Analysts are claiming that Apple is holding back the iPhone 5 until LTE chips reduce in size. Will Strauss of Forward Concepts thinks this is the main reason Apple didn’t reveal an all new device. Electronista are reporting that other current LTE devices use an LTE chip as well as a 3G chip for voice functions. This would make it impossible to fit in the device.

This is a view that is shared by Anand Shimpi, who said the printed circuit board found in the iPhone 4 is already compact without having enough room for LTE. The only way it could be achieved is by making the battery smaller or the phone thicker.

Tim Cook back in April said the “first generation of LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises.” It is thought that LTE technology that could be suitable for Apple may be ready during the second quarter of 2012. The Qualcomm MDM9615 is going to use a smaller manufacturing process, and besides being better for battery life it can handle LTE data and voice simultaneously.

This availability could mean an all new iPhone 5 being available around the same time Apple normally unveils its new iPhone. The current upgrade with the iPhone 4S is a similar situation we had with the company and the release of the iPhone 3GS. An upgraded model that was then replaced by an all new version with the iPhone 4.

Do you think we could see an LTE iPhone 5 next summer?

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The event is thought to be taking place next week on October 4th, and according to SlashGear the company could be about to demonstrate its new 4G smartphone. The company may have been planning all along to reveal what would be a new feature for its flagship device on its headquarters.

Apple has a massive wireless testing capability at its Cupertino headquarters, and has considered using the technology before in the CDMA version of the iPhone 4. In the end Apple decided against it mainly down to the size of the 4G radios it would have to squeeze inside the device.

During the summer there were reports of Apple installing LTE equipment into its retail stores for various rumored purposes. We have already had reports that the new iPhone will be a dual mode device supporting both CDMA and GSM carriers. Qualcomm’s MDM9600 chip supports GSM, HSPA+, EVDO Rev.A and LTE, so this may be what is found in the iPhone 5.

Another reason why Apple could be holding the event at its home base is that AT&Ts LTE network doesn’t cover San Francisco presently. This would mean that Apple would need to install suitable equipment inside a venue in the city. Although this is only speculation there is a chance it could happen, and a lot of our readers have said they hope the iPhone 5 supports LTE so fingers crossed.

Are you hoping the iPhone 5 has LTE?

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These NenaMark1 results for DROID BIONIC are interesting, first off is the mention of Android 2.3.3 that would excite would-be-buyers who had enough of Froyo. With a summer release for the Bionic it was expected that Gingerbread would feature, so some relief there.

Results for this sort of test are easy to fake, and those that are skeptical will point out the incomplete score that leave you thinking why? And the Tegra 2 stated at CES has been replaced with PowerVR’s SGX 540 GPU in the benchmark. Now with an open mind, you would remember that Verizon’s LTE was having problems with NVIDIA’s mobile chip back in April, and the enhancements Motorola wanted to make to Bionic could include fixing that issue.

Seeing OMAP in this benchmark gets us thinking, but the strange results lead to many more questions, although we’re pretty sure that the change in GPU will ring true thanks to Motorola’s favoritism of the new dual-core TI OMAP 4440 and 4430 processors.

See a bigger picture of the results on nena.se.

More About: Droid Bionic, LTE, Motorola

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According to an article on The Cell Phone Junkie the next iPhone should definitely support current 3G technologies. It could also have HSPA+ that is currently being rolled out by carriers around the world including AT&T.

With Verizon, the company’s CFO Fran Shammo recently let slip that the next iPhone will be capable to be used worldwide. The Verizon 4 and the CDMA iPad 2 currently use a Qualcomm Gobi chip the MDM6600. Verizon decided to have CDMA handset but it won’t be hard to make it global.

We have already reported the iPhone 5 will look similar to the current model but will have the same A5 chip found in the iPad 2. Verizon moving to CDMA 1X-Advanced SVDO will be of interest to Apple for the next iPhone.

There is a good chance the iPhone 6 will have LTE especially if it comes in 2012, but it all depends on what Qualcomm are doing. They revealed its next generation of chipsets back in February which will provide improvements in modem performance and power consumption. Apple will be looking for what these chips can offer for its devices, and will be available around the time that Apple could start testing.

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Verizon know this as they are about to release three new MiFi devices, which include the Samsung SCH-L11 4G, Novatel USB551L, and Novatel MiFi 4510L. These devices seem a lot smarter than what we’ve seen in the past; remember the Fivespot global mobile hotspot.

According to Phone Arena, the above devices have been shown in the latest rebate list for Verizon, and will take the total number of LTE 4G modems to five, that are being currently offered by the carrier.

It’s nice to see that the Novatel MiFi USB551L and 4510L are compatible with Mac OS, which can be a rare thing. Both the said model numbers are USB sticks, while the LTE modem from Samsung looks completely different. You can see an image on Phone Arena here, which shows a thin rectangular modem. All three rebates total $50.

You will get LTE speeds of 2-3 Mbps upload, 5-12 Mbps download, and the devices are all compatible with the 3G network on Verizon Wireless. Feel free to hit the link above for more details on price and availability.

How do you like to access the web while you’re mobile? Do you use tethering, or is a MiFi device the way you like to go?

More About: LTE, modem, Verizon

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It is almost certain that the iPhone 5 will hit both AT&T and Verizon Wireless this year, it is thought that the iPhone 5 will feature a larger display than its predecessor and the same dual-core Apple A5 CPU seen inside the iPad 2, but powering this technology is quite a task, obviously other smartphones manage this, however when you throw 4G LTE connectivity into the mixer it is doubtful that Apple will be able to deliver the battery life that we expect from their devices.

The iPhone 4 features a single-core chip and 3G connectivity, this allows for up to 7 hours talk time using 3G and 6 hour Internet usage using 3G, therefore it is doubtful that a 4G LTE iPhone 5 will be able to match this, the question is will Apple release a product with less battery life than its predecessor?

There is no reason why Apple couldn’t have made the Verizon iPad 2 LTE complaint as the technology has been developed to allow this, many suspect that if the iPad 2 offered 4G connectivity it would’ve not been able to boast 10 hours of battery life, which suggests that this may be a huge hurdle for Apple to overcome.

One possibility is that the iPhone 5 will be a 3G-only smartphone, however this will mean that data speeds will be laughable when you compare the iPhone 5 to the HTC Thunderbolt and the HTC EVO 4G etc, we’re sure that Apple will not be keen to release a smartphone which is not “cutting edge” the question is: Can a smartphone be released in 2011 without 4G and be regarded as “cutting edge”?

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Before we even look at how the two stacks up spec wise there is the little issue of the release date. We still do not have official release dates for either handset, but we do expect the both to show up sometime this month. Consumers have been getting angry that the Thunderbolt might be delayed, but Verizon did say that they have never officially offered a release date.

We first learned of the Infuse back at CES earlier this year, and the first thing you will notice is how big the display looks when compared to the HTC Thunderbolt. The sizes are 4.5-inch and 4.3-inch respectively. Both smartphones will run on Google Android 2.2 Froyo, but will come with their own UIs.

The Infuse will offer 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage; the Thunderbolt will only have 768MB of RAM, and 8GB of storage. Seems like Samsung wins that one as well. We do stress that the Infuse is not a full LTE handset, but looking at the numbers, there will not be much in it when it comes to downloading.

What will make the two phones stand out from each other most are their prices, and how much AT&T and Verizon charge for their monthly data plans, which as we know seems to keep changing.

Which looks better on paper, the HTC Thunderbolt or the Samsung Infuse 4G?

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You will notice that this is the same rate as the 3G plan, however there are fears that this price will increase once the Long Term Evolution goes nationwide. Do not think that this is a done deal, as Droid Life has also heard rumors that this is just the base price and you will need to pay an extra fee of $15 to have 4G data.

The first LTE capable handset on the Verizon carrier will be the HTC Thunderbolt, and if you are interested in this handset then you had better watch the commercials during Sunday’s Super Bowl. This is the same day that the smartphone goes up for preorder. According to Nexus 404, they believe that the Thunderbolt will then hit stores on Valentines Day, February 14th.

We already know that making the change to LTE will be a gradual thing with Verizon, with certain cities getting them before others. It is not surprising that LA, Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC will be one of the first to get this faster service.

Do you live in an LTE area; will you be getting the HTC Thunderbolt?

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Blast Magazine said that it was yesterday when AT&T updated their website to inform customers that 4G was coming, but has yet to offer a going live date. We do wonder how the carrier promises such fast speeds, when they have even struggled to offer 3G to its customers? Having said that, as with most wireless carriers, the fast 4G service will only be available in a select number of locations to start.

According to Android Community, AT&T sent out an email to customers explaining what handsets will support the new 4G technology; they are as follows: the HTC Inspire 4G, Motorola ATRIX 4G and the Samsung Infuse 4G. We discussed two of these in recent articles, as they were seen doing the rounds during CES 2011.

It is ZDNET that offers a great insight into this, not only with the technology used, but how AT&T and T-Mobile announced it during the Consumer Electronics Show, as none of us were expecting it to happen just yet. There had been no rumors; all we knew is that Verizon were way ahead of their rivals.

Currently there are 3 forms of 4G, LTE, WiMax and HSPA+. NPR has been looking into all three and has been discussing how much faster they are than 3G. One thing is certain though; if you live in the UK, do not expect 4G/LTE for some tome to come.

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We previously told you about an upcoming event in which Verizon will be announcing the news to everyone, but this Engadget report has revealed the details early for you, and according to their sources, 4G LTE will be launching on Sunday 5th November.

Aside from the actual network going live, Engadget also say that the 5th will mark the availability of two new modems which are designed to take advantage of Verizon’s new speeds, and the 5th will also be the day when 4G LTE Sim cards will be available as well.

Definitely a day to mark down in your calendars then. Hopefully Verizon will be showing off some new hardware at this event too. Let us know your thoughts on Verizon’s upcoming launch of LTE.

More About: LTE, Verizon, Verizon 4G LTE

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