Apple has signed a $56 million deal with InterDigital, a wireless technology company that has made contributions to 2G and 3G technology. It's this 3G technology that most are speculating is the reason for Apple's partnership with InterDigital, indicating the company's impending release of a 3G iPhone. The deal, however, covers 2G and 3G technologies. InterDigital's stock price has reportedly increased 14.1%, to $24.20 as a result of the announcement, though Apple's stock price has dropped $3.60 to $131.89.
Apple has already reduced the price of the iPhone, and in response to angry early adopters, Steve Jobs has noted the necessity for prices of technology devices to drop in order to make them more accessible to more people (especially for the holiday season), and notes the trouble of being the first to jump on board the latest technology trends, as new developments quickly advance, and must make way for upcoming models (like an iPhone 3G?).