What should the next iPhone have?

3G speed bump
It does seems likely that the new iPhone will include faster wireless technology, known as third generation, or 3G, an upgrade from the current iPhone, which is 2.5G.

Such a speed bump is important to would-be iPhone owners, many of whom say it’s one of the reasons they’re waiting for the next model before buying.

Most smartphones that are capable of Internet and e-mail perform much better using 3G, which can transmit data at a rate of between 400,000 kilobits per second and 1.4 megabits per second.

In contrast, 2.5G has a transmission rate ranging between 144 and 384 kilobits per second.

Tim Bajarian, president of Creative Strategies market analysts, says 3G may be on the radar, but not GPS or OLED screens.

“Where the changes will take place will be in software, and in software specifically related to not only applications, but additional user interface issues.”

He cites voice recognition and voice command programs as examples.

How it shapes up
Both Bajarian and Dulaney say the size and shape of the iPhone likely will not change.

“From a physical standpoint, the iPhone is extremely well-designed,” Bajarian said. “The form factor itself presents great in its own right, with a big screen and touch interface. And more importantly, it’s viewed as a platform, so that you can clearly add more applications and potential features. But you would do that in the software, not the hardware.”

Dulaney thinks the the next iPhone will have more capacity, perhaps 32 gigabytes. The phone now comes in a 16-gigabyte version ($499), and an 8-gigabyte model ($399).

More capacity would be a plus. Last month, Apple rolled out its software development kit for the iPhone, which will mean a torrent of third-party programs for the phone on the market in conjunction with the 2.0 software upgrade.

Both Bajarian and Dulaney think that a removable battery —something that is common on other cell phones, but not on the iPhone — will not be likely in the next model.

Apple’s “actions and history” about removable batteries — with iPods lacking them, as well as the MacBook Air, Apple’s newest laptop — indicate that, Dulaney said.

Here come the clones
Mace, of Rubicon Consulting, said it would behoove Apple to release iPhones in different shapes and sizes, similar to what the company has done with its iPods.

“One of the things I’ve learned from being in the mobile industry for a long time is that one size does not fit all,” he said. “If Apple doesn’t do different shapes and sizes of iPhones, that will leave holes in the market that other competitors can fill.”

Sprint via AP The Samsung Instinct, an iPhone lookalike with a touchscreen, will be available in June from Sprint Nextel.

Indeed, some of them are trying. A few of the candidates were shown last week at CTIA-The Wireless Association’s annual trade show in Las Vegas.

Among them was Samsung’s Instinct touchscreen phone, which will be available in June and sold by Sprint Nextel (no pricing announced yet). The Instinct will have a GPS chip, and its screen measures 3.1 inches, compared to the iPhone’s 3.5 inches.

LG also showed its $300 Vu phone, also with a touchscreen and iPhone-like appearance, which will be marketed by AT&T, which also exclusively sells the iPhone.

The Voyager, another iPhone look-alike by LG, is already on the market. It has a touchscreen, but also a slide-out keyboard. It retails for $299 and is carried by Verizon Wireless.

“Unfortunately, right now, what you see a lot of mobile phone vendors doing is trying to slavishly copy the current form factor of the iPhone, and I think that’s very likely to produce disappointed customers,” Mace said.

“Because if it looks exactly like an iPhone, people are going to expect it to work exactly like an iPhone, and when it doesn’t, they’ll get really disappointed.”

As to the next iPhone, Mace, like most, is not making any bets.

“Apple specializes in catching us all by surprise,” he said.  

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