Study: 3G handsets will dominate mobile phone market in next five years
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 29, 2007 at 1:35am
It’s almost certain (IMHO) that a 3G broadband version of the iPhone is in the works. Here’s why: third-generation (3G) handsets will continue strong growth over the next five years as second-generation technology wanes, according to a new study by the In-Stat research group.
Through 2012, fourth-generation network handsets are not expected to enter the market in sizable numbers, the report says. Helping to boost overall sales, subscribers owning and using several handsets will be more prevalent over the next several years. This development is already widespread in many areas, especially where employers provide a mobile device, according to In-Stat. A recent report by the high-tech market research firm found the following:
° Worldwide handset revenues will reach US$165 billion by 2012.
° Low-cost and ultra-low-cost handsets will push down the average selling price over the next five years, depressing total revenue.
° 3G growth will become more pronounced when China selects a standard and releases spectrum to operators.
For its first generation iPhones, Apple has passed on 3G in favor of EDGE technology. There are different reasons for this. Much of AT&T’s network isn’t yet 3G—and AT&T is the sole wireless carrier provider for the iPhone in the U.S. CEO Steve Jobs has said that 3G drains batteries too quickly, so Apple has focused on focus on Wi-Fi, which offers decent speed but is tied to local hotspots.
However, Apple has officially signed a seven-year deal with InterDigital, which has 3G technology that a company called Infineon—which purportedly makes the EDGE technology used in the current iPhone—is in a position to help manufacture. And in his 2007 in his keynote speech at the Macworld Conference & Expo, Jobs mentioned that Apple’s choice of GSM network support via EDGE would allow it to produce a 3G wireless phone and “many other amazing things” in the future.
I think that future will arrive before mid-2008.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 10,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
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