Neil HughesEldar Murtazin, editor in chief of Mobile Review, broke the news on his Twitter account Thursday in a brief, singular post: "Foxconn received order for next generation iphone." As noted by Engadget, Murtazin is the "ultimate insider" for news in the mobile phone world.
The timing makes sense, as Apple's first three iPhone product debuts hit a June launch. For Apple to ramp up the production of millions of handsets in time for a global debut would take a significant amount of time.
Despite there being some time yet until the next-generation iPhone debuts, there are plenty of rumors surrounding the anticipated device. In November, the first signs of a model "iPhone 3,1" was tracked by a developer in its software usage logs, suggesting Apple was testing a new handset.
Apple has indicated it intends to overhaul its iPhone maps application with in-house developers. The company's purchase of worldwide mapping company Placebase over the summer would likely play a part in any new features.
Reports have also said Apple is testing RFID swipe support in next-generation iPhone prototypes. Such technology would allow the phone to sense embedded chips without making direct contact. The feature could allow swipe payments with the phone at checkout at a store, or obtaining information from kiosks.
Apple is also expected to build its own proprietary iPhone chips based off of ARM's A9 reference designs, thanks to the $278 million purchase of chip designer PA Semi in 2008. The new iPhone could have multi-core ARM chips powering it.
And there's also the question of a Verizon-capable CDMA iPhone. Conflicting reports have differed on the possibility of a dual-mode CDMA and GSM world phone debuting in 2010, though Verizon and chipset maker Qualcomm are said to have been in talks. And Wall Street analyst are also divided on the subject, with just as many arguing for a possible deal as those against.
Christine McKee
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Chip Loder
79 Comments
" thanks to the $278 purchase of chip designer PA Semi in 2008"
damn no wonder i lost my bid....i only offered $274.95.
Maybe next time.
RFID support should be awesome
RFID support should be awesome
I'm not nearly as tech-oriented as a lot of you guys here, so I simply don't understand this. I mean, I know what RFID is, but can someone explain how this would be useful for most users out there?
I'm not nearly as tech-oriented as a lot of you guys here, so I simply don't understand this. I mean, I know what RFID is, but can someone explain how this would be useful for most users out there?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-f...identification
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of an object (typically referred to as an RFID tag) applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. Some tags can be read from several meters away and beyond the line of sight of the reader.