iPhone News Updated

Apple tablet to feature fast 4G wireless

The rumors continue to swirl around the Apple tablet. One of the juiciest is that the forthcoming Apple tablet will eschew 3G and go directly to fast 4G wireless connectivity.

Including 4G in an Apple tablet makes sense—especially in view of the promise that 4G offers in supporting faster bandwidths. Reports have indicated  that early tests of LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G by Verizon have yielded bandwidths of up to 60 Mbps.

Although these are only rumors, in many ways they make great sense. If Apple is to offer a tablet why not use the next generation in cellular technology, 4G?

According to TechCrunch, “there is definitely some credibility to this Apple/Verizon tablet talks, because such a partnership could work while the Apple/AT&T exclusive iPhone pact is still in place…The reason is that this tablet will apparently not have a microphone, so in other words, it cannot do voice calls, which puts it outside of the Apple/AT&T agreement.”

So does Apple stay with AT&T for the iPhone and use Verizon for the Apple tablet? Or do they jump completely from the AT&T ship for both the Apple tablet and the next generation iPhone? The answer probably resides in the timing.

AT&T is not expected to launch their LTE network until sometime in 2011. That makes AT&T appear to be the laggard in terms of 4G deployment. With a 2010 expected launch date, Verizon could well be an entire year ahead of AT&T making their 4G launch coincide with the anticipated release date of the Apple tablet. This timing also coincides with the rumored end of Apple’s contractual arrangement with AT&T.

To add a bit more fuel to the fire, TechCrunch offers an interesting observation about the reportedly tenuous relationship between Apple and AT&T. “Our source went on to note that Apple and Verizon doing some kind of business seems inevitable. They reiterated claims — which we’ve heard from several other sources — that the folks inside Apple are not happy with AT&T at all right now given the spotty service, and seeming inability to handle the iPhone’s rapid growth.”

I’ve heard similar things. Some business users in San Francisco in have repeatedly complained about AT&T’s spotty coverage while using their iPhones in the City. I personally experienced one major dead spot with my iPhone 3G while riding on the bus in the Mission District. If I didn’t get my e-mails out by the time the bus reached Guerrero Street, I was doomed to wait out a rather large AT&T dead zone until well past Duboce Park before AT&T was once again my friend. One business user I know dumped his iPhone 3GS for a Palm Pre not because the Pre was necessarily better, but because he reported that Sprint’s 3G coverage was so much better than AT&T in San Francisco.

Apple is going to want to have ubiquitous coverage with the Apple tablet—and if Verizon can supply that with LTE 4G, then so much the better.

[Thanks: http://www.examiner.com]

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