In a completely shocking bit of news, Citi analysts Richard Gardner and Yeechang Lee wrote today that the 3G iPhone will be announced most likely on June 9, the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Isn’t that pretty much what every analyst and Apple fanboy blogger has been predicting, give or take a week?

And for the record, announced is different than available. Will the 3G iPhone be available for purchase in June?

Should we care?

3G is a significant and welcomed upgrade to the iPhone, particularly overseas where 3G networks are faster and more mature than in the U.S. Here, there’s a question about how much faster will a 3G iPhone be when compared with a 2.5G device that runs on AT&T’s EDGE network.

AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., admittedly needs to broaden the rollout of its 3G network, which is says is “available in most major metropolitan areas”. “We’re working on expanding the network so more people in more places can enjoy it soon,” AT&T’s Web site says.

A 3G iPhone is certainly, without a doubt, an important evolution for Apple, which hopes to meet its target of shipping 10 million iPhones in 2008. Once again, for the record, shipping 10 million is a lot different than selling 10 million.

What seems more important than speed, at least at this time, are potential hardware changes that are expected to come along with the 3G iPhone — a larger screen, the use of OLED vs. LCD displays, the ultra-mobile Intel processor, power-efficient 3G chips, better battery life, an improved camera, GPS capability, and SD card storage.

These, and the expected release of the iPhone software developers kit and enterprise support, is what to get excited about come June 9.

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Other posts that may be of interest

• AT&T says its 3G network is nearing completion; we’re not so sure
• Weekly wrapup, 21-25 April 2008
• HTC launches first true iPhone competitor just as Apple is about to take its phone to next level
• Google releases new Gtalk Web app; what does it mean?
• The App Store: Can it be worth $1 billion to Apple by 2010 with 70 percent free apps?
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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 11:55 pm and is filed under Mobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.