By AppleInsider Staff
Published: 07:30 PM EST (04:30 PM PST)
In addition to a new iPhone model to be introduced this summer, Apple is also working on a CDMA-capable version that could run on the Verizon network in the U.S., sources have told The Wall Street Journal.
In a report issued
Monday evening,
Journal reporters Yukari Iwati Kane, Tin-I Tsai and Niraj Sheth reported that Apple "appears" to be working on a new iPhone model for Verizon Wireless. The report suggested that the CDMA iPhones might come after Apple introduces a new handset this summer, as the CDMA iPhones are not scheduled to go into mass production until September. The report noted it was "unclear when Apple might make the model available."
"The people briefed on the matter said one of the new iPhones is being manufactured by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., which produced Apple's previous iPhones," the report said. "The model that has CDMA capability, used by Verizon Wireless, is being manufactured by Pegatron Technology Corp., the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc., said these people."
Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone model at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this summer. A calendar listing for San Francisco's Moscone Center, where the event is usually held, has led some to believe that WWDC 2010
could take place between June 28 and July 2.
In January, Apple executives made a clear effort to demonstrate they are
happy with their partnership with AT&T. The company also aimed to downplay speculation that the iPhone would become available on multiple carriers in the U.S. Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said multi-carrier strategies are not the best option for every country.
"I don't want to imply that would happen in every market or that we are headed that way in every market," Cook said in the company's quarterly earnings call. He also specifically defended AT&T and said the nation's second-largest wireless carrier is working to alleviate coverage concerns across the country.
But rumors of the end of exclusivity have persisted for years. Currently, AT&T is the sole carrier of the iPhone in the U.S.
The rumored September manufacture date reported Monday by the
Journal would fit with rumors that surfaced in late 2009 that Apple could launch a UMTS/CDMA
hybrid iPhone in the third quarter of calendar 2010. However, some have speculated that the technology
will not be ready for the iPhone until 2011 at the earliest.
Early this year, one report alleged that Apple and Verizon were in negotiations for a summer 2010 CDMA iPhone launch, but the two companies were said to be
at odds over pricing. That report alleged that Apple could still make a CDMA phone for other markets like China and Japan, even if a deal with Verizon couldn't be reached.
Sources have told
AppleInsider that the new iPhone to be introduced this summer will bring the latest update to its mobile operating system, iPhone OS 4.0, and with it support for
full-fledged multitasking with third-party applications.
