Apple may be working on hybrid iPhone for CDMA, GSM networks

Jon Skillings | Nov 09, 2009

There's long been speculation that US carrier Verizon would sooner or later be offering the Apple smartphone, which since its launch has been solely in the hands of AT&T in the United States. (In some other countries, Apple has deals with multiple carriers.)

The latest posting to suggest an imminent rapprochement between Verizon and the iPhone comes from the AppleInsider blog, which on Friday said that it's gotten wind of Apple having contracted to build a Verizon iPhone that would debut in the third quarter of 2010.

More broadly, according to AppleInsider, the new "hybrid iPhone" will work on both the GSM/UMTS and the CDMA systems, meaning Apple will be able "to sell a single global handset to all carriers, and specifically to Verizon Wireless in the US". In the US, carriers AT&T and T-Mobile are in the GSM/UMTS camp, while Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are in the CDMA camp.

The "world-mode" phone reportedly would have a 2.8-inch screen--that is, roughly 20 percent smaller than the screen on the existing iPhone. AppleInsider cites a report from the investment research firm OTR Global, which in turn cites "sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain". According to AppleInsider:

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."

In the third quarter of 2009, Apple shipped 7.4 million iPhones worldwide, raising its global market share slightly to 17 percent, according to market researcher IDC.

Apple, Verizon, and OTR were not immediately available for comment.

Via Crave CNET

Filed under: Mobile Phones
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