Rumor: Apple has built, tested CDMA iPhone, but no Verizon deal yet
Apple has already built a Verizon-compatible CDMA iPhone that is being "perfected all the time," but it's not likely that a formal deal with Verizon is in place, according to a new rumor.
Responding to this week's report from Bloomberg which claimed that Apple will launch a Verizon iPhone in January of 2011, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop shared some information on the subject Thursday. He likened the CDMA iPhone allegedly being tested and perfected at Apple to the Intel-powered version of Mac OS X that the company kept under wraps for years.
"Apple already has a Verizon compatible iPhone," Dalrymple said. "It's not that they have to rush around Apple HQ and start building the thing for a January launch with Verizon."
But he went on to say that he does not believe that a deal with Verizon has been finalized. He said that it's likely the two companies are in negotiations, and the leak provided to Bloomberg may have been another negotiating tactic.
"I'm sure the negotiations are very tense, and I believe, ongoing," he wrote.
Also this week, John Gruber of Daring Fireball said that a new Verizon-compatible phone would not be a holdup for a potential deal with Apple. He, too, said that the CDMA iPhone is similar to the Intel-compatible version of Mac OS X.
"It's all strategy and negotiations," Gruber said. "I wouldn't have been shocked if they'd gone to Verizon a year ago, and wouldn't be shocked if it doesn't happen for another two or three years. But whenever the time comes, hardware won't hold it up."
Responding to this week's report from Bloomberg which claimed that Apple will launch a Verizon iPhone in January of 2011, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop shared some information on the subject Thursday. He likened the CDMA iPhone allegedly being tested and perfected at Apple to the Intel-powered version of Mac OS X that the company kept under wraps for years.
"Apple already has a Verizon compatible iPhone," Dalrymple said. "It's not that they have to rush around Apple HQ and start building the thing for a January launch with Verizon."
But he went on to say that he does not believe that a deal with Verizon has been finalized. He said that it's likely the two companies are in negotiations, and the leak provided to Bloomberg may have been another negotiating tactic.
"I'm sure the negotiations are very tense, and I believe, ongoing," he wrote.
Also this week, John Gruber of Daring Fireball said that a new Verizon-compatible phone would not be a holdup for a potential deal with Apple. He, too, said that the CDMA iPhone is similar to the Intel-compatible version of Mac OS X.
"It's all strategy and negotiations," Gruber said. "I wouldn't have been shocked if they'd gone to Verizon a year ago, and wouldn't be shocked if it doesn't happen for another two or three years. But whenever the time comes, hardware won't hold it up."
Comments
VZ (VERIZON) is as stingy as AAPL (APPLE) - Vcast for music and iTunes for music respectively they both want the $$$$ from the downloads.
"Apple already has a Verizon compatible iPhone," Dalrymple said. "It's not that they have to rush around Apple HQ and start building the thing for a January launch with Verizon."
But he went on to say that he does not believe that a deal with Verizon has been finalized. He said that it's likely the two companies are in negotiations, and the leak provided to Bloomberg may have been another negotiating tactic.
"I'm sure the negotiations are very tense, and I believe, ongoing," he wrote.
A wag noted some time ago that the main sticking point was Verizon's insistence on a Verizon logo on the phone.
My own guess is that they're insisting on a piece of the App Store.
Sorry, VZ -- neither of these will happen.
Can we please have a story on that, AI, with me listed as the source?
That would have made for an interesting WWDC keynote speech.
I wonder what the media reaction would have been if Gizmodo 'acquired' a CDMA test unit instead of the GSM unit.
That would have made for an interesting WWDC keynote speech.
so true!
A wag noted some time ago that the main sticking point was Verizon's insistence on a Verizon logo on the phone.
Maybe that's not such a bad thing! After all....maybe Verizon customers actually want to advertise that their iPhone can stick through a 10 minute call without dropping 3 times! And that Verizon logo is the "I can make calls!" badge...
In all seriousness, every single other carrier in the world has agreed to not putting their logo on the iPhone. I doubt this is a "major" sticking point for VZ.
Could be for SPRINT as they are CDMA also. Though the 2012 exclusive deal with AT&T seems to again speculate all this is RUMOR! Plus there are other countries that are running CDMA as well so stop thinking small - Think GLOBALLY
VZ (VERIZON) is as stingy as AAPL (APPLE) - Vcast for music and iTunes for music respectively they both want the $$$$ from the downloads.
The problem with Sprint is that they would need Apple to develop a WiMax+EVDO product. Verizon are launching LTE which is more of a worldwide standard so a Verizon phone *today* would be EVDO only, and then in 6/12/24 months they'd want to have one that is LTE+EVDO. LTE+EVDO is Qualcomm's speciality and this makes for an expensive phone.
This is why AT&T have the short to medium term advantage. They will move to HSPA+ which can easily offer the same bandwidth as LTE and WiMax without the massively disrupting addition of a new and incompatible technology. There isn't enough spectrum out there to allow LTE to reach its full potential in the near term anyway...
Apple has already built a Verizon-compatible CDMA iPhone that is being "perfected all the time," but it's not likely that a formal deal with Verizon is in place, according to a new rumor.
Responding to this week's report from Bloomberg which claimed that Apple will launch a Verizon iPhone in January of 2011, Jim Dalrymple of The Loop shared some information on the subject Thursday. He likened the CDMA iPhone allegedly being tested and perfected at Apple to the Intel-powered version of Mac OS X that the company kept under wraps for years.
"Apple already has a Verizon compatible iPhone," Dalrymple said. "It's not that they have to rush around Apple HQ and start building the thing for a January launch with Verizon."
But he went on to say that he does not believe that a deal with Verizon has been finalized. He said that it's likely the two companies are in negotiations, and the leak provided to Bloomberg may have been another negotiating tactic.
"I'm sure the negotiations are very tense, and I believe, ongoing," he wrote.
Also this week, John Gruber of Daring Fireball said that a new Verizon-compatible phone would not be a holdup for a potential deal with Apple. He, too, said that the CDMA iPhone is similar to the Intel-compatible version of Mac OS X.
"It's all strategy and negotiations," Gruber said. "I wouldn't have been shocked if they'd gone to Verizon a year ago, and wouldn't be shocked if it doesn't happen for another two or three years. But whenever the time comes, hardware won't hold it up."
I know you guys live on rumours but this is rumour mongering at it's worst. It's almost certainly a circular rumour-feeding-off-of-rumour situation.
In the first place, Gruber has actually *not* said that there was a CDMA phone already in production, he just said he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Most other people wouldn't either. Gruber actually doesn't know anything and said as much in his original article.
Secondly, the guy from the loop seems to be basically relying on Gruber for evidence of the CDMA phone. Then you publish both views as if they are backing each other up, when in fact we could easily be just listening to an echo chamber.
Knowing how Apple operates, it is indeed likely that they have a test CDMA phone in the lab, but your reporting of it here as fact and the way you've stacked these rumours together to make a story out of nothing is inaccurate, unconscionable, and just plain false.
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderd...d=yahoobarrons
Oppenheimer contends that a CDMA phone ?will probably not be as streamlined as AT&T?s iPhone 4,? and will be on a slower network.
I doubt that Apple will ever sell an iPhone that can't be as thin or whose battery can't last as long as the GSM version.
Verizon, please shit or get off the pot. If you wait much longer, ATT will have fixed their network and no one will give a darn anymore.
I know you guys live on rumours but this is rumour mongering at it's worst. It's almost certainly a circular rumour-feeding-off-of-rumour situation.
In the first place, Gruber has actually *not* said that there was a CDMA phone already in production, he just said he wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Most other people wouldn't either. Gruber actually doesn't know anything and said as much in his original article.
Secondly, the guy from the loop seems to be basically relying on Gruber for evidence of the CDMA phone. Then you publish both views as if they are backing each other up, when in fact we could easily be just listening to an echo chamber.
Knowing how Apple operates, it is indeed likely that they have a test CDMA phone in the lab, but your reporting of it here as fact and the way you've stacked these rumours together to make a story out of nothing is inaccurate, unconscionable, and just plain false.
Ummm... the title of the this article is - 'RUMOR:....', not FACT.
Secondly, the guy from the loop seems to be basically relying on Gruber for evidence of the CDMA phone. Then you publish both views as if they are backing each other up, when in fact we could easily be just listening to an echo chamber.
Daring Fireball: "The well-sourced Jim Dalrymple has heard the same thing I have..."
I doubt John Gruber would claim that he is the reason that Dalrymple is 'well-sourced'. This sounds like they each have independent sources for this, and based on previous DF claims of pre-launch Apple products I think Gruber only passes along rumors that he himself can trace to multiple sources. It's not a rumor-mongering site by any means.
There are Billions and Billions of dollars to be made or lost in this industry. There are many analysts, employees, stock holders (etc) who want to make you believe that the Verizon iPhone is "just around the corner". They have a hidden agenda here.....to delay the exodus of their customers to AT&T (or T-Mobile who will probably be next).
Don't you think it's more than a coincidence that these rumors get propagated right around the same time as the next version of the iPhone is announced and introduced?
Daring Fireball: " This sounds like they each have independent sources for this, and based on previous DF claims of pre-launch Apple products I think Gruber only passes along rumors that he himself can trace to multiple sources. It's not a rumor-mongering site by any means.
I agree.
I don't know why some people have such a difficult time accepting VZ as an iPhone carrier.
Its going to be good for both sides when it happens and it going to happen. Its only a matter of time and each side hashing out the details.
PS are you dlux at ars as well?
...a major step back at worst, done to appease Verizon and Sprint while they sit on their asses while the rest of the world moves to HSPA and LTE.
Actually, Verizon is leading the way in the US in terms of LTE deployment.
(And conceivably Sprint can switch to LTE in the future if WiMax doesn't work out - the next versions of each are hedging their bets in that direction in terms of compatibility.)
Nonetheless, CDMA for Apple would be a stopgap, albeit a potentially multi-billion-dollar-revenue stopgap.