FCC Approves Apple iPhone

Apple's iPhone took another step towards store shelves today, as the FCC approved the device for sale in the U.S. There's not a lot of information in the FCC's documents (aside from the fact that the iPhone will have an "aluminum back housing"), because Apple requested that the FCC not disclose the juicy bits until July 2nd, and some of it may never become public at all.

In the March 8-dated confidentiality letter, Robert Steinfeld, EMC & Wireless Compliance Manager for Apple, asked the FCC to not to release the block diagram, operational description, radio schematic, radio bill of material, radio tune-up procedure, and exhibit notes until 45 days after the iPhone was approved (Monday, July 2nd, by my reckoning).

Steinfeld wrote that even disclosing the info after the iPhone isavailable would give Apple's competitors an undeserved advantage, whichseems understandable:

"These documents revealdetailed techical and design information that is protected by Apple asconfidential and proprietary trade secrets. This information has beendisclosed to those required to maintain its confidentiality, and is notcustomarily disclosed to the public even after the commercial releaseof a device. As a result, disclosure of this information by theCommision would harm Apple by giving competitors an unfair marketadvantage even after the commercial release of the device.

Basically, there's not a lot to this, other than the fact that we can probably expect more iPhone info on July 2nd.