[Judson]

I have always thought this, and its just my opinion, but it makes a lot of sense.

Why would apple just now begin to offer a CDMA iPhone when LTE technology is just around the corner (early next year / kinda right now)?

When the original iPhone came out, there were reports of 100+ field testers testing the iPhone for at least a few months. So it begs to reason that Apple would at least require a few months worth of testing before it had a model that was suitable for production on a CDMA network.

You would think someone would have heard / seen someone with a verizon iphone if it was being tested.

If Apple waits until September (as Gruber guessed), why not wait a few more months and release a CDMA in June 2011 when your not working on the biggest change in operating system to date (iPhone / iPad OS 4)

[megablast]

Because it will take a long time for that technology to be common, throughout the US.

On top of that, creating a CDMA iPhone would be a tiny amount of work, they would be crazy not too.

The only thing stopping them is the huge leverage they have over ATT, which they would not have over at a Verizon. We are not sure what special favors Apple get from ATT, but they are huge. If you look at the numbers, the growth of ATT has pretty much been due to just the iPhone.

And Apple probably employs more than one person, so they can afford to work on different areas at different times (CDMA and iPhone OS 4.0).

Why not wait, because the lose millions of dollars a day that the iPhone is not on Verizon.

[jsz0]

CDMA speeds are good enough for most people right now. LTE is exciting but it will probably be years before consumers are making buying choices based on LTE support. Apple did launch the original iPhone without 3G so they have a track record of making some conservative engineering choices. Verizon is doing an LTE overlay on top of their existing CDMA network so any future Verizon iPhone will almost certainly be an LTE/CDMA hybrid. From an RF perspective I would think engineering a handset to operate at 700-850Mhz for CDMA and LTE in the future is easier than even current GSM designs around the world. A future LTE/GSM iPhone is going to need antennas tuned for 850Mhz, 1900Mhz, 2.6Ghz, etc.

[Judson]

I had always been under the impression that LTE would create an ubiquitous network that would finally consolidate all of the extra man-power of cdma / GSM engineering, but I stand corrected.

I do, however, think that 2011 will be when the Verizon iPhone is debuted. The supposed deal Apple has with AT&T is lucrative now, and as time passes, Verizon will offer a sweeter deal since it stands to get more and more wireless "switchers" as the iPhone attracts more users and gains more momentum.

[jsm386]

When the original iPhone came out, there were reports of 100+ field testers testing the iPhone for at least a few months. So it begs to reason that Apple would at least require a few months worth of testing before it had a model that was suitable for production on a CDMA network.

Just asking: Did anyone confirm the iPhone Gizmodo found contained a GSM chip aside from Gruber: According to Gizmodo, one of the barcodes attached to the unit read “N90_DVT_GE4X_0493”. According to several sources (of mine) familiar with the project, “N90” is Apple’s codename for the fourth-generation GSM iPhone, slated for release this June or July. http://daringfireball.net/2010/04/gizmodo_prototype_iphone

[JunkDNA]

From what I have read, There are serious technical difficulties getting voice working properly over LTE. So, any near-term rollout is going to likely include CDMA for voice and LTE for data.

As for testing, now that the iPhone is on the market, it would be easy to have testers in the field with CDMA units. There would be nothing to draw attention to the devices because they would look like every other iPhone on the outside.