Apple is expected to launch a high-speed wireless version of iPhone in the second quarter and produce as many as 8 million of the devices in the third quarter, according to Bank of America.

Apple iPhone More Photos View Specs

"Our latest channel checks point to a significant production build of a 3G iPhone beginning in the month of June after an initial small build in May," said Bank of America analyst Scott Craig.

AT&T said last year it expects to be able to sell a 3G version of iPhone in 2008, but it declined comment on specific launch dates on Friday.

Taiwan-based Hon Hai, which operates stateside under the trade name Foxconn Electronics, has secured an exclusive contract to assemble a more advanced version of Apple's popular iPhone. Hon Hai would be producing next-generation iPhones for Apple and is the exclusive contract manufacturer for the new phones.

Apple doesn't actually make most of its products. It hires manufacturing specialists - mainly companies from Taiwan that have extensive operations in China - to assemble its gadgets based on Apple's designs. They use parts from other outside suppliers, many of which also are from Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia.

The arrangement frees Apple and its fellow vendors from running complicated, labor-intensive production lines, while the ability of Taiwanese companies to slash manufacturing costs helps cut product prices over time.

Apple is using a similar setup for the iPhone, the multimedia cell phone the company unveiled in June last year with great fanfare. Some analysts speculate that the new iPhones could be in the market as early as May. Apple has said previously it aims to sell 10 million iPhones by 2008.

- Apple iPhone Specs

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