Apple tipped to unveil new, faster version of iPhone

By Connie Guglielmo  |   2008-6-8  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

APPLE Inc Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs is expected to unveil an iPhone that works with faster wireless networks in a bid to lure business users from the BlackBerry and reach more international customers.

In a keynote speech scheduled for Apple's developers conference in San Francisco tomorrow, Jobs will probably announce an updated iPhone that works with so-called third-generation, or 3G, networks, Gene Munster, a Piper Jaffray & Co analyst, told Bloomberg News.

Higher speed, combined with software due this month that links the iPhone to corporate e-mail systems, may make it a bigger threat to Research In Motion Ltd's BlackBerry and help Jobs reach his goal of selling 10 million phones this year.

The lack of 3G capability also has limited the iPhone's appeal among overseas users accustomed to fast data feeds.

"The iPhone is going to become much more mainstream if they can get corporate acceptance," said Munster, who is based in Minneapolis.

He expects Apple to sell 12.9 million units this year and as many as 45 million in 2009, based on his prediction that Jobs will add two new models in January. "The engine is just starting to warm up."

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, fell US$3.79, or 2 percent, to US$185.64 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading on Friday.

Six months after its debut in June 2007, the iPhone catapulted to second place in the US market for smart phones, behind market leader Research In Motion and ahead of Palm Inc, maker of the Centro, according to research firms Canalys Ltd in Reading, England, and IDC in Framingham, Massachusetts. Smart phones are handsets that offer Internet and computer functions.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris wouldn't say if Apple was preparing a new iPhone. "We don't comment on rumors and speculation," she said.

The iPhone combines an iPod with a phone that serves up Web pages and e-mail. With it, Jobs, 53, aims to win a 1-percent share of the worldwide mobile-phone market this year.

Apple sold about 5.4 million iPhones to March, or about 600,000 a month. To reach his 10-million goal, Jobs must sell about 900,000 a month from April to December.

Apple's current models have been out of stock at its online US and UK stores since early May, and the company said supplies are limited at its retail outlets.