Apple to Unveil Faster IPhone

Apple Inc. will introduce a version of the iPhone next year that can download from the Internet at a faster rate, AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Officer Randall Stephenson said.

The device will operate on third-generation wireless networks, Stephenson said today at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California. San Antonio-based AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S.

``You'll have it next year,'' Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut. He said he didn't know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs ``will dictate what the price of the phone is,'' he said.

Jobs plans to sell 10 million iPhones worldwide in 2008, which would give Cupertino, California-based Apple 1 percent of the mobile-phone market. Apple had sold 1.4 million handsets through the end of September.

The prospect of a new handset may make some shoppers put off buying an iPhone this year, Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis, said in an e-mail. The number of shoppers who delay a purchase won't be ``enough to make a difference,'' he said. Munster has advised buying Apple shares since June 2004.

The device, which combines features of an iPod music player with a mobile handset, can download videos from Google Inc.'s YouTube and find driving directions over a wireless connection. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aAoHevYzQJgw