iPhone LTE in the Making According to Apple Job Post [Apple Hiring for Future iPhone 4G; iPhone 5G to Actually be the First 4G-enabled iPhone?]

Posted on TFTS by Chris Smith on Friday, 26. March 2010 under: Mobile/Cell Phones, xFeatured

The problem with terminology these days is that one can never be entirely sure what we could be talking about. For us, the iPhone 4G stands for the next-gen, or fourth-gen iPhone, the smartphone currently heading to worldwide customers. And by currently I mean a June/July release.

For others iPhone 4G might stand for a handset that’s capable of both 3G and 4G speeds, just like the HTC EVO 4G. But the first iPhone that will be able to offer us LTE connectivity will not be the one coming this summer since no carrier out there is really ready to welcome it. That’s why the real iPhone 4G will only be the iPhone 5G which we should see in the summer of 2011.

If that sounds weird then please stop for a second and consider that the iPhone 3G (generation) is the iPhone 3GS (actual name). But at the same time the iPhone 3G (actual name) is the iPhone 2G (generation). Isn’t it really confusing now? A logical cognitive process could make us draw the wrong conclusion that the iPhone 2G and the iPhone 3GS are one and the same, but I digress.

Returning to the iPhone LTE (that’s a much better name) chances are that we will see it unveiled next summer. By then both Verizon and AT&T, if not other carriers in the USA, will be even more prepared for the next-gen standard communication technology. Like them European and worldwide mobile operators, currently playing with LTE in various markets will have their own 4G networks ready to handle those LTE-enabled iPhones and smartphones.

What we know so far is that Apple is hiring capable folks out there to prepare the iPhone, and maybe the next-gen iPad, to handle 4G speeds.

Think you have what it takes to deliver? Here’s what you need to know about the Cellular Technology Software Manager job then:

The Cellular Technology Manager will manage the cellular protocol software team, responsible for the design, implementation and integration of layer 1-3 protocols for iPhone. The position will be responsible for ensuring appropriate cellular technology development and execution, KPI performances and interoperability of cellular technology on various platforms, R&D of new protocol and standards, as well as working with cross-functional teams to deliver the best customer experience on Cellular.

And of course you would have to posses, among other skills:

Expert knowledge of one or multiple cellular technologies: WCDMA/UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+, LTE etc.

That also means to us that while we keep calling the next-gen Apple smartphone the iPhone 4G, that will not be the name of it. Do you have any guesses on what will Steve Jobs & Co. call their next phone?

Source

J. Harper
“like the HTC EVO 4G. But the first iPhone that will be able to offer us LTE connectivity will not be the one coming this summer since no carrier out there is really ready to welcome it.”
Did you really just mention the real 4g phone coming out on Sprint, and then go on to say that no carrier is ready to offer a 4g iPhone? I’m sure Sprint would be more than happy to get Jobs to pop a Beceem chip in the fourth gen iPhone and bring it to the Sprint 4g network. Sure, it’s not LTE, but it’s available RIGHT NOW. Further, Sprint’s preparing to make a full on switch to LTE in the future… which is something they’ll be able to afford with all that extra 4g revenue ;-). Jobs is just afraid of new technology. That’s what kept him from making the iPhone 3g capable in the first place. Scaredy cat Steve.
Seriously, the iPhone HD is going to rock, but I’ll definitely stick with my Evo 4g come June. Yay 4g, eight device hotspot, with unlimited everything plan for $25.60/mo (what I actually pay per line) + whatever they charge for tethering (rumored to be between $10 & $20 a month)! Also, developing for Android is easier, and you don’t have to sign over your life to Apple. Have you read the terms for 4.0? They are crazy!!! Devs are already crowded in the App store, that new set of uber absurd rules could be just what devs need to push them to Android.