Unlock iPhone’s potential
A team of hackers trying to unlock all the secrets of the iPhone discovered a stash of image files on the iPhone that are apparently for supported carriers (Default_CARRIER_TMOBILE.png & Default_CARRIER_VODAFONE.png). In addition to AT&T and Cingular, there are logo images for T-mobile and Vodafone. So, it seems that the iPhone is on it’s way. The question now is when.
via Engadget
Other coverage:
Monday has come and nearly gone, and not unexpectedly, there was no big european iPhone announcement.
On the other hand Ars Technica is reporting that Vodafone, which has the most complete european 3G network, was dazzled by the US iPhone launch and is pushing to get a piece of the action in europe.
No word on 3G yet, but sources tell Ars Technica that after these sales figures, Vodafone is “pushing hard” for the deal. Interestingly, Vodafone (headquartered in the UK) owns 50 percent of Verizon, which apparently passed on the iPhone. But serious negotiations are ongoing, and a deal could be announced within the month.
Rumors are spreading like crazy that a European version of the iPhone will be announced on Monday and it will overshadow the US iPhone in many ways
Ok, I made that last one up.
It starts with Guy J Kewney at newswireless.net. He reports that the launch will include both Vodafone and T-mobile and possible French Telecom, rather than just the single carrier in the US.
Moving on, he claims that it’s going to be a 3G phone.
Both would be cool if they were true. Steve Jobs said that they didn’t release a 3G iPhone in the US because the chips were too power hungry when they started to design it. The European launch may be as much as 6 months later, which might provide enough opportunity to improve power consumption. It’s also quite likely that Apple’s European launch partners, who have invested a lot in 3G couldn’t support the EDGE technology used in the US if they wanted to.
More speculation:
We’ll have to see what this means for the US market. It may be that we get some choice of carriers in less than the year that many have estimated.