Apple struggles with iPhone chip

AMONGST THE mass of rumours circulating concerning a possible launch by Apple of a 3G mobile phone dubbed the iPhone, analyst firm, Visiongain, has stepped in with the suggestion that Apple might link with US MVNO, Helio.

No sooner had Visiongain made this suggestion than infamous web site, Think Secret, countered with the speculation that Apple has run into problems with its cellular chips.

That makes sense since Helio is a joint venture between Korean operator, SK telecom, and the US ISP - Earthlink. It's plain that Helio will be piggy-backing on a CDMA2000 based network.

The most likely network to rent itself out to Helio, therefore, is Sprint since it already has a long history of supporting MVNOs with the likes of Virgin Mobile.

Plus Helio is using two Korean handset manufacturers to produce its first two handsets - the Kickflip from VK Mobile and the Hero from Pantech. The catch is that Korea uses 1800 MHz for its 2G network while the USA uses 1900 MHz.

Maybe somebody only noticed that just recently? Anyway, whatever the cause for the delay, Helio should get going in Q2 2006 while the iPhone looks delayed until 2007. µ