In announcing the UK launch of the iPhone, Apple CEO Steve Jobs dropped hints that a 3G iPhone is on the way. Will it debut in Australia?
Speaking yesterday at the London unveiling, Jobs told journalists that the company had decided to forego 3G in the device because of concerns over battery life: "Right now you make a really big trade off going to 3G -- and that's really bad battery life," he said.
However, Jobs said that he expects an acceptable 3G battery life of five hours appearing late next year -- a hint perhaps that a 3G iPhone could be on the cards in 2008. Given the crossover between that date and the iPhone's debut in Asia Pacific, some iPhone fans have suggested that Australia will be the first to see the device in its 3G incarnation.
Analysts, however, have poured cold water on the scenario, saying Australia will have to wait -- along with the rest of the world -- for the next iteration.
Nathan Burley, analyst at Ovum, said: "It would be naïve to think there isn't one on the roadmap, but that would launch in the US before anywhere else."
Jerson Yau, research analyst at IDC, also expects Australia's first iPhone to be the same EDGE device that has been launched in the US and UK. Yau believes that Australian consumers shouldn't necessarily be put off by a lack of 3G connectivity, however.
"[Some consumers] have been so trained up to expect 3G, it doesn’t matter how amazing the product is, if it doesn’t come with 3G, they think it's an inferior product," he said. "On paper, EDGE networks are fairly similar to UMTS -- there's not much difference."
O2, Apple's chosen carrier for the UK, is not known for an extensive EDGE network but has promised that by the time the device launches in November it will have a 30 percent EDGE coverage. The largest EDGE network in Australia -- Telstra's -- however, will have a far broader reach. A Telstra spokesperson said that every GSM base station is also equipped with EDGE capability.
While EDGE may not be far behind UMTS -- bog standard 3G -- both analysts agree that HSPA, or 3.5G, will make a significant difference to user experience on the Apple device.
Ovum's Burley told ZDNet Australia: "It's still a good experience with EDGE but it's not a superb experience -- it would be on HSDPA ... I would say 3G is almost useless [for the iPhone], it has to be HSDPA."
The difference is a question of speed -- UMTS, the "starter" 3G, offers a download speed of around 384Kbps. In Australia today, HSDPA devices can offer a downlink around 10 times that.
IDC's Yau added that the inclusion of HSPA will give iPhone users an improved browsing experience. "You could put your browser to any site and it would work," he said.
Silicon.com's Steve Ranger contributed to this article.
mainframe
20/09/2007 10:20 AM
One can hope...... but even as a huge apple nut, im really annoyed over this iphone thing. im sorry, but in this day and age you cant cut off parts of the world for this long, it's unnacceptable. though i know ill want one so im not going to say i wont be getting one when they finally offer them here. feeling a bit like a puppy with them waving food infront of my face and not letting me eat it. gah.
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Deady
20/09/2007 03:08 PM
Cnet.com.au, can you please STOP writing these silly articles of speculation? You start with your stories with a heading that is a question and then totally debunk your own rumour by the end of the article. it's like you started the rumour and you finish it yourself. if I wanted to read rumours, I'd go to macrumors.com or something similar. This is not worth my time.
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dec540
20/09/2007 04:02 PM
Agreed, why don't you tell us what is going to happen when you have some hard evidence to back it up. It's bad enough that Australia has to wait so long for sh@# at the moment without you guys posting crap like this which just stirs the pot and for what? no hard evidence just a couple of peoples theories about what might happen in oh say 6-12months time... its ridiculous!
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bladeaussie
20/09/2007 04:52 PM
What Apple needs to realise is that if the device only supports EDGE and not 3G, it will be a dismal failure in Australia as Telstra's Data Charges for EDGE and non-3G data is horrific. In effect, they'll be locking themselves out of the only network in Australia that actually supports EDGE in the first place.
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sjaeger1720041
20/09/2007 06:02 PM
Come on wake up and smell the roses we all know Australia will not be the first for anything. When was the last time we received the first look at anything I hope this time it would be different but it is not likely as I have seen in my years in the I.T. industry?
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Santa7599
28/09/2007 11:00 AM
Look at the end of the day, they can release the iPhone much quicker than they say. The new iPod touch has only a minimal delay from the rest of the world, so there is nothing stopping Apple doing the same with the iPhone. It's a joke, wake up apple and stop pissing people off!
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dan_rox77
11/10/2007 03:24 PM
I agree with all of the above comments, especially deady & sjaeger1720041
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leeeden
20/10/2007 10:05 PM
it needs to be 3g. fast mobile broadband.... it is the only way to go. honestly what a let down.... i am a mac preacher but this is a joke.
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ezza
22/10/2007 10:20 AM
hey they r kool
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Early_Grayce
23/10/2007 01:21 PM
Not having 3G in it is a blessing. I do not look forward to the day the Mac Fanboys start running around trying to tell us how great the iphone is. All but Mac fanboys know it is a half assed device destined for landfill
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moldor
01/05/2008 07:29 PM
Let's not forget what an unmitigated disaster this is going got be in Australia<p> Have you seen the price of data plans in this country compared to the rest of the world ?<p> For the iPhone to be the success it deserves to be, the money-grubbing telcos have to give us a reasonably priced UNLIMITED data plan (and I mean UNLIMITED data, not the crap that Telstra pass off as unlimited).
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