Will Apple offer the iPhone through Verizon Wireless? That question is being asked by industry analysts following a report Tuesday that the company is developing a CDMA-based iPhone.
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The report in The Wall Street Journal is attributed to unnamed people briefed by Apple. The current iPhone carrier partner in the U.S., ATT Wireless, uses GSM technology, while Verizon uses CDMA. Although Sprint Nextel also uses CDMA, Verizon is ATT’s largest competitor, and there has been speculation over the last few months that Verizon might acquire the iPhone after ATT’s exclusive period expires.
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‘Only Apple Knows’
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The report led to a four-month high Tuesday for Verizon’s stock price. Some analysts believe iPhone availability could mean an additional 3.5 million customers for the carrier within the first six months.
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Verizon and Apple have declined to comment on the story, but a spokesperson for ATT told news media that there has been speculation about a CDMA iPhone for a long time, and that only Apple knows when that might occur.
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While GSM is the most popular network standard in the world, a CDMA iPhone could be picked up by carriers in Asia, who also use the technology. In fact, some analysts are suggesting that, if the report about the manufacturing plans is accurate, the CDMA iPhones could be targeted toward those Asian carriers rather than Verizon.
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The Journal also reported that Apple intends to release a new iPhone model this summer as part of its regular upgrade cycle. The only details offered by the publication were that the new model will probably be thinner and have a faster processor than current versions.
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The competition between ATT and Verizon has been altered by the iPhone, which has helped ATT obtain 43 percent of smartphone customers in the U.S., and ATT’s growth in recent quarters has been largely driven by the iPhone….