CDMA iPhone in engineering tests, may arrive in January, says John Gruber
By Nilay Patel 
posted August 11th 2010 6:44PM
posted August 11th 2010 6:44PM
Now, Gruber is very careful to say that none of this is a sure thing, and that Apple's CDMA work could have nothing to do with Verizon specifically; it could be for Sprint, or for various international CDMA carriers. What's more, we definitely have our doubts about a CES announcement -- we're expecting to hear a lot about Verizon's LTE plans at the keynote, and it would certainly be an odd capstone to launch an incredibly high-profile CDMA device at the same time. (Not to mention Apple's historic aversion to sharing the spotlight with others at CES.) Even still, we've definitely been hearing noise about a CDMA Verizon iPhone from all manner of sources for months now -- if this is ever going to happen, we'd say this is the last time it's going to make any sense before both Verizon and AT&T start to get serious about 4G.
FINALLY CHANCES OF SOME GOOD SERVICE! And NO dropped calls like I get now.
@Juggernaut408 If this rumor is true, which would Verizon Promote more the iPhone or there Droid line-up?
@liftedngifted1 That is a really good question.
@Juggernaut408
$5 They don't fix the antenna design.
@Juggernaut408
I'll put money on there being no significant difference between service on at&t and verizon.
Apple's baseband has been known to be suspect.
Case in point, I don't have issues with dropped calls or bad service on at&t, ever. Been using at&t sine 2007
I bet they planned to use the CMDA iPhone as an excuse to upgrade to iPhone 5 or 4.5 or w/e they come up with, with a redesigned antenna, and a white version. Hehe.
@Juggernaut408 LOL @ your picture. This looks like the news you've been waiting for.
@Juggernaut408
Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me a bunch of other times, why are you so cruell!?
But... jailbroken iPhone on Sprint...
Okay, I'll believe you this time...
@Juggernaut408
I usually trust Gruber, and he's probably right on this, but I still feel that a CDMA phone just doesn't make sense, coming from Apple.
@Juggernaut408 Everyone is jumping on the January bandwagon apparently. I just don't get why Apple would re-release the iPhone 4 half way through the cycle.
@Juggernaut408
No, the signal problems and dropped calls are because of the iphone. Unless Apple makes drastic changes to the radio it will be the same situation on Verizon.
@zob Haha wouldn't it be weird if Verizon had the white iPhone before AT&T?
@liftedngifted1 i'd bet on the iPhone because the last time anyone cared about a droid, C3PO showed up in the second trilogy
@liftedngifted1
Apple will do all the promoting of the iPhone like it does now on AT&T. You don't see AT&T having the iPhone in there advertisements and this will also be true if it goes on any other carrier. Apple do not like carrier to use there phone to promote it's self or to battle other competing carriers.
@spartandre217 That might be true if it wasn't for the hundreds of Blackberry users at my work that complain about AT&T's shoddy service in the Los Angeles Metro area.
@dorothymantooth
Why wouldn't it make sense?? It would be like the first iPhone on edge and then the next one on 3G. Same thing would be on either Sprint/VZW launching it on only 3G and then release a LTE/WiMax version.
@WUSS
Well I guess it's congestion in that area then. I live in midtown Atl and I've never had service issues. Dropped calls, throttled data, nothing.
Hope that they will fix the "You are holding it wrong" issue for the next revision of phones.
@Shooter McGavin If the problem is with the iPhone, why are people around the world not complaining loudly about dropped calls?
Most of the dropped call problems happen in the tech blog heavy areas of San Francisco or New York, areas where it's known AT&Ts network is just simply overloaded. Is ti 100% on AT&T, probably not, but it's also not 100% Apple's fault since the phone seems to work fine in many other countries and networks.
@CJisohsocool
10 says they do.
@Juggernaut408 Is Apple still in a 5-year exclusivity deal?
@Juggernaut408
let the countdown to the mass exodus of AT&T iPhone users to Verizon begin!
@bob1000
Because hardcore apple fans will already have the Iphone 4, switch to verizon for the iPhone 4.5 CDMA version to get off AT&T crap network in January, then 6 months later pick up an iPhone 5. It sounds sad when i type it out but who doesnt know someone who will do this?
@Juggernaut408
What i thought Apple didn't do outdated technology. Next the'll be using flash and bringing buttons back.
@MJZimmer88 fail
Psh, won't believe it til I see it. ATT and Apple are still buddy buddy on the outside even if there is turmoil brewing within. There's still the issue with the 5-year exclusivity agreement.
@drakino
Uh, there are plenty of people who suffer from the iphone signal woes overseas. There are also plenty of phones on AT&T (read, not iphone) that have no problems with signal or dropped calls.
@Juggernaut408
Nope, I call false on this. CDMA iPhone doesn't make sense when Verizon is going to be ready to launch their LTE network in November, which is also in testing mode right now.
An iPhone 4G announcement early next year would make the most sense.
@Juggernaut408
I heard it's coming to MetroPCS first.
;)
@WUSS
ATT sux ass for me as well in the los angeles area...dropped calls to name a few.
@spartandre217 Are you kidding? AT&T vs. Verizon 3G coverage is like night and day. It's not just hype. I used Cingular in 2006-07 and it was the worst experience ever. When I was on AT&T in 2008 at one point, (and I live in midtown Phoenix) according to AT&T's website my house and work are blanketed with coverage. Bullshit. I couldn't get a signal anywhere inside.
@James
Except that AT&T is much faster than verizon and offers data & voice at same time. Why would people want to downgrade to verizon?
Verizon has already tested its network by way of the Droid and company. I don't think the iPhone will break it.
@Plazmic Flame I don't think it matters that much. The original iPhone launched all over the world in countries where 3G was already around for years.
@Juggernaut408 Who knows, maybe when 5 million users defect to VZW, AT&T's network won't be so clogged up and you might get better service!
@bob1000 I wish people would quit acting like everyone everywhere has the same results. I've used AT&T for over two years and have dropped precisely one call. I was on the highway at the time and probably transitioning between towers, at that.
I've carried my AT&T phone all across New England, and aside from a dead spot here and there -- which even Verizon has, despite their marketing to the contrary -- their coverage for me has been stellar.
@m3nphls
They'd be developing a piece of technology for one country. While the US is Apple's biggest market, I think Apple would stick to global standards. Gut feeling.
@liftedngifted1
The droid, the iPhone sells itself.
@bob1000
I don't get exactly what you're saying about 3G since I'm trying to point towards the point of Verizon launching their LTE network which would line up with the announcement of the iPhone 4G next year.
If Apple was going to break the mold and make an CDMA iPhone, they should have done it 2 years ago. Making one now would be pointless with Verizons LTE network (which uses SIM cards just like the majority of phones in the world) and would not require Apple to waste time making a new design.
I can't speak for other countries but the best example I got is Canada. The CDMA carriers wanted in on the iPhone game and (along with other reasons) they teamed up and built an HSPA network (which will upgrade to LTE) and now they got the iPhone. The same thing is happening now with Verizon, they are building a new network which will allow them to get access to iPhone customers.
@CJisohsocool
They actually are fixing the antenna design with a rounder back
@Juggernaut408 AT&T posted it's private dropped call data recently and it doesn't fit your narrative.
I'm not saying AT&T is the greatest cell carrier known to man or anything even close to that. I am saying that based on the most recent data any of us have to go on, AT&T is in a dead heat with Verizon in terms of dropped calls.
The myth that AT&T is really terrible and drops calls constantly only seems to be ringing true in NY, SF, and a few other high volume/density markets.
If reading this makes you angry you should really examine the way you identify yourself with your phone and your wireless provider.
@Andy Anonymous I have never spent too much time in the east coast, and never used Cingular/AT&T there, but I have heard that AT&T has some very good coverage there. But I am not the only one who has companied about AT&T in the west. It's like they don't even exist in the west coast states.
@bob1000
Maybe the white iPhone was always destined to be a Verizon exclusive. Apple just didn't want to break the news to AT&T. ;-)
@Juggernaut408
A CDMA IPhone on Verizon network? Yeah right...when pigs fly...
I've had Iphones since the day they came out for At&t. I have been a loyal customer due to only one reason.. The Iphone. I can't WAIT till Verizon get's it, so i could be happy switching and showing At&t the big finger.
@Plazmic Flame It's all about sales. Apple is company like all the rest. Why wouldn't Apple build a 3G iPhone, and then release a 4G one to sell to everyone later on Verizon?
New years resolutions get cdma iphone and load gingerbread .....who's with me? Then got the gaming phone from sony
@N900
Probably not, you can usually revise contracts. Also some believe that AT&T having the iPad dataplan renegotiated the iPhone deal.
@Juggernaut408
i know...
and personally, I'm not looking forward to verizon...I'd really love to see what this could do with sprint's wimax.
@TheAngryIntern Uhh more like 50 million