High Speed Internet Access (HSIA): Mobile Broadband

So, Optus and Vodafone will launch the 3g iphone on 11 July and it’s likely that Telstra and 3 mobile will not be far behind.

Both have confirmed that they pre-paid plans will be offered with no contract. This should appeal to the younger target demographic.

It is anticipated that the release will spark a bigger demand in smart phones generally on the back of all the hype.

Prices haven’t been conformed and will probably remain under wraps until shortly before the release.

Features

• broadband mobile access for web surfing and email
• push email
• GPS mapping
• parental control restrictions
• scientific calculator

Battery life

• 10 hours of talk time on 2G networks, 5 hours using 3G
• up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing
• up to 7 hours for video playback
• up to 24 hours for audio playback

It’s getting closer to the much anticipated launch of the iPhone in Australia. So what’s the latest speculation on dates, features, carriers and costs?

Release Date
Reports today say that the 3G iPhone will be launched on June 9th and will be on sale immediately which means June 10th in Australia. This is supposed to coincide with the opening of the Apple store in Sydney.
My understanding was that the Apple store would open at the end of June and that would be the most likely date for the iPhone release in Australia so there’s still some uncertainty there.

Features
3G functionality
It’s extremely likely that the model released in Australia will be the 3G model. The 3G functionality may be able to be switched on and off due to the power that 3G requires. So it would also work on the 2.5G EDGE network.

Camera
The current iPhone has a mediocre 2 megapixel camera. It’s likely that the new release will feature at least a 3 megapixel camera and geo-tagging.

GPS and Google Maps
It’s likely that the 3G iPhone will incorporate Google Maps for mobile.

Carriers
Vodafone and Optus have confirmed that they will sell the iPhone in Australia so it will be multi-carrier. It’s unknown at this stage whether Telstra and 3 Mobile will be part of it.

Contracts
The rumours are that there will be no contract lock-in so the iPhone will work with any provider. This is good news for pricing and data.