AT&T honcho to iPhone speed freaks: 3G is on the way

[thatcrazycajun]

AppleInsider.com confirms the story that began to be passed around yesterday: that one of the chief gripes of early adopters of Apple Inc.'s latest runaway hit product, the iPhone, is about to be addressed at last, if not until late next year.

As reported here, Randall Stephenson, CEO of the resurrected Ma Bell (AKA "the new AT&T"), announced that sometime in the latter half of 2008, iPhones capable of connecting to high-speed 3G networks will become available. This should finally silence all the bitching and whining and pissing and moaning in the trade press and elsewhere about the iPhone's being tethered to AT&T's EDGE network, which is slower than 3G but more widely available. (For some reason, even though 3G promises vastly greater speed, telcoms have been slow to upgrade to it. My guess is there's a Catch-22 here: telcoms won't spend the $$$ to put it in until they see it become popular and they know they can sell it, and it won't become widely popular unless more companies take the plunge.)

I can see the logic in initially using EDGE rather than 3G: when you're first introducing such a thing, you want it as widely adopted—and usable—as possible. Obviously, Jobs & Co. went on the assumption that even a slower signal that's broadly accessible is better than a faster one you can't even get hooked up to where you are. I'm still probably not getting one unless the price comes down some more, they unlock it from the AT&T monopoly and my old TracFone and iPod both give out, but it's nonetheless worth noting.

Comments

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

I can see the logic in initially using EDGE rather than 3G: when you're first introducing such a thing, you want it as widely adopted—and usable—as possible.

I can't. There's no compelling reason not to support both, after all.

Do you read Robert Cringely's column at pbs.org. He has some interesting speculations to the timing of this announcement.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

I do read "I, Cringely" once in awhile, but hadn't seen his latest. I had also assumed it was physically impossible to make the thing so that both networks are supported on the same phone; is this not so? And doesn't it complicate design and manufacturing terribly?

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Not really. There's a lot of quad-band phones on the market, some of which switch pretty effortlessly between EDGE and 3G. (Note that 3G is a bit of a boondoggle anyway, since it appears to describe a single technology when it's actually a blanket term for several competing standards.)

If the iPhone were a low-end phone trying to compete for the broad market, the cost argument *might* be applicable, but it's the high-end of the high-end. The only reason not to support 3G in the initial launch was marketing, not technology.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Notice it was DeathStarCo who announced that, not Apple. Which just put a serious hit on Apple's exce$$mas sales, and is no doubt dampening Apple's enthusiasm for the monopolist-wannabe-again.

Yaknow, if I was Apple, and still had time to change, I would change companies... Sprint/Nextel's tech is pretty good, but their customer service sucks. If Apple wanted to really trump Google in the "don't be evil" department, they would offer a green phone that was serviced by WorkingAssets. (If you don't know them, look them up; I think you'd appreciate them.)

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

The Songbird and I have had Working Assets long distance service for several years now. (And since she moved to Nairobi, they've been getting LOTS of money from us to donate...)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Ooof. What's she doing in Kenya, Peace Corps?

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

Haven't been reading my blog long, have you? :-) She's working for CDC in their Global AIDS Project office in Nairobi, helping decide how Junior's PEPFAR cash gets spent.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Haven't been reading my blog long, have you?

Well, no. :) hey, for all I knew she could've been befrending a lion.... :)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

If Apple wanted to really trump Google in the "don't be evil" department, they would offer a green phone that was serviced by WorkingAssets.

Not that there's any evidence this is being remotely considered a goal by Apple. :)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

That's why there's an "if" at the beginning of that sentence. :)

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak.

[tokyosteven.livejournal.com]

Edge isn't that slow, but I'd gladly welcome the upgrade.