O2: 3G iPhone Only Weeks Away

by , 11:30 AM EDT, May 14th, 2008

O2's parent company, Telefonica Europe, may have dropped a hint at Apple's iPhone plans when CEO Matthew Key said that his company will be making a joint iPhone announcement with Apple in "the coming weeks." The revelation came after O2's first quarter earnings announcement on Wednesday, according to the Guardian.

In response a question about when Apple's 3G-compatible iPhone would ship, Mr. Key said "That's more of a question for Apple... but over the coming weeks we will do a joint announcement with Apple as Telefonica Group."

Analysts are expecting Apple to announce a new version of the iPhone at its World Wide Developer Conference in June that supports the faster 3G wireless network standard. The combination iPod and smart phone has already been listed as unavailable at Apple's online stores in the U.S. and the U.K., and O2 and Carphone Warehouse have run out of stock, too.

Apple has not said when it will release its second generation iPhone, but some analysts are predicting that will happen at the end of June because AT&T issued employees a memo blocking vacations during that time frame because of "an exiting Summer Promotional Launch."

Several cell carriers have also announced iPhone deals with Apple. Details on those deals have been slim and refer only to launches before the end of 2008.

The iPhone rumor mill has churned out reports that the new iPhone will include faster 3G wireless data networking, video chat support, streaming movie support, a built-in GPS, and more. Apple is sticking by its standard policy and is not commenting on new iPhone features.