Seemingly solid confirmation that Apple have a 3G iPhone waiting – or at least being polished up – in the wings for a 2008 launch came this week from AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, and with it a rise in Apple stock price from $180.22 to in excess of $184.  The 3G handset, which is set to answer criticisms from reviewers and consumers alike as to the mediocre data access speeds of the original, EDGE-based iPhone, is rumoured to utilise the low-power Broadcom BCM21551 chipset announced in October, which packs 7.2Mbps HSDPA and graphics processing onto a single chip.

Price remains a mystery, however, with Stephenson telling reporters at the Churchill Club in California that “[Steve Jobs] will dictate what the price of the phone is.”  It’s also unclear as to what battery life Apple expect from the new handset – their original pledge was to hold off from 3G until 5+ hours was realistic – and whether this will be a replacement or addition to the existing iPhone range. 

Concern that the news would dissuade some shoppers from putting an iPhone or two under the Christmas tree this holiday season was dismissed by Piper Jaffray & Co analyst Gene Munster, who described such buyers as “not enough to make a difference.”

Apple is yet to confirm or deny Stephenson’s statement.

[via SlashGear]