Apple grabs 3G technology

A COMPANY called Apple has struck a deal with wireless tech firm Interdigital which will allow La Manzana Grande to use the company's 3G radios and interfaces in an upcoming iteration of the Iphone.

Interdigital already sells parts to Samsung and Nokia. The deal with Apple is said to be worth in the region of $56m over the next seven years.

What this confirms to us is that the 3G Iphone is on way - at some stage - as if that was really in any doubt. Jobs' mob has long contended that 3G support was a matter of battery life and form factor size, rather than network restrictions or political will.

As the Ipod Touch shows, the company's engineers have clearly got a handle on how to shrink the electronics even further, meaning that room for a 3G radio should open up in the next few months - perhaps even in time for a British, country-wide-3G launch?

We wonder if releasing a 3G Iphone before Christmas, however, would be political suicide for Apple at this point. With fans and analysts alike only just recovering from the $200 price drop debacle last week, kicking even more sand in the face of early adopters with an uprated Iphone would be suicidal. µ