World of Apple

DigiTimes citing “market sources” reported on Monday that Qualcomm and Apple are in talks with an “interest in future cooperation”.

Qualcomm who supplies GSM and 3G chips to companies such as Samsung, LG and HTC is becoming increasingly concerned about its future in the high-end handset market according to the report by DigiTimes. Currently the iPhone uses an Infineon chip whilst Palm uses Marvell for the Pre and RIM uses Freescale for the Blackberry.

Past rumours have suggested that Qualcomm could be manufacturing a “hybrid” chip aimed at the iPhone capable of being compatible with GSM carriers as well as CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Qualcomm first manufactured chips capable of switching between GSM and CDMA in 2002.

Rumours have also suggested that Verizon is bidding to have the iPhone on its network sometime in 2010, which would require the iPhone to be able to connect to the CDMA technology which Verizon uses.

It is being reported that the iPhone is set to make a debut in just a few weeks in South Korea after clearing regulatory hurdles.

Korea Communications Commission issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it will grant Apple a license that will allow the collecting of information about location and provide services such “as map, phone locating and related marketing.”

KT Corp is rumoured to be the carrier that has been selected to sell the handset in South Korea with some Korean newspapers suggesting that a launch could be as early as next week.

November 10 marked the day that O2 lost its grip as the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK, a title it held for 2 years and one day. The first competitor to enter the scene is Orange UK who is offering little savings over O2 for those wishing to sign up.

Orange announced via a Twitter account that it had sold 30,000 iPhone units today, what it claims was a UK record for handset sales in the UK.

Meanwhile O2 was today allowing customers to unlock their iPhones for use on other networks although existing contracts will have to be seen through.

Orange UK has today revealed prices and tariffs ahead of the iPhone launch on November 10.

Although many were expect Orange to compete heavily with O2 in the UK, the carrier appears to have decided to be very much in line with the current O2 pricing.

Orange’s cheapest 24 month pay monthly contract is £29.36 compared to O2’s cheapest which is £34.26 with the former offering far fewer minutes and texts but is offering a free iPhone 3G 8GB handset.

The iPhone will be sold by Orange in the UK in Orange shops, Orange on-line, Orange HMV concessions, Carphone Warehouse, Phones4U and more. A number of Orange stores across the UK will be celebrating the launch of iPhone on Orange with early opening times from 7am on November 10th, with other stores across the country keeping their doors open until late.

“The excitement for the iPhone is immense, and this is a great day for our customers, our company and our employees. Since we announced the iPhone on Orange we have already seen more than a quarter of a million customers register their interest on our website. We will be matching their enthusiasm with a 3G mobile broadband network that covers more people in the UK than any other operator, a commitment to deliver the best 3G experience on the iPhone and best-in-class applications and plans. Earlier this year we stated our ambition to become the destination brand of choice for high end mobile users in the UK. With the launch of the iPhone on November 10 we’re pleased to be fulfilling that ambition.” Stated Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK in a press release today.

The Times is reporting that Orange will launch the iPhone on its network in the UK on November 10, one day after O2 loses its exclusive grasp on the Apple handset.

The Times also adds that over 200,000 people have pre-registered their interest in buying the iPhone from Orange. Orange declined to comment on the launch date of pre-registration figures.

Vodafone will also begin selling the iPhone in early 2010 while 3 has confirmed to the The Times that it expects to begin selling the iPhone in mid-2010.

Currently no pricing for handsets of tariffs is available from Orange, Vodafone or 3.

Hot on the heels of rumours that Rogers would be losing its exclusive hold of the iPhone in Canada, Bell and Telus have both announced that Apple and the carriers have come to an agreement.

Both Telus and Bell revealed today that the iPhone 3G and 3GS would be available in November. No pricing of handsets or tariffs was disclosed.

Following the news that Orange would begin selling the iPhone in the UK, Vodafone has also followed suit and announced that it will begin selling the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the UK and Ireland starting in early 2010.

Further pricing will be available nearer the time.

O2 who is currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK is expected to lose its exclusivity of the device at the end of November.

Orange has today officially announced that both the iPhone and iPhone 3GS will be available on the network later this year.

The company will now be selling iPhone units in 28 countries around the world.

No information about tariff prices or availability were given but those interested can register their interest for more information.

O2’s exclusivity over the iPhone is also due to run out later this year but will continue to sell the iPhone across the UK. The company also issued a statement this morning:

“We’re proud that we’ve been able to offer an exclusive iPhone deal to our 20 million customers for the last two years. We always knew that iPhone exclusivity was for a limited period of time, but our relationship with Apple continues and will be an ongoing success. We have over 1million iPhone customers and they remain very important to us.”

AT&T will today begin rolling about MMS for iPhone customers in the U.S., the patch which will enable the service will be available from iTunes and will allow iPhone users to begin sending and receiving photos and videos.

The rollout will begin late on Friday morning, Pacific time.

MMS Update: We know you’ve been eager for this service so we wanted to offer a quick update on the launch plans for MMS on Friday, Sept. 25. Late morning, Pacific Time, on Friday, the new carrier settings update enabling MMS should be live and ready to download through iTunes. We’ll provide the steps and all of the details you need right here at that time.

Additional reports earlier this week suggest that AT&T is nervous about the launch of MMS having done some preliminary testing the carrier is said to have suffered strain on servers and infrastructure.

AT&T has announced that MMS will finally be available to US iPhone owners on September 25th, the official news comes after a report that Apple could release iPhone OS 3.1 next week. Despite the announcement of MMS availability AT&T still has no news on tethering support only saying that it will be offered “in the future”.

MMS will be enabled for iPhone 3G and 3GS owners on that day via a software update.

In the press release AT&T also makes mention that it is constantly striving to improve network capacity.