LTE iPad Coming to Japan Next Summer, LTE iPhone by Fall

Nikkei Business reports that Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has reached a basic agreement with Apple on releasing an LTE-capable (able to connect to long-term evolution 4G high-speed data networks) iPad in the summer of 2012 with an LTE iPhone to follow in the fall.

Earlier this month it was reported that executives with the wireless carrier were said to have visited the U.S. in mid-November to talk with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, but DoCoMo was hesitant to agree to Apple's demands on unit volume and its refusal to allow the carrier to add its own applications to the device.

Nevertheless, NTT DoCoMo has denied the report in a press release, stating there is "no basic agreement" in place with Apple.

The original report claiming that Apple might launch LTE version of iPad/iPhone came from The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. The report said that the companies reached impasse over the carrier’s claims to install proprietary applications on the iPhone. NTT DoCoMo President and Chief Executive Ryuji Yamada said that it is difficult for his company to offer iPhone because of multiply Apple requirements and its control over the iOS platform, though he reportedly met with Tim Cook to discuss Apple's next-generation LTE products and a potential partnership.

Rumors about a 4G LTE iPhone and iPad are not new. The iPhone 4S was predicted to feature LTE, but most reports prior to the device's launch pegged 4G as a feature more likely to appear in 2012. Moreover, while a quarterly conference call Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said that “poor battery life and other issues with current LTE technology were enough to dissuade the company from pursuing an LTE iPhone at the time.”