As we gear up for the WWDC in a couple weeks — and the likely launch of iPhone 2 — we get weird news that the Australian version, which should launch around the same time as the American version, will be the fastest in the world. According to a loudmouth at Telstra, Australia’s iPhone company, the Australian version could be up to 42mbs, which is over 5 megabytes per second. That’s more than fast enough to watch live streaming video on the iPhone’s screen.
Will the carrier actually let you have those kinds of speeds? Probably not, as they’re theoretical limits. So it’s likely and empty claim. Still, it makes us drool just that much more.
No 3G chip exists that can hit that throughput yet. So the answer is no.
With how fast everyone is trying to jump on 3G, I’ll bet we’ll have speeds like that available within the year, though.
..and when Telstra charges you $1.00 per megabyte of excess usage, at 5mbps, you can sure rack up a fair amount of usage!
PS. It’s more like $2.50 per megabyte for non-business customers!