As Apple plans a new iPhone, the Silicon Valley rumour mills are churning overtime following speculation that Apple will build its own search engine to compete against Internet giant, Google.
The betting is that Apple will utilise data unavailable to Google generated by the company’s App Store to create a mobile-centric search engine.
This would be a difficult undertaking according to analysts. However, they believe Apple could make a minor acquisition of a search company that has built a web index, such as Cuil, for example, and use the index as the base for building its own engine.
Apple is also reported to be planning a new iPhone that will allow US phone carriers other than AT&T to sell the popular mobile device. The new iPhone will be compatible with the CDMA system that is used by AT&T rivals Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel but was abandoned in Australia in 2008. Mobile operators in Korea and Japan also still use CDMA.
Observers believe Apple plans to release a new version of its GSM/3G iPhone around June, continuing its practice of annual upgrades. The new model is expected to be thinner and have a faster processor. It is being made by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry.
The CDMA iPhone model is being made by Pegatron Technology, the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan’s Asus group.
Unlike Australia, where the iPhone is marketed by all major carriers as well as Apple itself, in the US, AT&T has held a monopoly since the launch of the first iPhone in 2007.
