Apple's CDMA iPhone headed to China, Japan, South Korea - report
Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported on Thursday that Foxconn will be the sole manufacturer of the Verizon CDMA iPhone, while another overseas supplier, Pegatron, will build the CDMA model of Apple's smartphone for "China and other countries." The report went on to note that Apple is "set to start supplying its CDMA iPhone to Japan and South Korea."
The anticipated launch of the CDMA iPhone in at least four countries is expected to help Apple achieve a record year of handset sales. The report noted that the availability of the iPhone to 93 million Verizon customers on Feb. 10 is expected to double its sales in the U.S.
Sources indicated that Apple currently plans to have about 7 million CDMA iPhones built in the first quarter of 2011. The report also noted that the CDMA baseband module in the new iPhone 4 is slightly more expensive, which would make the handset's bill of materials as high as $200 — higher than the estimated $188 cost of components in the GSM iPhone 4.
Earlier this week, one Wall Street analyst said that higher cost could result in the Verizon iPhone 4 carrying a subsidized price $20 to $30 higher than the standard. However, the CDMA iPhone 4 will have the same $199 starting price as on AT&T for the 16GB model.
Carrier China Telecom has been viewed as a potential candidate for the new CDMA iPhone, and one analyst also believes India's Reliance would be an ideal alignment. While Thursday's report mentioned China, along with Japan and South Korea, it made no mention of a potential launch in India.
11 Comments
No wonder the stock is up yet again, on an otherwise blah day in the markets!
I wonder where/how this ends......
And we're (Apple) off to the races! (Again!)
Good for Apple....Apple has the best of both worlds! Healthy margins and increasing market share!
If this rumour is correct, then in Japan KDDI AU will get the iphone. finally some competition
Only makes sense this will happen. Once they decided to make it, they should try to make it available to as many people as possible, especially in China where they can't keep up with GSM iphone demand.
The main question then is.......Sprint?
Good news indeed! Especially happy they have a second manufacturer on line for production. Too much dependence on Foxcon for my comfort.