30th November - If you were looking at getting an iPhone this holiday season, but are hoping for a model with faster download speeds from the Internet you might want to tell Santa to hold off your present. Bloomberg is reporting that AT&T’s CEO, Randall Stephenson, stated that a 3G version of the iPhone will be available next year. Stephenson made his statement in response to a question about when a 3G version of the iPhone would appear, at a meeting of the Churchill Club in Santa Clara, California.

One of the reasons that a 3G iPhone hasn’t been offered is because of the energy consumption of 3G chips as stated by Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. An improved battery is needed for the iPhone before a 3G version can be offered, which Jobs hopes will happen next year. It seems that Stephenson of AT&T not only hopes for the improved battery, but expects it based on the confidence of his statement. No price for the 3G iPhone has been set.

It might not have been a good idea for Stephenson to announce the availability of a 3G iPhone because the statement could have a cooling effect on iPhone sales during the holiday shopping season. After all, some early adopters felt burned after Apple decided to significantly drop the price of the current model iPhone. I’m sure folks looking to take advantage of an iPhone with faster download speeds will learn from the early adopters’ experience and may just wait until next year to make their iPhone purchase.