Apple said to be working on 'world mode' iPhone
The new Verizon Droid, like many a high-profile smartphone just coming onto the market, has been hailed by some as a potential--you know what's coming--iPhone killer. (Chronicling the very first Droid sales in Manhattan the other day, CNET's Maggie Reardon observed that the gadget may actually turn out to be more of a BlackBerry killer.)
But does Verizon Wireless want to deliver a knockout to the iPhone? There's long been speculation that the carrier would sooner or later be offering the Apple smartphone, which since its launch has been solely in the hands of AT&T in the United States. (In some other countries, Apple has deals with multiple carriers.)
The latest posting to suggest an imminent rapprochement between Verizon and the iPhone comes from the AppleInsider blog, which on Friday said that it's gotten wind of Apple having contracted to build a Verizon iPhone that would debut in the third quarter of 2010.
More broadly, according to AppleInsider, the new "hybrid iPhone" will work on both the GSM/UMTS and the CDMA systems, meaning that Apple will be able "to sell a single global handset to all carriers, and specifically to Verizon Wireless in the US." In the U.S., carriers AT&T and T-Mobile are in the GSM/UMTS camp, while Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel are in the CDMA camp. (For more on that topic, see "Going abroad? Don't be afraid to pack the cell phone.")
The "world mode" phone reportedly would have a 2.8-inch screen--that is, roughly 20 percent smaller than the screen on the existing iPhone.
AppleInsider cites a report from the investment research firm OTR Global, which in turn cites "sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain." According to AppleInsider:
The report by OTR Global, provided to AppleInsider by an industry analyst, says the new "world mode" iPhone will gain compatibility with CDMA2000 networks (including Verizon's US network, which is currently incompatible with existing iPhone models) while retaining compatibility with UMTS 3G networks globally using a new hybrid chip produced by Qualcomm.According to OTR's sources, Asustek subsidiary Pegatron will build the new hybrid phone devices for Apple rather than Hon Hai, the iPhone's current manufacturer. This decision was reportedly made to prevent the company from being "constrained by a single-source assembler."
In the third quarter of 2009, Apple shipped 7.4 million iPhones worldwide, raising its global market share slightly to 17 percent, according to market researcher IDC.
Apple, Verizon, and OTR were not immediately available for comment.
See also:
• Inside the Motorola Droid, an iPhone likeness
• Slow start for the Motorola Droid?
• Survey shows iPhone threatens BlackBerry; Palm holds steady
Jonathan Skillings is managing editor of CNET News, based in the Boston bureau. He's been with CNET since 2000, after a decade in tech journalism at the IDG News Service, PC Week, and an AS/400 magazine. He's also been a soldier and a schoolteacher. E-mail Jon. 
What doesn't make sense is a 2.8" screen. The resolution wouldn't necessarily be a problem -- Apple can put in a screen that size with the same 480x320 resolution as the current 3.5" screen. What will be a problem is the touch-screen keyboard. I've never ever heard anyone complain it was too big, and 2.8" is exactly (not "roughly") 20% smaller -- a non-trivial difference. Not gonna happen, sez me.
i think the article based its computation like this:
2.8 - 3.5 = 0.7
0.7 / 3.5 = 0.2 or 20%
cheers!
To calculate the change in size, you need to calculate the surface area, which is height times width. The 3.5" iPhone has an approximately 2"x3" screen, or a surface area of 5.65 square inches.
A 2.5" iPhone with the same shape screen would be approximately, 1.5"x2.3", or about 3.6 square inches.
Done to more significant digits (I cut off digits in the numbers above), you get a 36% change in surface area, which is how much smaller it actually would be.
To repeat, it's 2.8", not 2.5" so your calculations are wrong.
why would apple ship such a small screen. that is a compromise for many Verizon customers.
I don't want to hear about a compass, video fps upgrades, better web access... If I can't make a phone call, I'll have to get another phone!
The situation is much different for 3G. In hybrid 2G/3G GSM/EDGE/HSPA networks, CDMA/EVDO will be more power efficient in day-to-day use because 2G and 3G can co-exist in the same frequencies. HSPDA and 2G GSM cannot. Also, power consumption for all 3G networks is poor so it is a moot point.
As witnessed daily here at Cnet, there are a lot of people who are very passionate about their chosen technology and will go with a carrier they don't like to get the phone they want. If Verizon can compete in the iPhone, Android, WinMo and BB markets, they provide an option for everyone, don't they? Seems like a great business move to me.
As if Apple is going to say "You called us names, you meany! We're going to take our iPhones and go home!"
Verizon would love to sell Droids & the iPhone -- all their bases are covered. The only real question (and it's a doozy) is whether Verizon will be willing to give up control of their network, the way AT&T agreed to do, and the way Verizon refused to do when rejecting Apple's overtures in 2006. I won't make a prediction either way; Verizon has a my-way-or-the-highway mentality, just like Apple. So maybe not a good match.
Plus, lets not forget the average person in this country has short short short attention span. What was I saying?
They'll forget a commercial within 3 months.
Back then, it would have made good sense to make a CDMA phone, as the LTE rollout was still years away, and Apple would have had plenty of time to engineer a GSM phone.
As it is now, it's a tough call. It's a lot of R&D to make a "world-mode" iPhone, and the need for CDMA will mostly go away in a few years.
Oh, wait . . .
Re: power, GSM and CDMA wouldn't be active simultaneously -- it would be one or the other, depending on the network you were on. No reason a "world-mode" phone would suck more power.
Given Verizon's strategic moves in the past couple years, it's hard to imagine anything has changed. But I'm not making a prediction; it's theoretically possible Verizon could come to their senses.
Eventually both UMTS and CDMA2000 is probably going to get replaced by LTE in which case I'm betting well see the iPhone-4G. How soon until we see LTE networks is a good question - Wikipedia said the start of 2009 in the US but here we are at the end and still waiting....
The GSM iPhone is ALREADY a world-mode phone.
Bzzzzt!
Softbank has been selling the iPhone for years in Japan.
You picked the wrong Asian country to prove your point. Please try again.
In 2010 Verizon supposedly starts rolling out with LTE. The only thing I can think is that maybe it will
allow it to work with Verizon's old network. Again though I wonder, as Verizon will be dismantling their CDMA network when they roll out with LTE(as previous reports have stated)?
Verizon already has LTE in a testing site some where near Boston, according to reports,
and is planning a big LTE roll out in 2010, Sprint has WiMax in select locations, but only for wireless modems
There is a lot that is gray. At&t is planning on further increasing the size of its 3G network till it rolls out with its 4G(LTE)
network in 2011.
Maybe there is something im missing maybe there is some stuff i am reading online that is wrong. Until it is something physically there its all speculation.
'According to Melone, Verizon?s CDMA/1xRTT network is very stable for voice services and will remain in place until 2018 or even 2020.'
I don't know what blog sites you're reading, but I would tend to believe the public statements of Verizon's CTO over a blog site.
Unless I'm missing something.
I don't see why it would take years and years and result in a smaller screen.
Cdoy
I thought you were going to finish off your punchline with...
"Furthermore, I doubt you have a wife."
haha! Cheers!
Lars_Pallesen: As far as my dislikes, I have never owned a Mac before like everyone else, I heard all of this great hype and was in need of a new mac so I bought a macbook Pro. I've had it less than a year and become more and more frustrated with it as time goes on. 1) As of late, I'm getting an error screen telling me I have to hold the power button to shut down because it froze up 2)Recently, I was having HDD space issues for some reason and magically a reboot "cleared" 80GB of room? Explain that one. 3) Integrating into a windows based home network and backup drive is a pain. I can get it connect, but is shaky and often disconnects on me for no reason while doing backups to the drive. 4) You could start a fire with how hot this thing gets. I have one of those fan coolers under it and it's STILL almost too hot to keep on your lap for an extended period of time. A friend of mine has one that actually shuts itself off because it gets too hot.
I can go on but, these are just a few.
Take it for what you want, but I no longer bite on anything Apple. No worth the price tag (especially in computers)
And your post is typical of the anti-Apple
How long has your wife had the Droid? A couple of months?
You say you are disappointed with your MacBook Pro, why do you still have it?
I stand by my suspicions
Oh and FYI, day 2 with the Droid and still every bit as good as advertised.
Have fun with your overpriced mac and your nice Iphone with shotty AT&T service. lol
This is why everyone is switching over to UMTS/LTE