Foxconn wins 3G iPhone contract, 3 million units shipping in June?

Need more unsubstantiated evidence that the 3G iPhone is near. Good, the Chinese language Commercial Times is quoting sources claiming that Foxconn (aka, Hon Hai) -- the maker of the 1st gen iPhone -- is ramping up 3G iPhone assembly by "the end of May" to ship 3 million units in June. It's expected to produce some 24-25 million units before the product reaches end of life. If those numbers are true then Apple had better be prepared for a proper global launch without those pesky revenue sharing schemes seen holding back world-wide uptake.

[Zut @ Apr 28th 2008 7:11AM]

Unfortunately, the collective will of a million fanboys will NOT make a 3G iPhone appear in June.

Is there a single shred of real evidence for this??

[Mog @ Apr 28th 2008 7:16AM]

The fact that Apple has been updating their iPods on a strict annual cycle for most of the past half decade, perhaps? Or the confirmation from AT&T's CEO?

I think it'll happen. Not because the fanboys want it to, but because it follows Apple's modus operandi. June 2007 - iPhone. June 2008 - moar bettar iPhone.

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 7:56AM]

Its my opinion that everyone wants to hear, so here I am, replying to the first comment.

Your (+) ranks are thanks enough.

[Ben @ Apr 29th 2008 1:55PM]

what a silly comment. evidence has pointed to a new iphone release for a while now. fanboys aren't always wrong, least of all when at&t's ceo all but officially announces a product for june release. go play on your pc.

[whatphone @ Apr 28th 2008 7:18AM]

"If those numbers are true then Apple had better be prepared for a proper global launch without those pesky revenue sharing schemes seen holding back world-wide uptake"

full ack.

[Jeff @ Apr 28th 2008 12:53PM]

IU must have missed out on the "Full ack" meme, because i don't get it...

(until urban dictionary told me it means "Full Acknowledgement")

I disagree.

The revenue sharing "scheme" isn't holding anything back, as far as the consumers are concerned, it's only the Carrier Exclusives getting in the way. (though exclusives are apparently necessary for carriers to agree to rev sharing, the actual rev sharing doesn't really impact the consumer.)

If carriers could see the value in giving the manufacturer a recurring cut of the profits (without exclusivity) - such as a handset that has higher customer satisfaction, in some ways directly tied to the fact that the manufacturer has a monetary incentive to keep their customer happy and with new functionality (instead of the all-too-common "you want your phone to work right? well then buy the new version!")

If the carriers would recognize the value in the rev sharing model, which namely would be more attention (on the part of the manufacturers) to customer satisfaction, be the rev sharing with Apple or Sony or HTC, whoever, then they might consider rev sharing without exclusivity.

Rev sharing, without exclusivity, doesn't really impact the consumer much at all. It certainly wouldn't slow sales.

...woah. sorry about the novel.

[Twitchy @ Apr 28th 2008 7:25AM]

Screw your rumours, this brother wants proof.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 7:28AM]

Foxconn is Hon Hai, not Han Hai as listed in this post.

[that guy @ Apr 28th 2008 7:38AM]

It's called a typo.

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 7:58AM]

The 'a' is not next to the 'o', it's not a fucking typo, its a mistake for fuck sake! Only slack sacks of lazy bean shits call it a typo!

[Striker @ Apr 29th 2008 12:23AM]

@Mat

Wow, what caused you to think that that statement was even REMOTELY necessary. You do know that some kids read this site too, right?

[KyleK @ Apr 28th 2008 7:37AM]

I'm still skeptical because: Mustn't the FCC first approve a new iPhone before it can be launched? This process normally takes a while, and I assume Apple fanboys watch the FCC website very closely.

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 8:02AM]

It takes what, 6 months? 9 months? for things to show up on the FCC site, not to mention, like last time, apple probably has a golden handshake with them.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Apr 28th 2008 7:38AM]

This is atleast better than the other rumors. I'm pretty sure foxconn will make me happy

[Argot @ Apr 28th 2008 7:47AM]

Why wait around for a figment of some writers imagination to appear when you can buy a real 3G phone today? The iTurd was outdated the day it hit the market.

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 8:04AM]

Um, because it not only brought something new, it was pulled off real well!

[mog @ Apr 28th 2008 8:07AM]

Yeah. Who would want an iPhone when you can get an...um...Samsung SYNC? For free after rebates, no less!

*crickets chirping*

I'm the biggest bandwidth whore in the world (can't wait for XOHM!), and even I realize there's more to a phone's technology than its network speed. The iPhone is a very advanced phone. I don't think we'll realize quite how advanced until we see the first few apps made with the SDK...

[whatphone @ Apr 28th 2008 8:43AM]

@clack

if you pay for a prostitute (including the price plan) you could have sex on a regular basis, for less cash. think about it.

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 9:34AM]

But my girlfriend bakes cookies.

[Anonymoose @ Apr 28th 2008 9:52AM]

who wants dessert when the prostitute will get you dinner? forget cookies, you can have all the crabs you want with the hooker.

[rock99rock @ Apr 28th 2008 10:37AM]

Don't forget about the free buffet with no cover charge from noon to 3 pm.

[DrXym @ Apr 28th 2008 7:52AM]

Apple are onto a winner with the iPhone. The exorbitant price of the phone, the ridiculously expensive and long contract on top of that, the lack of 3G, and the sealed in battery did not deter some people from buying it. I wonder when a 3G phone appears how many of those same people from the first time around will end up buying the same phone yet again. Apple have untapped a rich market of suckers. The funny thing is most providers would give you any other 3G phone FOR FREE on a lower tariff and the money you save would be more than enough to buy an iPod Touch and a holiday.

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 7:59AM]

Don't you know how capitalism works?

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 8:18AM]

Based on your unbiased opinion, I will now throw my iPhone out the window.

[DrXym @ Apr 28th 2008 10:39AM]

clak, nah don't do that. Just pray the sealed in battery lasts the two years you're locked yourself into a ludicrously expensive contract for.

[Jeff @ Apr 28th 2008 12:59PM]

how, exactly, is the contract "ludicrously expensive"?

...i mean, other than the fact that AT&T overcharges for everything, regardless of what phone is being used...

i would agree with you had used "moderately more" in place of "ludicrously" - but only because i use Sprint, with is "moderately less expensive" than AT&T on the whole.

[Za @ Apr 29th 2008 4:45AM]

VZW:

$449: SCH-i760 - wifi/touch screen/touch screen/email/web browser/calendar
$499: XV6800 - wifi/keyboard/email/web browser/calendar

vs

$399: iPhone - wifi/touch screen/email/web browser/calendar/iPod capabilities/8GB internal storage

You fail at math since $399 is actually LESS than $449/$499






The ATT structured contract sucks but if you think the iPhone is overpriced, you must be the same type of person that expects a BMW for the price of a Ford Focus. Let's be real, here. Oh, and how often do you replace the battery on your phone? In all seriousness, with all the cellphones you have ever had, how often have YOU *actually* replaced the battery?

I don't have an iPhone because the contract is awful and I am sticking to Verizon. However, you must never have used one to realize that it's just a better phone than the other options out there. I used an SCH-i760 for a week when I realized that it just wasn't as good as a phone that would actually cost me less to purchase initially.

[Rich @ Apr 28th 2008 7:53AM]

But Apple told me that 3G was over-hyped and that it wasn't worth the battery drain. I feel so confused now.

[Mohammed Al-Asmar @ Apr 28th 2008 7:59AM]

:D

[Raheem @ Apr 28th 2008 8:01AM]

They said it was over-hyped, not pointless. This is not the same as Sony stating that rumble was a last gen feature, and then going ahead and eating humble pie.

[Zut @ Apr 28th 2008 8:03AM]

LOL! +47,549,343 points for you! :D

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 9:26AM]

You Windows Fanboys are always lying. When has Steve said that 3G was over hyped? He was talking about 3G on the very same day he introduced the iPhone.

A quote from Steve Jobs, MacWorld Keynote, January 9, 2007.

"iPhone is a Quad Band GSM+EDGE phone. We have decided... (clapping) ...we have decided to go with the most popular international standard, which is GSM. We are on that bandwagon, headed that roadmap and plan to make ---->3G PHONES

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 9:29AM]

A quote from Steve Jobs, MacWorld Keynote, January 19, 2007.

"iPhone is a Quad Band GSM+EDGE phone. We have decided... (clapping) ...we have decided to go with the most popular international standard, which is GSM. We are on that bandwagon, headed that roadmap and plan to make 3G PHONES and all sorts of amazing things in the future."

Steve Jobs, London, September 18, 2007.

"Um, the 3G chip sets that are available now to semiconductors work reasonably well, except for power. They're real power hogs, so as you know, the handset battery lives used to be sorta in the 5 to 6 hour range for, uh, uh, GSM and when we got to 3G they got cut in half, right. Most phones now have a battery life of 2 to 3 hours. And that's due to these very power hungry 3G chipsets.

And the problem is, we just, our phone has battery life of 8 hours, this is of talk time, I'm talking about, not standby time, standby time is a few hundred hours, but for talk time, most 3G phones are 2 to 3 hours. We got 8 hour talk time phone. That's really important when you start to use the internet and you want to use your phone to listen to music. So if you only have a 2 hour and a half hour talk time on your phone, you're not going to use it for the internet, you're not going to listen to music on it, because you'll be afraid to drain the battery and miss that important call that's going to come in.

So we got to see the battery life for 3G get up back up into the 5 plus hour range before it's really suitable for this and I think, uh, and I think we'll see that hopefully, ya know, late next year..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Gyq0lTubjk

[Rich @ Apr 28th 2008 9:48AM]

"You Windows Fanboys are always lying."

Ah, and so we see into the psychology of an Apple zealot...

Saying anything negative about an Apple product, even in jest, and you're labelled a Windows fanboy. That's despite the fact that Windows only has ~1% share of the global cell phone market. If you don't like Apple, you must love Windows. Right?

"When has Steve said that 3G was over hyped?"

I don't remember referring to Steve Jobs in my original post.

[clak @ Apr 28th 2008 9:54AM]

You were clearly referring to Steve Jobs, Rich. I can see into your soul.

[DrXym @ Apr 28th 2008 10:42AM]

3G modems are pretty neat assuming you get good reception. I bought one from Three on a pay as you go plan and I'm getting pretty decent speeds. Not as good as a proper broadband but good enough, especially if you need something on the move, or for a temporary situation. The downside is my modem has some pretty poor Linux support (it does work with some patches) which is a shame because I'd love to use it with my Eee PC.

[SeditioN VII @ Apr 28th 2008 10:53AM]

And its dark, REAL dark.

[Striker @ May 2nd 2008 12:36AM]

Lol my RAZR V3xx gets a week on all 3G if I charge it overnight.

[darkstar @ Apr 28th 2008 8:06AM]

i wanna invest in foxconn! whats their symbol? seems like they are not a publicly traded company cause i cant seem to find them on finance.google.com

[Mat @ Apr 28th 2008 8:10AM]

I know you don't, otherwise you'd have realised they are Hon Hai

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=Hon+Hai

[Steffen Jobbs @ Apr 28th 2008 8:26AM]

Let's see now. Three million iPhones ready for sale in June, so I guess they should all be sold out by late July or August. Apple is really gonna need that second batch of 10 million more 3G iPhones this year.

The smartphone market is gonna need to be flooded with 3G iPhones to catch up with RIMs market share by early next year. For a device the handset industry said wouldn't sell at all, it sure is doing pretty well in sales.

I hope Apple gets a carrier contract or two in Russia. They seem to really like black market iPhones. Well at least the elitists like them.

[ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 28th 2008 8:39AM]

THATS HOT!

[scott @ Apr 28th 2008 8:47AM]

pop tarts.

[FrankTheCrank @ Apr 28th 2008 8:55AM]

I'm looking forward to this. I already sold my first gen iPhone in anticipation of the new model.

What I would like to see is a drop in the price. It's still a little steep at $399. This is something that Apple needs to work on. I could definitely see a $199 8GB model, but maybe I'm just being optimistic. Although the adoption rate would sky rocket with a $199 price tag. Everybody and their mother would switch over.

iPhone 2.0 is going to change everything. Can't wait.

[ronnie jones @ Apr 28th 2008 8:56AM]

this would explain why our computers at the att store have not been auto repleninshing our iphones like they normally do. we actually ran out for the first time last week.

[Mic2000 @ Apr 28th 2008 9:22AM]

So Europe has still 7 million iphones remaining...

[Scott Miller @ Apr 28th 2008 9:39AM]

Prepare now, All you bashers. I'll help you:

3G does not work everywhere.
The battery may still not be replaceable.
The keyboard may still be behind the glass.
Possibly, no expandable memory.
Possibly, no offline storage for GPS maps.
It will not be free.
You will have to pay for the product up front.
Most likely there will be a contract.
It may only come in one color.
There will be restrictions.
People, like me will upgrade their first gen iPhone.
There are still other phones out there, you think are better.
There are phones out there that may be able to do more.
The iPhone killer is coming.

The last one makes me laugh. The iPhone killer has been out there for years. I had a Samsung sph-300 from Sprint, YEARS ago. It was cool, but useless. I agree, the iPhone is not revolutionary in the fact of the type of phone it is. Touch screen phones are nothing new. It's how Apple integrated the ipod/internet, and made it so easy to use.

@ DrXym

Did you get your education for FREE too? I alway thought Apple "is" onto a winner with the iPhone. And, Apple "has" untapped a rich market of suckers. I can understand why you would go for the free phone, who would want you as their doctor.

BTW, I will be upgrading my iPhone when the new one comes out. I think it's worth it.

[tekdroid @ Apr 28th 2008 10:30AM]

Scott Miller @ Apr 28th 2008 9:39AM
Prepare now, All you bashers. I'll help you:
The battery may still not be replaceable.
-------
Thanks, you saved me typing that. I was getting tired of repeating (what should be) common sense. As we know, Apple hasn't worked out remote control battery covers yet. They are working on replicating the technology.


Oh and offline maps or death by phonebill!
Also no restrictions please.
Different colours.
And make it free!

Why am I posting in a phone thread? I have a 4 year-old phone with no desire to replace it....

oops...
:)

[Scott Miller @ Apr 28th 2008 10:50AM]

I agree with a replaceable battery. It only makes sense. Is the Zunes battery replaceable? I honestly don't know, and I want to see if any other companies might of seen the thinking behind this.

As for the maps, it won't kill your phone bill. There is unlimited data with the plan. The problem with that is if you have no service, what good will GPS be with no maps to download. I hope Apple has thought about this. I know that there is no 3G or 2 (2.5?) for the matter, in lots of NH, ME, and VT. They did skip the replaceable battery, after all.

It doesn't matter what they come out with. No one will be satisfied. There will be people there to say there is something better. Next, people will complain that it can point you to the nearest prostitute. Or, it won't let you share the hidden cam porn you just made of your girl cheating on you, on YouTube.

[DrXym @ Apr 28th 2008 11:06AM]

"BTW, I will be upgrading my iPhone when the new one comes out. I think it's worth it."

There is no rational justification why the iPhone both costs more than any other phone and locks you into an expensive and long tariff. It certainly isn't "worth it" in any sense.

Virtually every other phone offered by Vodafone, O2 or other providers is free on lower tariffs than the iPhone. That includes various Blackberry, Palm like devices. We're talking savings of thousands.