Front camera A new digital camera will show your faceto the person you are talking to, so you can make video calls

How the new iPhone may look

3G technologyThe latest HSDPA connection gives broadband-speed internet access (up to 7Mbps in the UK) for speedy web browsing, e-mail collection and smooth video calls

TouchscreenThe 3.5in screen,the same as on the original iPhone, lets you view photos,surf the web, choose contacts and compose text messages with your fingers

Solar cellsAlthough unlikely to appear in the first 3G iPhone, Apple plansto install solar power technology behindthe screen offuture gadgets

Main cameraUpdated to give high resolution snaps, with geo-tagging that pinpoints the location where each photo was shot

Wi-fiWireless internet connection allows you to make Voip internet phone calls and browse the web without using 3G, but only when you are in a wi-fi area

Favorites Contacts Keypad VoicemailVideo call

Name:

JaneCall duration:

01:25

17:11

New applicationsOutside companies will be allowed to create programs for the iPhone for the first time – expect video streaming, Voip internet phone calls, office software and much more

New coloursThe new 3G iPhone should come in three colours: white, red and classic black

O2

The world expects Apple to unveil its new mobilenext week. It will have fast internet access and othercutting-edge features. They need to be good, saysMark Harris, because rivals are trumping the original

It seems as if it was only yesterdaythat Apple unveiled itsrevolutionary iPhone, yet thecompany is already gearing upfor the launch of its successor.

As with the original, the new phonewill boast many of the features thathave helped make Apple one of themost desirable brands in the world. Itwill also have some new features,including 3G technology to speed upinternet access, and applications thatcould herald a brave new world ofmobile communications.Gadget fans the world over are

eagerly counting down the hours toMonday, June 9, when the new phoneis expected to be unveiled by SteveJobs, Apple’s chief executive.The original iPhone, launched in the

UK last November, was genuinelyinnovative for being able to respond togestures and strokes via a touchscreen,while its gorgeous web browser was thedigital equivalent of a glossy magazine.Less popular were its clumsy text

entry and outdated 2.5G dataconnection, which made for painfullyslow texting, web browsing and e-mailcollection. The upgrade to 3G will atleast provide a much faster, smootherinternet experience. The move shouldalso mean that users are less likely tobe cut off during voice calls, and maynow sample the dubious delights offace-to-face video calling, thanks to afront-mounted camera. The high-speedtechnology will also make it easier andquicker to download music and videosfrom the web, or upload photos.If you think that the speeds offered

by some 3G networks are fast, anAustralian mobile network is claimingthat the new iPhone will be able to usethe latest 3G technology (known asHSDPA) to offer internet access attwice the speed of the fastest UK homebroadband services today.With nobody beyond Apple’s walls

having yet seen a 3G iPhone — thecompany is famously tight-lippedwhen it comes to new products — littleelse is known about the new handset.There is industry speculation that

the 3G iPhone will be priced at £200at least — plus the cost of an annualcontract. There’s also talk that Applewill use that large touchscreen formore than just stroking and poking —the company recently filed a patent forintegrating solar panels into itshandheld gadgets. Instead of using aseparate, fold-out panel, Apple’s planis to put solar cells behind the LCDscreen, so the more you flash youriPhone around, the more power itcould generate.

Another Apple patent involvesusing location-based information tocreate personalised and localisedshopping pages on your iPhone. Ifyou’re walking past a cinema, forexample, you might see a trailer ofthe latest movie, and even be able toorder popcorn for delivery right toyour seat.Experts say the one thing that is

certain is that the existing iPhonehandset will quickly disappear. “Idon’t see much room for Apple tocontinue to offer the original 2.5GiPhone here, although they mightmove stock to other countries, such as

some in eastern Europe without a 3Gnetwork,” says Ian Fogg, researchdirector at JupiterResearch, thehigh-tech analysts.In the longer term, Apple is

expected to introduce a family ofphones, in the same way that it shiftedfrom selling a single, original iPod tooffering a range of music and videoplayers. Apple will also have to decidewhether to keep the touch interface,which requires a large screen, or moveto a more traditional design in order toreduce phone size. IPhone nano,anyone?Although Apple impressed a lot of

geeks with the iPhone, sales havehovered around a modest 20,000 unitsa day worldwide, and that’s a drop inthe ocean compared with the 3mphones that sell every 24 hours. Thatdoesn’t mean the world’s biggestphone makers can afford to ignore it,says Fogg. “Apple had never built amobile phone before the iPhone, yetits designers created the best mobilemedia player, and the best mobile

browser on the market. Apple hasalready caused its competitors torespond and change their strategies,”he says.Nowhere is that more apparent than

in the rash of rival 3G touchscreenhandsets — dubbed “iPhonies” byindustry insiders — that have appearedover the past six months. While noneof these phones has approached theiPhone’s effortless ease of use, some atleast threaten to steal Apple’s technicalthunder, and often at a considerablylower price.HTC’s Touch Diamond handset, for

instance, not only weighs less than theiPhone but also uses blisteringly fastHSDPA technology and includes aGPS receiver for navigation. Or takeSamsung’s F480 phone, which trumpsthe iPhone’s weedy 2Mp camera witha 5Mp snapper, complete with flash.Apple clearly has some catching up

to do. Many other manufacturers arealready selling their second or thirdHSDPA phone, and have technologysuch as GPS and digital camerasworking well together.If Apple lacks the research muscle to

fully develop the iPhone itself, it isgambling on a new strategy to keep itsgadgets up to date by allowing othercompanies to develop features andapplications for users to downloaddirectly to the new iPhone.Jeremy Green, an analyst at Ovum,

the telecoms research company, says:“It makes sense for Apple to do this,using the creativity of lots and lots ofpeople to improve their products.”But will that be enough? Green

questions Apple’s decision to partnerthe iPhone exclusively with a singleUK network operator — O2. “In the UKmobile market, the four biggestoperators have roughly equal marketshare. If you go exclusive with one,you’re denying yourself three-quartersof the market.”O2’s current iPhone contracts include

all-you-can-surf mobile internet, andfree use of around 6,000 wi-fi hotspotsin the UK. It’s not clear yet whether O2

will offer the same deal on the 3GiPhone — although a wi-fi connectionis almost guaranteed, as 3G signalscan fade quickly inside buildings.Abroad, Apple is already edging

away from exclusive deals. It plans toship iPhones to at least two operatorsin Italy, and future deals are unlikelyto favour a single mobile phonenetwork. However, Apple’s deal withO2 here still has some time to run,making it extremely unlikely that otheroperators will be able to sell the 3GiPhone when it launches.Whatever Jobs reveals on June 9,

though, it had better be good. TheApple brand isn’t only about style, andthat global gathering of geeks isexpecting a phone that’s as least asinnovative as its predecessor. If it isn’t,there’s no guarantee the iPhone won’tbe a single-ringtone wonder such asApple’s ill-fated Newton handheldcomputer, rather than an all-conqueringsuccess like the iPod.

Apple’s whizzy new 3GiPhone may boastspeedier internet accessthan its predecessor butit could soon be

outpaced by the rapid growth offree wi-fi hotspots.

With free wireless internetconnections now being offered byeveryone from McDonald’s to coachcompanies, some buyers may balkat upgrading to the new modelwhen their current iPhone (not tomention many smartphones)already has a built-in wi-fi capability.

A report by Ofcom, the telecomsregulator, last year put the numberof UK wi-fi hotspots at about12,000. But Jiwire.com, an onlinedirectory of hotspots, claims thenumber has already more thandoubled to about 26,800. Wi-fi canbe faster than 3G, so, as itproliferates, time-sensitive mobilesurfers may increasingly prefer it —especially as a growing number ofhotspots are free of charge.

Wi-fi works independently of thenetwork service on your phone,instead relying on antennae aroundthe hotspot, which use radiowavesto transfer data at broadbandspeeds without cables.

McDonald’s has linked up withthe Cloud, one of the largestproviders of wi-fi hotspots in Britain,and is in the process of rolling outfree wi-fi access across 1,200 of itsrestaurants. Coffee shops such asStarbucks have led the way inproviding wi-fi hotspots (theStarbucks service is provided byT-mobile and is not free), and wi-fican now be found in Bordersbookshops, on some trains andcoaches and in airports.

While some companies chargecustomers for wi-fi access, manysimply see free wi-fi as a way toattract customers. The Oxford Tubebus company, for example, offers

free wi-fi on all its coaches toLondon.

It isn’t only the commercialsector that is driving growth. Lastyear, Birmingham city counciljoined forces with BT to launch aproject dubbed Birmingham Fiz (Fizstands for free information zone) tooffer wi-fi access to informationabout the area across one squaremile of the city centre (full webaccess incurs a charge). Anyonewith a wi-fi device can log on.

Westminster city council claims itwill have the largest (paid-for) wi-fizone in Europe when its servicereaches full capacity later this year.Operated by BT, the zone willstretch for six square miles, offeringwi-fi access all the way from OxfordCircus to Whitehall. BT is involvedin similar city-centre schemes inEdinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds,Liverpool and Cardiff and plans toexpands its Wireless Cityprogramme to Sheffield, Bristol,Nottingham, Portsmouth andGlasgow.

Another BT initiative, BT Fon,allows BT Broadband customers toshare their home broadbandconnection with other users viawi-fi, and in return use other BTFon users’ wi-fi links for free whileout and about. BT claims italready has 100,000 subscribers.The service is now being extendedto business users, who could useit to provide wi-fi access tocustomers.

One problem is locating ahotspot. The Hotspot Detectorkeyring (£14.99, seewww.gadgetsquick.co.uk) mighthelp. It claims to be able to detecthotspots within a range of 300ft,although it can’t tell you if they’refree. Alternatively, try searching onthe jiwire site (www.jiwire.com),www.free-hotspot.com orwww.cityspace.com.

Wi-fi hotspots spread like wildfire

The originalThe originaliPhone scorediPhone scoredon style andon style andinnovationinnovation

McDonald’s is installing free wi-fi access in 1,200 of its restaurants

Son of iPhone: thenext revolution

Francesco Guidicini

4 InGear JUNE 1, 2008 . THE SUNDAY TIMES THE SUNDAY TIMES . JUNE 1, 2008 InGear 5