Cellphone Executive Says 4G iPhone 5 On the Way [UPDATED]

Apparently Apple’s steel barrier of secrecy hasn’t reached the United Arab Emirates, where cellular carrier Etisalat told the Gulf News Apple will roll out a 4G “iPhone 5” later this year.

Ali Al Ahmad, Chief Corporate Communication Officer of Etisalat said to the Gulf News:

“Yes, we are in talks with most smartphone manufacturers including Apple on the rollout of the 4G handset, iPhone 5 later this year. As the first telecom organization to roll out the 4G network, LTE, in the Middle East, we have already started talking to them for the handsets and chipsets in them.”

So is this the case of a clueless executive who doesn’t realize he’s revealing secrets, or not realizing the technology for cramming 4G circuitry into the currently known iPhone form factor doesn’t quite exist yet in sufficient numbers for such a popular device? And hasn’t he heard that analysts say it’ll be called the iPhone 4S?

While this is an enticing tidbit of information, we have our doubts, as does our source for this story, TUAW. Apple might be able to somehow pull together the technology for 4G connectivity by this Fall, but there’s another possible problem underneath this unconfirmed rumor: Maybe Apple thinks that 4G coverage isn’t widespread enough yet for a mainstream, mass-market product such as the iPhone.

Our take: Apple will wait for both the hardware and a more-complete 4G network buildout before releasing a 4G iPhone. Meanwhile, there’s no shortage of rumors about what the next iPhone will bring.

Update: Cellular provider Etisalat was quoted as naming Apple’s “iPhone 5″ in a statement, but according toSaudi Mac, now the company’s denying that quote, offering the following explanation:

“Etisalat held an LTE Media Seminar on 9th June 2011, following which there were several announcements in the media about the launch of LTE services in the UAE. In reference to these announcements, Etisalat would like to clarify that the Corporation is in talks with a number of manufacturers to bring the latest LTE-compatible devices to the UAE – including USB dongles, modems and mobile devices – whenever they become available from the manufacturer, after Etisalat’s official launch of LTE in Q3, 2011.

“At no point did Etisalat confirm that any new iPhone device will be launched in 2011.”

Posting Source: http://mashable.com/2011/06/11/iphone-5-on-the-way/