Pegatron reportedly wins Apple contract for CDMA iPhone
A Taiwan newspaper is reporting that Apple has awarded a contract for building a CDMA iPhone to Pegatron Technologies.
The report comes from DigiTimes, which has an uneven track record on Apple in general, but a slightly better batting average when discussing the details of manufacturing contracts.
In February, DigiTimes announced Pegatron had won the contract for building the expected next generation UMTS iPhone 4. Previous iPhones have been built by Foxconn, which also builds Apple's Mac mini, iPods and the iPad, and is the company's main supplier.
Rumors surrounding the possibly of a CDMA iPhone model that Apple could sell through Verizon and Sprint have regularly surfaced throughout the iPhone's entire history, and have recently blossomed as speculation about the end of AT&T's exclusive contract in the US has reached a fevered pitch.
At the same time, DigiTimes has also reported rumors of an upcoming new iPad with an OLED display, which are almost certainly wrong. The paper also incorrectly announced in late 2006 that Apple was working with AMD to deliver notebooks using its CPUs, and then reported last year that Apple was building a netbook for delivery in 2009.
Pegatron is a three year old Taiwanese company formed during a restructuring of Asustek, which resulted in a split between Asustek's own Asus-branded products, its PC-related manufacturing performed under the Unihan name, and contract manufacturing under the Pegatron name.
The report comes from DigiTimes, which has an uneven track record on Apple in general, but a slightly better batting average when discussing the details of manufacturing contracts.
In February, DigiTimes announced Pegatron had won the contract for building the expected next generation UMTS iPhone 4. Previous iPhones have been built by Foxconn, which also builds Apple's Mac mini, iPods and the iPad, and is the company's main supplier.
Rumors surrounding the possibly of a CDMA iPhone model that Apple could sell through Verizon and Sprint have regularly surfaced throughout the iPhone's entire history, and have recently blossomed as speculation about the end of AT&T's exclusive contract in the US has reached a fevered pitch.
At the same time, DigiTimes has also reported rumors of an upcoming new iPad with an OLED display, which are almost certainly wrong. The paper also incorrectly announced in late 2006 that Apple was working with AMD to deliver notebooks using its CPUs, and then reported last year that Apple was building a netbook for delivery in 2009.
Pegatron is a three year old Taiwanese company formed during a restructuring of Asustek, which resulted in a split between Asustek's own Asus-branded products, its PC-related manufacturing performed under the Unihan name, and contract manufacturing under the Pegatron name.
Comments
No T-mobile? This is Sacrilege!
Tell me about it.
The only thing that has changed in the last 6 months is the upsurge in Android/Droid usage. Albeit, due to '2-for-1' promotions, multiple carriers and multiple models.
Google doesn't care about hardware (just like MS)...they will give it away to get the 'cream' which is advertising revenue.
Google for that matter doesn't care about software either....they will give that away too. Again for ad revenue!
So here we have Google giving away hardware (a la MS) and trumping MS by giving away the software...all for ad revenue!
Apple has done well to stay above fray but needs to setup a 'superior, Apple-like' search engine of their own and hurry up an develop the iAd.
Apple has superior hardware, software and now they need superior Search and target ad revenue!
No CDMA engineering hiring surge at Apple. Verizon CEO practically begging for the iPhone a couple of months ago (Apple partners normally clam up real fast when a deal is in the works). Selecting an unproven OEM PC supplier as the sole provider of a CDMA smartphone.
I'm not buying it.
I could see Apple testing Pegatron as the second supplier (next to Foxconn) for the next-generation iPhone, then eventually offering more work to Pegatron as it builds a good track record. To solely hand them such a (theoretically) important contract seems unlikely.
DigiTimes has such a spotty record, I'm inclined to dismiss this as poppycock. Maybe this should be moved to the Backpage Blog.
Though I'd love for it happen, even though I'll be staying with AT&T.
Apple has done well to stay above fray but needs to setup a 'superior, Apple-like' search engine of their own and hurry up an develop the iAd.
Apple has superior hardware, software and now they need superior Search and target ad revenue!
I think iAd will have a slow start, as the FTC is reportedly gauging its assessment of Google's acquisition of AdMob by whether or not they'll have a significant ad competitor in the mobile space.
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showp...1&postcount=20
In the United States, if such an iPhone will be developed, it might force AT&T and Verizon to compete more vigorously, in terms of their pricing. This may not always happen though because of the oligolopolistic market, where there are not enough competitors.
Another issue, GSM is more widespread worldwide than the CDMA. This may be resolved when the converging upgrade technologies that will be used by both AT&T and Verizon in the near future.
I don't buy it either. With Verizon rolling out LTE so soon, this makes little business sense for Apple.
As noted by many CDMA users, and this post, there is a large market for CDMA phones -- China being one good example. It is also the case that almost all telephone manufacturers, including Nokia, RIMM, and all those Asian manufacturers produce both types of phones that work for either GSM or CDMA. So, this argument is not valid.
Why would Apple use a new company and not the tried and tested? Color me not convinced.
Actually, Apple has done this in the past when its main product was the computer. The fact that Apple now has different manufacturers for some of its products attest to this. Since the CDMA is very different from GSM, maybe it was a good idea to have a different manufacturer. Note also that the "new company" is not really entirely new to Apple.
Its use of multiple manufacturers has proven to be a salvation when there was a problem in one location either technical, worker issues or even due to inclement weather. Read the next post by sheff, also.
CGC
I say this might be legit, but I think these phones will go to sprint rather then Verizon. Now that Palm is dead Sprint needs a new flagship phone. iPhone could be their last chance increase market share. Verizon seems to be very happy with Google-HTC and I don't think they want to piss any of those two off by selling the iPhone.
Why would Apple use a new company and not the tried and tested? Color me not convinced.
I'm not sold either.
Why would Apple use a new company and not the tried and tested? Color me not convinced.
Pegatron is not a new company. Read the article again. They are the OEM manufacturing arm of what used to be Asustek, which has been around for 20 years. I've built several PCs for friends using Asus motherboards and have been very impressed with their quality, design and features. I've also seen their CPU coolers (although I always spec Cooler Master for all the custom builds I do), DVD burners and netbooks. All quite solid. My own Hackintosh runs an Asus graphics card. Their manufacturing abilities are much better than you assume from your position of ignorance.
Pegatron is not a new company. Read the article again. They are the OEM manufacturing arm of what used to be Asustek, which has been around for 20 years. I've built several PCs for friends using Asus motherboards and have been very impressed with their quality, design and features. I've also seen their CPU coolers (although I always spec Cooler Master for all the custom builds I do), DVD burners and netbooks. All quite solid. My own Hackintosh runs an Asus graphics card. Their manufacturing abilities are much better than you assume from your position of ignorance.
I'm sure he meant 'new' as in not Foxconn. Try reading his post non-literally...
Yeeee UccccccK!
I just don't see Apple doing a cdma phone this year.