Just got this nugget about the iPhone2 launch from reliable European Telco sources:
T-Mobile in Germany expects to start shipping the iPhone2 in June 2008. It will support the 3G UMTS and offer a vastly improved battery life. I’m hearing by as much as 15x but that sounds way too much.
T-Mobile Germany includes unlimited access to more than 8,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in its iPhone flat data plan which is a welcome addition since it allows iPhone to become a hybrid wi-fi phone, something which isn’t available in the US.
T-Mobile Germany is also preparing to introduce a Google spec’d mobile phone, shortly after the iPhone2 launch, in the summer of 2008. That’ll make for an interesting sales comparison. I predict the iPhone will win out over any Google phone, at least for a couple of years because Apple’s OS and apps are out and mobile ready.
It is a shame that AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the US, doesn’t have 3G or a nationwide network of wi-fi hotspots, as does T-Mobile Germany. AT&T could end up looking like a second-rate carrier which would reflect badly on Apple.
I love my iPhone except for the phone part, which is poor because of the low quality of the AT&T service and a bad echoing glitch in the phone itself. The iPhone falls very short of the mark compared with my previous carrier Sprint. And the AT&T Edge data network is molasses slow, and gets ten times slower if you are in a hurry.
I’ll have more iPhone2 info shortly.
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