The 3G iPhone, do we have it all wrong ?

Recently there has been an resurgence of iPhone related buzz across the internet. With MacWorld coming and going without any news of a 3G iPhone, many were skeptical of its release. The announcement of the 16GB iPhone post-MacWorld left many wondering why apple was holding off on the announcement. MacWorld is their premier event and would have been perfect for the announcement. Some claim that apple introduced the models now to offer a better price-point on entry for its 3G model rumoured to hit later this year.

TUAW has been reporting that the 1.1.4 firmware is just around the corner and Apple is reaching the end of its Feb’08 SDK promise.

Adding to the speculation is the FTC approval of AT&T’s future purchase of 12MHz of wireless spectrum in the 700MHz band.

Macworld says”Apple and At&T could be implementing nationwide WiFi rather than 3G.”

Which leads MacEnstein to ask the question The 3G iPhone: Do we have it all wrong?

He brings up some very interesting points:

• Apple has always claimed that 3G chips require too much power to work well in the iPhone.
• WiFi, instead of 3G, will allow nation-wide broadband internet speeds.
• Apple won’t have to modify the iPhone, alienate last year’s iPhone customers
• If AT&T provided nation-wide WiFi , iPod touch users would pay monthly fees for access.

As a disclaimer he notes that “There have been reports of AT&T expanding their 3G network, and some future iPhone markets, like Japan, have ONLY 3G service, so odds both AT&T and Apple they are not planning on completely ditching the idea of 3G anytime soon.” So we may see both 3G and non-3G phones being offered to suite the domestic and international markets.

All pure speculation, given the secrecy of Apple’s operations, But as designers, developers and internet strategists we are enthusiastic about the addition of always-online devices as secondary gateways to the internet.