10.23.06
IPhone
Coming In January?
 By
Mike Zazaian
A recent trademark filing by Apple for the iPhone moniker
all but solidifies that a mobile mp3-media-gaming-wifi-everything
phone could be announced as early as January.
According to sources familiar with the project, Apple
has been in development of a couple iPhone models over
the past year or so, but significant technological hurdles
have set the project back. Despite analyst predictions
that as many as three iPhone models would hit shelves
by March of 2006, the production process has now been
pushed back to the point that Apple filed a trademark
for the iPhone at a Far Eastern trademark office only
last month. According to the trademark documentation,
which was filed on September 15th, the iPhone lineup will
encompass, handheld and mobile digital electronic devices
for the sending and receiving of telephone calls, faxes,
electronic mail, and other digital data; MP3 and other
digital format audio players.
In addition to basically covering every base in modern
digital communications, the iPhone will have some sort
of WiFi capability, as described by a passage in the trademark
documentation:
…electronic
handheld units for the wireless receipt and/or transmission
of data that enable the user to keep track of or manage
personal information…software for the redirection of messages,
Internet e-mail, and/or other data to one or more electronic
handheld devices from a data store on or associated with
a personal computer or a server; and software for the
synchronization of data between a remote station or device
and a fixed or remote station or device.
From the wording in the trademark, it also seems that
the iPhone will allow users to access a personal computer,
possibly allowing remote usage and file access. But with
even a handful of the listed features the iPhone is going
to be the be-all end-all of mobile media communications
devices. Apple has built such a strong pedigree in the
mobile media device market with its iPod, such substantial
trust and awe from consumers, that the iPhone, as all
Apple products, should become a media juggernaut shortly
after its launch.
In addition to the trademark filing, industry analysts
also believe that the iPhone is well on its way. According
to Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research,
the iPhone will be based on the candy-bar-like iPod Nano
form factor, and will be available in as many as three
colors. Wu added:
Our research indicates that an Apple-designed smart phone
has moved from concept to prototype and recently has progressed
to near completion as a production unit. We believe this
smart phone has been in development for over 12 months
and has overcome substantial challenges including design,
interference, battery life and other technical glitches.
Analysts also the iPhone should be announced, if not made
available early in Q1 2007. Said Jesse Tortora, an analyst
with the Prudential Equity Group, We believe the company
could introduce the phones at its MacWorld Conference
in January.
[via AppleInsider]
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*Originally published at TechFreep
About
the Author:
Mike Zazaian is the Editor-in-Chief and Webmaster of TechFreep.com,
an online publication dedicated to daily technology and
science news. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he majored in Film and Video
studies with a sub-concentration in screenwriting. While
only a minority of Mike's formal education encompassed
the technology field, he has worked as a web developer,
a freelance web designer, and has been a tech enthusiast
for the better part of his life. |
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