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Let's talk 3G...

S

SetterP

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 5, 2007
11
0
I've seen many on this forum say (with great conviction) that the current iPhone hardware is not capable of 3G, citing various FCC guidelines.

Out of curiosity I popped the sim card out of my iPhone to find a rather interesting surprise. See pic below, and the 3G logo clearly illustrated on it's suface.

3g.jpg


Also of interest to me was Robert Cringely's commentary this past week. It's worth a short read.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070705_002421.html

This is the part of interest to me.

July 5, 2007Pulpit

Faster iPhone faster! Kill!! Kill!!: Expect a 3G iPhone by Christmas.


".........It would be nice if Apple and AT&T could come up with some little extra boost for Christmas sales like, for example, a software upgrade. That was pretty much inevitable, don't you think? The idea that the iPhone could go even three months without a significant firmware upgrade would be ignoring the reality of modern consumer electronics. Apple or AT&T will have got a few things wrong that will require a firmware upgrade to fix. And while they are at it, I'm sure the companies will add a feature or two, like TRUE 3G DATA SERVICE.

It is my understanding that Apple and AT&T are planning a fall rollout for full 3G iPhone service, with technical trials already underway in certain AT&T markets. AT&T's (formerly Cingular's) 3G uses a technology called HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), which is a combination of GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) and EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution). It provides average mobile data download connections between 400 kilobits per second (kbps) and 700 kbps. Not as fast as any of us would like, of course, but the new service will be 3-5 times faster than the current EDGE network alone, making your iPhone suddenly 3-5 times faster than it was before, right?

I think so. The question here is whether 3G is already built into the iPhones shipping now or whether it will require a new model? Given that it is coming so soon after the iPhone introduction, I can't believe that even Steve would make us buy new phones. It is very likely that a firmware upgrade will awaken the 3G within all you iPhone owners.

And there's that bump needed to make Christmas iPhone sales explode. Nobody likes the slow performance on the EDGE network, so jacking up the speed by 3 to 5 times will give people something more to talk about as well as making it even easier to give an iPhone to those you love. We'll get excited all over again.

Actually, AT&T really has no choice but to move to 3G with the iPhone, given the problems iPhones are creating for the EDGE network (see this week's links for more).........."


Thoughts?
 
Considering that people have dissected the machine, and know who makes the parts and what model numbers.. I think it would be difficult for 3G capability to have been hidden from us.

The only reason we have to suspect anything is that they did the stealth upgrade for the core 2 macs to add 802.11n support.

3G isn't even close to being available nationwide. AT&T is going to need a long time to get their 3G infrastructure in place.

I don't doubt that there will be some awesome firmware updates coming in a few months, but I seriously doubt 3G will be one of them. Battery life would plummet, which would really make people unhappy about the fact that they can't have a spare battery or install it themselves
 
SIM card has nothing to do with 3G capabilities...if Apple did make a 3G iPhone i'm pretty sure the entire chipset would be different. last i checked, i don't think there was company out there that made EDGE chipsets upgradeable to HSDPA/UTMS ones...
 
ndriver182 said:
I wish I knew how to use photoshop too.
Click to expand...

No, this IS real. I took my SIM out today (for another reason) and it also had that 3G logo on it, just like this one does

Not that I think it means anything as the other poster said - it would be to hard to hide that "surprise" with all the tear down it has seen and the fact that 3G is not available in large scale.
 
So the iPhone has a uniquely designed SIM card?

Apparently you can use any AT&T SIM card you wish, but I've never seen one look like that before.

:confused:
 
SetterP said:
dude pop your sim card
Click to expand...

This just means that the sim card can be put in a 3G phone or be provisioned for 3G. The iPhone doesn't actually have 3G hardware in it. This has already been mentioned several times.
 
3G sucks.

I used to have the 3G network in France, working on my nokia, and beside having a good network cover it was using my battery as never before.. I could use my cell for a merely 1H30 use in total before the battery gets to an end.
I prefer a speedy edge than a sucking battery 3G.
 
RedGlasses said:
3G sucks.

I used to have the 3G network in France, working on my nokia, and beside having a good network cover it was using my battery as never before.. I could use my cell for a merely 1H30 use in total before the battery gets to an end.
I prefer a speedy edge than a sucking battery 3G.
Click to expand...

Enough of your crazy "logic" not only was apple supposed to implement 3G, they were supposed to make a battery that would run it for 12 hours non stop as well.
 
One of the fringe benefits of using UTMS/HDSPA is the ability to talk and be on the internet at the same time. And by same time I mean you can be downloading music or something while on a voice call.
 
SetterP said:
I've seen many on this forum say (with great conviction) that the current iPhone hardware is not capable of 3G, citing various FCC guidelines.
Click to expand...

Not just the FCC, the chips have been scoped out and there's no such capability. Even Jobs said there was none. What does it take, a hammer blow to the forehead? :confused:

Out of curiosity I popped the sim card out of my iPhone to find a rather interesting surprise. See pic below, and the 3G logo clearly illustrated on it's suface.
Click to expand...

All new AT&T SIMs have that, iPhone or not. It's so you can swap your SIM into a 3G phone one day.

Also of interest to me was Robert Cringely's commentary this past week. It's worth a short read. (he says..."I can't believe that even Steve would make us buy new phones. It is very likely that a firmware upgrade will awaken the 3G within all you iPhone owners.")
Click to expand...

He's a total idiot, and should be banned from writing. His whole argument hinges on the fact that he "can't believe" Jobs would screw him over. Brilliant.

If it had it, AT&T wouldn't have wasted millions fixing up EDGE instead of working on their 3G network.

Wishful thinking won't give 3G. Better to waste your time on other topics. :)
 
It is a 3G sim card so you can put it into the inevitable 3G version of the iPhone and have it work ;)
 
You apple zealots are a real tactless and aggresive bunch.

It makes me ashamed to ever participate here. I note an interesting coiencedent, and link an article from a respected tech journalist and all of a sudden you guys turn into tough guys.

I'm done here, time to find a more friendly iphone forum.
 
Merlyn3D said:
This just means that the sim card can be put in a 3G phone or be provisioned for 3G. The iPhone doesn't actually have 3G hardware in it. This has already been mentioned several times.
Click to expand...

Yup. This is /not/ news in any way.

AT&T/Cingular has been using 3G-ready SIM cards for awhile now, and all new phones will come with one.
 
i think edge is fine for me. im more likely to be around an open wifi than to be stuck in a place that gets 3g. i mean, how much surfing do you plan on doing on a hardware peice that is 4 inches viewable?
 
SetterP said:
You apple zealots are a real tactless and aggresive bunch.

It makes me ashamed to ever participate here. I note an interesting coiencedent, and link an article from a respected tech journalist and all of a sudden you guys turn into tough guys.

I'm done here, time to find a more friendly iphone forum.
Click to expand...

Because this issue has been beaten to death around here. It seems everyday someone post something about how the iPhone "could" have 3g where people have tore the thing apart and have found no hardware.

Goodluck finding another forum and hope you enjoy your iPhone.

Good day.
 
SetterP said:
/It makes me ashamed to ever participate here. I note an interesting coiencedent, and link an article from a respected tech journalist and all of a sudden you guys turn into tough guys.
Click to expand...

Well, you started out by hinting that everyone in this forum, who said there's no 3G, was wrong. In fact, everyone here is a lot smarter than those darned journalists :D

SetterP said:
/I'm done here, time to find a more friendly iphone forum.
Click to expand...

The thing is, if you bring up the 3G-marked SIM anywhere, you're going to get clobbered.

It's not personal, it's just because you were the zillionth person who wished out loud that 3G/GPS/SDK/whatever, was really included.

So don't go away. We're just crabby :cool:
 
SetterP said:
You apple zealots are a real tactless and aggresive bunch.

It makes me ashamed to ever participate here. I note an interesting coiencedent, and link an article from a respected tech journalist and all of a sudden you guys turn into tough guys.

I'm done here, time to find a more friendly iphone forum.
Click to expand...

Cringely, respected? At one point, maybe. Every time he opens his mouth these days, he makes me acutely aware how out of touch with the industry has gotten. I used to respect him, but every time he speaks on topics, pontificating on the what-ifs, while ignoring the evidence that has been found that flies in the face of his conclusions... I lose what respect I had for him.

Jobs himself stated in a WSJ interview that one of the reasons they didn't go with 3G was physical size of 3G chipsets:

Steve Jobs said:
They were not integrated enough, so they took up too much physical space.
Click to expand...
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118306134626851922.html

The quote is from right at the half-way point. And he is accurate in his statement that 3G is bulkier in terms of physical space right now. Why would he say the chips were too big, and then shove them in anyways? Anyone with a little bit of magic (or access to parts listings from various companies which isn't hard), can look at the images of various iPhone teardowns and conclude that a 3G chip isn't present.

Cringely is wrong on this one, as he has been wrong on a lot of things lately. His posts are more along the lines of the average uneducated blog post. His sources aren't any more accurate, as he is just pulling from the rumor mill, which has a tendency to be off on details almost every time. His conclusions might be somewhat sound if there wasn't evidence to the contrary, and if the rumors were actually true.

A 3G SIM card does not provide corroborating evidence, as every new phone you get from AT&T now includes one.
 
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