Katie MarsalIn a research note to clients, global equity research analyst Nicolas Gaudois said his checks indicate that the German chipmaker will provide a "new systems solution" for the new iPhone HSDPA platform, which will include a digital baseband controller, power management unit (PMU), and radio frequency (RF) module.
"We believe this is one of the HSDPA solutions design wins management referred to as being due to ramp in [the second quarter of 2008]," he wrote. "Consistent with these checks, our Apple analyst Ben Reitzes believes that 3G iPhones will be released by mid-year."
Gaudois added that in anticipation of the move towards HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) — the most common 3G service for GSM-based wireless networks — Infineon is ramping down production of the EDGE baseband solution used in the current generation of the iPhone in order to "clean" inventories ahead of the 3G model.
The analyst's mid-year time frame coincides with earlier claims from CNBC reporter Jim Goldman, as well as the general consensus throughout the industry.
It should be noted, however, that Goldman's report on the MacBook Air from the same day fell well short of its mark.
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98 Comments
Certainly good news!
Crap, I just got an iPhone a few weeks ago.
Oh well, no 3G coverage where I live anyway. And EDGE has been acceptably fast for me, so it's no big deal.
But great that they're getting up-to-date for those who do live in 3G areas.
this should be great for sales - all of the first gen owners will buy the new phone... Hopefully Apple will add the ability to search contacts textually for making phone calls and exchange support (other than imap)... that will make the device a compelling option for business.
Hopefully they'll have voice recording for taking notes on the go, and voice activated dialing for calling from behind the wheel.
Almost forgot... recording video.
That is great news. I have been enjoying my iPhone since last July and contemplated the 16GB upgrade a few weeks ago only to hold off for a 3G version. I plan on being one of the first ones in line. BTW Apple if you need a tester or two, my wife and I would love to help you out and live and work near Cupertino.