Looks like the slow 3G network died a terrible death today. Jobs said
it's a "power hog", so basically that's the end of the 3G approach for
all cellphone companies worldwide going forward.

Just like I thought, WiFi is going to rule the airwaves, not 3G.

That is...

Unless 3.5G / 4G, gets MUCH better about power consumption or Jobs will
simply put them ALL out of business. Take your pick!

Cell companies are very inefficient, they've never had the competitive
envirnoment that the computer industry has known, so Jobs and Co will
steamroll them unless they get their act together soon.

Companies that don't hold iPhone contracts are basically dead in the
water at this point, especially now that 3G has been rendered obsolete.
Cellphone companies are going to have to scramble to catch up with what
Apple is delivering today. Everything is going EVDO or WiFi, so it was
good that the US never got stuck with old fashioned 3G like Europe did.

The iPhone gets around 6 hours of talk time, 10-40 hours of normal use.
200 hours of standby. 3G would cut that in half. No thanks!

----

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs slammed 3G phones for having limited
battery life as he launched the iPhone in the UK through an exclusive
deal with network operator O2.

O2 is thought to have signed an unprecedented agreement passing around
10pc of all revenues from the iPhone to Apple, whose tough commercial
terms some other mobile networks baulked at.

One of those was Vodafone, whose chief executive Arun Sarin has pointed
out that the first version of the iPhone will not run on 3G mobile
networks, thus offering only the slower web browsing speeds of 2.5G
unless customers are in a wi-fi hotspot.

Mr Jobs, however, said Apple had decided against incorporating 3G for
now because it drained battery life. "The 3G chipsets work well apart
from power. They're real power hogs. Most phones now have battery lives
of two to three hours," he added.

"Our phone has eight hours of talktime life. That's really important
when you start to use the internet and want to use the phone to listen
to music. We've got to see the battery lives for 3G get back up into the
five-plus hour range. Hopefully we'll see that late next year."

Ben Wood, director of research at CCS Insight said: ''Jobs knows people
are going to buy iPhone whether it's got 3G or not, it's a lifestyle
device and a fashion item.

"If you put 3G into it, it could cost $20 to $40 extra for Apple to make
each one just to placate network operators who have invested billions in
networks. Doing it this way also allows Jobs to stand up in a year's
time and say 'now the time is right for the 3G iPhone'."

Apple is expected to award a German iPhone distribution deal to Deutsche
Telekom's T-Mobile and a French deal to France Telecom's Orange later
this week.

Asked to respond to talk that he had angered European mobile networks by
playing them off against each other before picking partners Mr Jobs
said: "It's kind of like getting married. We dated a few people but
didn't get married to them. I guess there are a few upset girlfriends
out there."

http://snipurl.com/1qvfh