Apple

The 3G reception problems that iPhone 3G owners have experienced might be chipset-related.

(Credit: CNET)

A financial analyst believes Apple's iPhone 3G reception issues may be the result of some faulty chips.

Richard Windsor of Nomura published a research note (spotted at GigaOm) Tuesday singling out the iPhone 3G's chipset, made by Infineon, as the probable culprit for the reception problems we reported on Monday. The dropped calls, service interruptions, and abrupt network switches experienced by iPhone 3G users reminded Windsor of similar complaints five years ago, when 3G phones were first launched in Europe.

"We believe that these issues are typical of an immature chipset and radio protocol stack where we are almost certain that Infineon is the 3G supplier," Windsor wrote. "This is not surprising as the Infineon 3G chipset solution has never really been tested in the hands of users. Some people will not experience these problems as it is only in areas where the radio signal weakens that the immaturity of the stack really shows."

The problem for Apple is that if Windsor's theory is correct, that would mean a firmware upgrade is unlikely to solve the problems, he wrote. The problems might be confined to a certain build of iPhones, or a certain batch of chips, but "this shows the risk of not going with a tried and tested solution."

An Infineon spokesman declined to comment on anything iPhone related, but said he would check into whether the particular chipset used in the iPhone 3G had been used in other phones. Apple has refused to acknowledge any issues with the iPhone 3G.

Updated 10:00am PT with detail from Verizon's conference call.

The LiMo Foundation is adding several well-known entities to its roster of mobile phone players, including Verizon and Mozilla.

A total of eight companies have agreed to join forces with LiMo to work on a Linux-based operating system for mobile phones, bringing the total number of participants to 40. Verizon and Mozilla are the headliners, but the full roster of new invitees includes Infineon, Kvaleberg, Red Bend Software, Sagem Mobiles, SFR, and SK Telecom.

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Verizon was planning to add a LiMo phone to its lineup, but it's not clear how quickly Verizon will commit to that course. Mozilla's participation is likewise interesting, because it's very likely that browsers will play an integral role in delivering applications to future mobile phones.

LiMo Foundation members are emerging, in a sense, as the anti-Android, although they would likely downplay that kind of talk. Google's bid to unite the mobile phone industry around Linux is similar to LiMo's vision, but there are a few differences.

LiMo is set up more like a traditional industry organization, where members have an equal say in the advancement of the software. Google reigns supreme over the Open Handset Alliance, although it does work closely with its partners to define the spec that will become Android. Plenty of companies, however, such as NTT DoCoMo and Texas Instruments, are hedging their bets by participating in both groups.

LiMo has one advantage: an actual product out in the wild. Release Candidate 1 was formally unveiled at the CTIA Wireless conference in April, but has been shipping for a while on phones like Motorola's Razr 2.

UPDATED: Verizon held a conference call in the pre-dawn Pacific Time hours to discuss its decision to join the LiMo Foundation. Reuters reports that Verizon's vice president of network Kyle Malady committed the company to releasing a LiMo phone in 2009, saying, "We'll start with a few simpler devices and work our way up."

He also said that the LiMo software would become Verizon's "operating system of choice," according to Reuters, which seems odd given the company's pledge to become an open service provider willing to accept a wide variety of handsets. Malady said that's still the case--at some point Verizon customers will be able to use any type of device that works with its network--but this deal would give Verizon a way to maintain control over the look-and-feel of the software on its handsets for certain customers.