[NPMUG] AppleInsider | Report: Apple to launch Verizon iPhone in Q3 2010

Sun Nov 8 07:11:10 MST 2009

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Friday, November 6, 2009
Report: Apple to launch Verizon iPhone in Q3 2010

By Prince McLean
Published: 05:00 PM EST

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A new report citing sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain says  
Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone due in the  
third quarter of next year that will enable the company to sell a  
single global handset to all carriers, and specifically to Verizon  
Wireless in the US.

The report by OTR Global, provided to AppleInsider by an industry  
analyst, says the new "worldmode" iPhone will gain compatibility with  
CDMA2000 networks (including Verizon's US network, which is currently  
incompatible with existing iPhone models) while retaining  
compatibility with UMTS 3G networks globally using a new hybrid chip  
produced by Qualcomm.

According to OTR's sources, Asustek subsidiary Pegatron will build the  
new hybrid phone devices for Apple rather than Hon Hai, the iPhone's  
current manufacturer. This decision was reportedly made to prevent the  
company from being "constrained by a single-source assembler."

A smaller body

The research note also identified the new phone as having a 2.8"  
screen, which is significantly smaller than the current iPhone's 3.5"  
display.

Last summer, component pictures indicating the development of a  
smaller 2.8" iPhone model appeared on the web next to the standard  
3.5" parts currently in production, and a Chinese-language newspaper  
reported that an upcoming model of the iPhone would be smaller and  
lighter.

Without any mention of both larger and smaller versions in OTR's  
report, it appears but has not yet been confirmed that next year's  
iPhone will scale down in size while also gaining compatibility with  
all major mobile networks.

View more photos and diagrams of the panels at iLounge

CDMA vs. WCDMA

The American technological rift between CDMA providers (including  
Sprint and Verizon) and GSM/UMTS providers (T-Moblie and AT&T) was  
widely expected to remain in place until Verizon moved to LTE, the  
next generation of UMTS service.

In other countries, CDMA providers have either shut down their  
networks and moved entirely to UMTS service (as Telstra did in  
Australia) or added a UMTS overlay to their existing CDMA service (as  
Bell and Telus just recently did in Canada). In the US, Verizon  
decided to do neither, and instead will only be investing in a new  
next generation LTE network that won't be completed for years.

This appeared to leave little opportunity for a Verizon iPhone before  
2011, but Qualcomm's "worldmode" hybrid component enables Apple to  
continue offering a single iPhone version that can be sold by both  
AT&T and Verizon in the US, and on virtually every carrier outside the  
US.

UMTS is the 3G service associated with GSM providers, but it uses  
radio carrier technology (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access)  
similar to but incompatible with Qualcomm's CDMA2000/EVDO used by  
Verizon. Despite the technical similarities, CDMA2000 and UMTS/WCDMA  
are competing, non-interoperable 3G technologies. With nearly all  
mobile carriers having announced plans to shift to UMTS or LTE in the  
future, CDMA2000 represents a dead end.

It still remains widely deployed in various markets however, including  
the US, where Verizon's CDMA2000 3G network is widely regarded as  
having wider reach and providing better data service than AT&T's newer  
UMTS 3G network. AT&T's 3G service is rated particularly poorly in San  
Francisco and New York City, where coverage holes have been  
exacerbated by a huge influx of data-hungry iPhone users. AT&T has yet  
to introduce its 3G MicroCell to enable users to solve their own dead  
zones at home or work.

Qualcomm's new hybrid CDMA/WCDMA chip offers the potential for a  
single, global iPhone that users can take to any major carrier,  
solving the network fractionalization problem. It also solves other  
issues that had served as roadblocks, including the issue of user  
confusion that would result from Apple selling separate CDMA and GSM/ 
UMTS versions of the iPhone.

With one phone that works on both types of networks, any differences  
between the two (such as in features like conference calling and  
simultaneous voice and data, unique to UMTS) will be more apparently  
tied to the provider's network rather than to an iPhone model itself.

Verizon's DROID, cancelation fee launch

Verizon's merciless attacks on AT&T's 3G network coverage in ads  
spoofing the iPhone's "there's an app for that" slogan were another  
factor which left some observers to think that Verizon could not  
possibly be in talks with Apple to sell the iPhone anytime soon, but  
the OTR report indicates that Verizon and Apple have already hammered  
out an agreement to sell the new iPhone model within the year.

Verizon recently launched two smartphones aimed squarely at the  
iPhone: the BlackBerry Storm 2 and Motorola Droid. At the same time,  
the provider also announced a new cancelation policy that charges  
users a hefty $350 when they attempt to back out of contracts  
involving "advanced devices."

Last year, the company found little lasting enthusiasm from users who  
assumed that the original Storm would be closer to the iPhone in terms  
of features; whether the new fee is an attempt to penalize unsatisfied  
users or to profit from switchers next year, it may result in users  
rethinking their purchases right now.

With reports breaking the news that Verizon will be selling the iPhone  
within the year, sales of the Storm 2, Droid, and next year's Palm Pre  
may end up repressed if customers decide they'd rather wait for the  
iPhone to arrive instead of facing the prospect of a major cancelation  
penalty and the loss of their subsidy credit by buying an alternative  
device now.

Droid reviews have largely described it as a second place alternative  
for users who want to stick with Verizon. That being the case, the  
prospect of a Verizon iPhone appears poised to deflate Droid sales  
this holiday season.

End of AT&T exclusivity

The news might not be good for AT&T either, considering that many  
users have switched to AT&T solely because they wanted to get the  
iPhone. The availability of a Verizon iPhone may cause AT&T buyers to  
hold off on new purchases until they see what kinds of competitive  
deals AT&T and Verizon will offer once the iPhone's exclusivity with  
AT&T ends next summer and the new "worldmode" iPhone appears.

It does however give AT&T a year to improve its 3G network and roll  
out the 3G MicroCell before being hit with mass defections from iPhone  
users irate over service issues. AT&T can still advertise that its 3G  
network is faster than Verizon's CDMA2000 coverage, and that it offers  
some features that CDMA2000 does not, including simultaneous voice and  
data and easy to use, multiple party conference calling.

AT&T has struggled to keep up with the pace of iPhone development,  
failing to immediately implement iPhone 3.0's MMS and tethering  
features, and remaining unable to take advantage of the faster 7.2  
Mbps HSPA data potential of the iPhone 3GS. The threat posed by a  
"worldmode" iPhone should push AT&T to deliver a year of high priority  
network upgrades, and potentially result in more competitive service  
plans.
Filed under : iPhone	[ 90 Comments ]
Story topics: Verizon	  [ Print ] [ Story Link ]

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