New iPhone To Be Much Faster Internet-Wise?

By SRASC at 22 March, 2009, 11:07 pm

You might have read about the references to new iPhones and new iPod Touch in iPhone firmware 3.0 beta and also the interesting screenshot from iPhone Firmware 3.0 beta which is labeled “Publish Video” which indicates that video recording capabilities could be coming to the next generation iPhone.

We now have Silicon Alley Insider reporting that as per their mobile industry source, the next generation iPhone will have “a significantly faster Internet connection.”

However, Silicon Alley Insider didn’t get any further details from their source on whether “faster internet connection” meant faster cellular or faster Wi-Fi connectivity but they put down some of the possible options:

This can’t be referring to AT&T’s 4G (LTE) network, because that won’t be ready for a year or more.
This might be referring to faster wifi, and not faster 3G access? (802.11n vs. its current 802.11g/b.)
AT&T has repeatedly vowed to speed up its 3G network via updates to the network. Is it possible that the current iPhone can’t support those increased speeds?
We don’t expect Apple to comment, but we’ve asked.

Based on this, Electronvista speculates that it could mean that thenew iPhone could support AT&T’s plans for faster 3G running at 7.2 Mbps, up from the 3.6 Mbps speed of the current network.

However, the most likely change is the addition of support for speed-doubled 7.2Mbps 3G given both hardware manufacturer and carrier plans. Infineon should have a new 3G chipset starting from mid-year that would support the faster speeds while also improving battery life. At the same time, AT&T has been trialing 7.2Mbps 3G since late 2008 and should roll out the speedier service this year. The provider has stressed that many of its cell towers can be upgraded solely through software rather than new equipment.

Current iPhones are limited in hardware to 3.6Mbps 3G and couldn’t themselves be upgraded.

And if the rumor is related to faster Wi-Fi connection then Electronvista speculates that:

a potential candidate is a new Broadcom 802.11 chipset that would provide real Wi-Fi speeds of up to 50Mbps (versus 25Mbps for typical 802.11g)

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