Burning iPhone 5 Questions: Will There Be LTE?
The cat's out of the bag: The next iPhone will be unveiled to the world on Sept. 12. However, there are plenty of storylines still surrounding the phone, one of which is whether it'll have LTE.
LTE is the next-generation data network being pushed by stateside wireless companies such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T. The draw of faster data instead of pushing clogged 3G networks is an obvious draw, but Apple resisted the last go-around with the iPhone 4S. The reason at the time was simple: Chips for connecting to 4G networks were battery hogs. Yet since that time, supplier Qualcomm has made strides in the design of its chips for connecting to LTE networks.
A second point is that the number of LTE markets is rapidly expanding. While U.S. carriers moved quickly into the LTE game, other carriers around the world have been slower to embrace the standard. At the end of 2011, just 47 operators had adopted LTE, while 150 will have networks up by the end of the year.
In the following video, Senior Technology Analyst Eric Bleeker discusses the LTE market and the iPhone and also talks about whether adopting LTE could open Apple up to litigation from rival Samsung, which has a treasure trove of LTE. To see his full thoughts, watch the video.
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The article Burning iPhone 5 Questions: Will There Be LTE? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Eric Bleeker has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple, China Mobile, and Qualcomm. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Apple and China Mobile. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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