Why is 3G missing?

That’s a good question. Steve Jobs answered it by saying that he doesn’t consider 3G to be the right technology for the moment. And why should it be? EDGE achieves speeds similar to basic 3G technology, and HSDPA is still in its infancy, so few customers are concerned about it at the time of the iPhone’s launch on the US market, except perhaps operators and suppliers. HSDPA would be good for downloading files, but you can use WiFi on the iPhone for that, and you don’t have to pay for it. For web browsing, HSDPA speeds won’t make a dramatic difference, mainly because modern browsers on slow smartphone processors won’t render much faster even at higher speeds. A faster processor or a well-designed page will help more in this case.

On the other hand, using 3G would have a negative impact on battery life and increase the weight of the device. It’s a trade-off. EDGE is sufficient for downloading songs from iTunes, but downloading a feature-length film will take quite a while even with HSDPA, not to mention that operators are not particularly fond of this type of use.

Nowhere is it written that Apple cannot introduce a 3G version of its iPhone in six months, which is the most likely outcome: Apple simply did not have time to finish the 3G version.

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Why is 3G missing?

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