New iPhone features the same music downloading methods as previous model

According to a Billboard report on Tuesday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s newly introduced iPhone will not feature a new method to download music from iTunes. Instead, users will only be able to "access and download music" from iTunes with the phone's WiFi connection. Luckily, the new 3G phone will allow a better connection to access the store and download music, but Billboard speculates that Apple has not improved the method because the company is "less enthusiastic" about sharing profits from iTunes purchases with the operator, in this case AT&T Mobility, a part of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T).

AT&T Mobility apparently expanded and constructed much of the 3G network the iPhone will use over the course of the last year, when the iPhone was first being readied for release. The original iPhone worked on AT&T's slower EDGE network and utilized WiFi hotspots, but "the upgrade allows for faster Web surfing from any location in At&T's 3G coverage area." Ideally, using the upgraded network would also provide users with better access and faster downloads.

It's no surprise that Apple would keep the music features on the iPhone the same as on the previous model, since the improvements made to the new iPhone make it much better over the previous model. At the same time, it seems unlikely that record companies would object to this similarity either, since it means they can still seek out new deals and arrangements with the phone carriers outside of Apple (in this case).