10 million 3G iPhones on order?

By Stephen Withers
Thursday, 27 March 2008 09:06

Mobility

We've known for some time that Apple has been planning a 3G version of the iPhone, but reports are circulating that the company has placed orders for 10 million units.

The stories flow from an interview The iPod Observer conducted with Ken Dulaney, a Gartner analyst.

Dulaney's comments were based on rumours circulating in Asia. If genuine, they most likely originate from employees of the company (or companies) contracted to build the second generation iPhone, or possibly from a carrier that is in an advanced stage of negotiation with Apple to carry the iconic handset.

The iPhone has yet to be introduced in Asian markets, where 3G is often preferred over GSM/EDGE. Similarly, many European consumers have come to expect the higher data speeds available from 3G's HSDPA, which may explain the relatively slow iPhone sales in the UK, France and Germany compared with the US experience.

Apple has previously indicated that battery life is one of the gating factors for the 3G iPhone, and Dulaney has suggested that a switch to an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen may help achieve the company's target talk time. A secondary benefit is that OLED displays are thinner than LCDs, so the 3G iPhone could either be slimmer than its predecessor or it could have more room for a larger battery.