by Vic Podcaster
Apple will introduce 3G version of iPhone in 2008 (pocket-lint report), though we do not know what time to expect the new iphone next year.
As per Stuart Miles of Pocket-lint site:
Making the comments at the “Mum is no longer the word” press conference at the Regent Street Apple store in London, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple said: “You can expect a 3G iPhone later next year”.
David Berlind at ZDNet says:
If the report is true, this could be worse news for Apple given that the price drop had to have come so soon to stimulate demand. There’s nothing that kills demand for the current generation of a product like an announcement that the next generation won’t be stillborn with obsolete networking technology the way the currently available generation was. Even if the report of Jobs saying this isn’t true, my guess is that a 3G iPhone in 2008 is pretty much a sure bet.
Currently the iPhone available in US is crippled 2.5G (Edge). Apple has cited the currently available power hungry 3G chips as reason to stick with power efficient 2.5G chips. Apple had also recently alienated iPhone early adopters and fans by dropping the price of iPhone by $200 in a few weeks after the launch, though later they announced $100 back in form of Apple store credit.
See also: Coverage at Mashable , The Street and Yahoo Tech
by Jitendra Mudhol
When Peter Claydon and Doug Pulley founded picoChip, their grand aim was “to solve the tough problems of next generation wireless with a programmable platform.” Today, they are a force to reckon with in WiMAX.
picoChip is a fabless semiconductor company, focusing on the PHY (Physical Layer). They provide a programmable chip (sort of SSoC - a Software SoC) that can be used for WiMAX, WCDMA, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, 802.11, etc. This places them in a unique position of supplying to competing markets. They started in 2000, with designs on the 3G market, but today, their biggest slice is WiMAX. Considering that they are a ’sub-system design house’ they have teamed up with MAC and Radio providers to provide the complete solution. Their processor is a veritable power-house: for instance, the PC102 has 308 processors, each clocking 160MHz, communicating with an internal bandwidth of 3.3 terabits/s. Since all decisions on code/interconnects are made at compile time, it is a completely deterministic architecture. They provide the software (reference designs) and their toolchain hides the complexity of the underpinnings by providing a very simple interface. They even obviate the need to have an RTOS.
The remarkable flexibility of their processor-array is a high value-proposition (it is the only company that provides just a software upgrade from Fixed WiMAX SS/BS to Mobile WiMAX SS/BS running on the same hardware). Their innovative approach has earned them plenty of plaudits. They provide the shortest time-to-market path, lower BOM and prevent technological obsolesce. Success has been forthcoming: they have partnered with Korea Telecom to implement the WiBro service in Korea.
CETECOM, the WiMAX Certification Lab is using their design for certification testing of equipment from other vendors. For a VC funded company in such an area, revenues will take time to come in, although specific numbers are not available. Since non-technological factors could define the way this future will evolve, there could be pitfalls. Hopefully, with their approach and partnerships, picoChip’s future will be bright enough.
Further Reading:
www.picochip.com
picoChip discusses its role
WirelessDesignOnline article
The Femtocell option on CommsDesign
picoChip secures additional funding
