), too. Otherwise, you iPhone users will be stuck with your paltry EDGE when WiFi isn't available. Will that all change in June with the launch of the 2.0 firmware? That's what the rumor mill says -- and it makes sense to us. What say you?

Hint: Apple's WWDC, while unannounced, is expected to begin on June 8th.

[Derbeste @ Mar 6th 2008 3:28PM]

What's an iPhone?

[Aguiluz @ Mar 6th 2008 3:39PM]

Ah, lovely sarcasm. :)

Anyway, I do hope the CANADIAN version comes out!

[Jakob @ Mar 6th 2008 3:50PM]

Rumors in Scandinavia, say that '3' Scandinavia (Sweden and Denmark) gets the exclusive rights to sell a 3G iPhone in these two countries.

So if the iPhone will be in Scandinavia, it is very likely it will be in Canada (probably before)

[John @ Mar 6th 2008 4:03PM]

Who cares if there's 3G or not. The EDGE connection is faster than I was ever expecting, and I don't need friggin' broadband speeds 24/7. I have used nothing but iPhone EDGE internet for days while I was away with no WiFi and there is absolutely no complaint here. Furthermore, if you haven't noticed, WiFi is rolling out pretty much everywhere; at McDonald's, department stores, malls, etc.

tl;dr 3G is a NON-ISSUE, it's just Apple-hate fodder for the 2% of tech-nerds (and maybe Mariah Carey) that care about a little extra speed.

[tcc3 @ Mar 6th 2008 4:06PM]

John:

Its the classic Apple argument. Its not an option but you don't really need it, so its ok. Steve says so. Steve says this Koolaid is good too. mmmmm.

[Jakob @ Mar 6th 2008 4:15PM]

Yes EDGE is pretty fast, calculations in Copenhagen say the speed is between 400-600 Kbps (much higher than 1G 3G)

But I would still prefer 7,2 Mbit speeds everywhere.

[snitch @ Mar 6th 2008 4:26PM]

iphone is a cell phone by apple that has put windows mobile phone sales to shame on markets where both units are available

[Jake @ Mar 6th 2008 4:51PM]

Agreed, a Canadian release with an unlimited data package. Ah crap, I just drooled on my keyboard again.

[Richard Lai @ Mar 6th 2008 5:47PM]

John: Have you ever even tried using a 3G phone? Compared to EDGE it is lightning fast. And it's not about whether you need the speed or not, but expanding the list of applications: 3G would allow great online content streaming and near-instant web-app loading.

[Sam Winter @ Mar 7th 2008 4:10AM]

@Richard Lai

I definitely wouldn't say 3G is worthless, but I wouldn't go so far as saying its "lightening fast". In fact, it really depends on the device. My Treo 700WX is so damn underpowered that page loading in pocket IE or opera mini is a few seconds SLOWER than on my iPhone for most websites. Now would a 3G iphone be potentially much faster than an Edge iphone, most likely. On regular ~300K website pages it won't make a huge difference, but I agree with you that it will enable things impossible over edge, such as decent quality video streaming, video conferencing, etc

[Raheem @ Mar 6th 2008 3:29PM]

There was a press event?

*On Topic: Yep, looks like June good buddies!*

[Tom B @ Mar 6th 2008 4:27PM]

How could you really believe anything else? We haven't even gotten to firmware v. 1.2, and they're already announcing 2.0. Sounds like it's ripe for iPhone 2.0 to me.

At which point I will give me first iPhone to my girlfriend and buy the new one on the spot.

[vdogg89 @ Mar 6th 2008 3:31PM]

i think were all going to be dissapointed by apple once again....sigh..

[ScooterDe @ Mar 7th 2008 2:40AM]

Engadget once again reporting that there is ...nothing to report. I'm rather sick of sniffing Apple's farts.

[Razor @ Mar 8th 2008 12:19AM]

You're better off smelling Apple's farts than mine. Trust me on that one...

[Gary Combs @ Mar 6th 2008 3:32PM]

Sigh... anyway, I guess there really isn't much news other than this. Anybody heard any recent news on the Casio EX-F1 or that random 3 lense fisheye camera?

[tekdroid @ Mar 6th 2008 3:35PM]

I hear both will get real keyboards in 2012.

[Jerod Dunn @ Mar 6th 2008 3:33PM]

There isn't a doubt in my mind that Apple will release a new phone in June. Steve said it himself by mentioning that the app store will be released with the 2.0 upgrade. 2.0 generally means a new handset.

[Actaeon @ Mar 6th 2008 3:37PM]

I think he just means version 2.0 of the iPhone's OS. After all, this press event was about the iPhone thats out now, and the applications thats capable of running on the current handset.

Simply put, instead of 1.1.4, it'll be 1.2.0 (or something similar), not necessarily a new handset.

[Jerod Dunn @ Mar 6th 2008 3:40PM]

That makes sense.

[Tim Dorr @ Mar 6th 2008 4:15PM]

No FCC filing, no iPhone. That's why they pre-announced in Jan '07 for a late June '07 release. If it were coming, we'd already have heard about it through that channel by now.

[Beau @ Mar 6th 2008 4:25PM]

@ Tim

It's an update, not a new product.

[bachviet @ Mar 6th 2008 4:34PM]

@ Beau

If the new iPhone is a 3G iPhone, it still needs to go through FCC since it has a new 3G radio.

[James Cameron @ Mar 6th 2008 3:34PM]

Informations on the iphone was great when it first came out. But my goodness, this is becoming overkilled.

[Jeff @ Mar 6th 2008 6:01PM]

it's "overkill"

just thoughted i'd mentioned that.

:)

[wootman @ Mar 6th 2008 10:01PM]

its becoming BOTH.

[eightySixFilms @ Mar 6th 2008 3:35PM]

Makes total sense.

[SoOoo.. @ Mar 6th 2008 3:36PM]

Whats the big deal? its just a phone.

[mingistech @ Mar 6th 2008 3:47PM]

it's not just aPhone... it's iPhone douchbag. :)

[TedB @ Mar 6th 2008 3:37PM]

Correct me if I am wrong, but if apple updates the iPhone's cell equipment.. then it will have to pass through the FCC again. Don't FCC filings take around 2 months to clear? They would have to submit soon in order for it to be in June.

[vjrichards @ Mar 6th 2008 4:07PM]

Damn Right! FCC would have on file.
We need to enjoy what we have, let the keep development up because thats what important.

[Thomas Ricker @ Mar 6th 2008 4:15PM]

Not completely true. While Apple would have to file something, a sufficiently worded confidentiality request would block all evidence of a 3G iPhone from public viewing until a requested date has passed. This happens all the time.

Thomas

[Alex Padilla @ Mar 6th 2008 4:17PM]

Apple will simply do what they did with the first iPhone: ask the FCC to keep the product under a veil of confidentiality

[TedB @ Mar 6th 2008 4:27PM]

@Thomas

Ah, I was not sure if a product could be completely under wraps. I do know that Apple could request for everything to be kept from the public, but I thought that there would have to be a note on the site about it, basically a list of the filings, but everything marked confidential. Thats what usually happens, and happened with the first iPhone, everything was marked confidential until June, yet there was still a listing on the FCC website.

@ Alex
The first iPhone was not submitted to the FCC till after apple released it. Steve jobs noted this in the 07 Macworld keynote that the reason they released it before submitting it to the FCC was so the FCC did not "release it for them"

My guess is that Apple will either wait till WWDC to announce it, and have it out late summer or they will file the FCC paperwork and ask for it to be confidential until sometime in June.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Mar 6th 2008 3:38PM]

I'll bet the world will spin off it's axis when this world changing event happens.

[Homeboy @ Mar 6th 2008 3:39PM]

In June the iPhone would have been around for close to a year and IMO minor updates in software and design should be launched together with ther new firmware.

[heavenlysword @ Mar 6th 2008 3:40PM]

I think they still see some more opportunities to make money with the iPhone. Wait until it completely dries, then announce the 3G iphone.

[noneedlessnoise @ Mar 6th 2008 3:40PM]

whens this shit coming out for the touch?

[mingistech @ Mar 6th 2008 3:48PM]

same time as iPhone.

[noneedlessnoise @ Mar 6th 2008 3:53PM]

I thought this shit was supposed to come out today. Apple is an awful company. I wish there were other companies that built MP3 players. Google should make one.

[tcc3 @ Mar 6th 2008 4:13PM]

There are plenty of other companies that make mp3 players. Many of which are better than Ipods. if only the Zune software didn't suck so hard, I could recommend that.

Or maybe you were being wry, in which case, carry on. =)

[kolby Kyle @ Mar 6th 2008 4:50PM]

this "shit" did come out, or in other words the promised sdk is here but we wont be able to use the apps till june, and think it the enterprise stuff was a pretty big surprise so all in all this was a pretty good event for apple

not to say apple doesnt have its problems, they are just a company trying to get paid just like any other. Why dont macbooks have led option yet? whats the deal with no airport extreme drive back ups now that time capsule is out? I could go on but I still like os x more then windows so I am over a barrel. I think apple could make stuff more open but alas the sacrifice of using os x is you accept it is gonna work but might not be as customizable or specific as you hope. Sorry I ventured off topic there...

[noneedlessnoise @ Mar 6th 2008 3:41PM]

when is the coming out for the itouch?

[stankychicken @ Mar 6th 2008 3:43PM]

Damn the iphone. Engadget used to be decent, now all there is is iPhone, MacBook, apple apple apple. Can we please just group all this together under apple 3/6/08 and then do one with tomorrows date for all the apple jibberish that will be on here tomorrow and so on... P.s. Before I get raped by fanboy, I am writing this on my itouch.

[slackercow @ Mar 6th 2008 3:49PM]

i came here to post this. i pull up engadget and there are literally 2-3 non-apple stories, and a billion about the f'n SDK. not. a. big. deal.

how about putting all this bullshit into ONE post somewhere, maybe in the advertising section or something?

[Jerod Dunn @ Mar 6th 2008 3:50PM]

Ok, first of all its an iPod Touch, not an itouch. Secondly, engadget posts about everything. I dont like it when there are a million posts about cameras that are barely different thantheir predecessors, but there are people that due. This site caters to a lot of crowds. It can't be helped if you see something that you don't care about.

[Bullitt @ Mar 6th 2008 3:57PM]

If your sick of these posts, why not skip it? You say you hate these stories but you wasted your time commenting.

[slackercow @ Mar 6th 2008 7:21PM]

maybe it's so we can voice our opinions, dumb shits.

[PowerHouse @ Mar 7th 2008 10:23AM]

@ Stankychicken

"P.s. Before I get raped by fanboy, I am writing this on my itouch."

HAHahahahahha!!!!!

[kal326 @ Mar 6th 2008 3:43PM]

Knowing Apple they may start shipping 3G cable iPhones in June but only allow them to run in Edge. Months later they will try and charge you $1.99 to activate the 3G functionality like the Wireless N chips.