Blinded technophiles the world over flocked to Apple’s iPhone handset, despite the data speed shortfalls of its EDGE network, while more cautious and tech-savvy consumers held back in anticipation of the upcoming 3G iPhone, which is a far superior upgrade due to arrive during the summer.
Nokia and partners ramp up 4G development. Credit: Tjeerd/Flickr.
However, while Apple finally prepares to embrace 3G performance through its iPhone -- now approaching its first birthday -- there are plans afoot to shift network technology beyond its current level and leave the iPhone trailing once again.
Specifically, Nokia Corp., the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phones, has pulled in support from the likes of Sony Ericsson, NEC and Alacatel-Lucent to assist in the development of 4G network technology.
According to a BBC news item, the significantly weighty partnership has already crafted a licensing outline for its next mobile standard, which is known as Long Term Evolution (LTE). The new 4G creation is being positioned as industry competition for WiMAX, the wireless high-speed broadband technology set to replace existing Wi-Fi networks.
Nokia and its industry partners are aiming LTE predominantly at the huge mobile phone market, but are also offering it up for laptop and desktop computer connections too. Set for an initial regional introduction into the US and Chinese markets, LTE technology -- much like WiMAX -- will arrive as a faster and more long distance alternative to current 3G networks.
Unlike Finnish mobile phone giant Nokia, leading chipmaker Intel Corp. strongly believes that WiMAX, not LTE, will emerge at the forefront of wireless communication technology.
The world’s biggest manufacturer of computer processors is so convinced of WiMAX’s cost-effective potential that the company CEO recently said in a BBC interview that 10 million people would be using the technology by 2009, with that figure set to multiply into the “hundreds of millions” by 2011.
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