Do you think making a CDMA version iPhone on top of the GSM verision was smart?

[palmerc2]

It may cause some confusion for the average consumer, being 2 different kinds of iPhone's. 1 only working on ATT and 1 only working on Verizon, for now.

I read somewhere that there is a hybrid chip that supports both GSM and CDMA, hopefully this tech will be available on the next revision.

My main reason for making this post is because of the confusion it will bring onto people, and the lack of compatibility. It would be like 2 different versions of the macbook pro, 1 only works with one ISP and the other only works with another ISP....it's just not streamline.

Was apple so anxious to get it to verizon, and vice versa, they rushed it? I just see this hurting a little bit down the road, thats all....

 

[aristobrat]

Hybrid chips cost more, so you almost always still see a phone manufacturer make one model for CDMA networks (that supports both CDMA and GSM), then a second model that only supports GSM.

 

[kdarling]

People in the US have managed for many years with multiple phone models, so they'll manage now.

Of course, all other phones have carrier branding which makes the difference quite clear.

 

[wordoflife]

Oh it can't be terrible. I'm sure when you go to the Apple Store and say "I need to buy an iPhone" they'll say "which carrier do you want?"

 

[palmerc2]

Oh it can't be terrible. I'm sure when you go to the Apple Store and say "I need to buy an iPhone" they'll say "which carrier do you want?"

everyone here can make the distinction, but joe blow plumber possibly can't....thats all, just speaking my mind

 

[Applejuiced]

Offcourse it was smart, they'll make tons of money with it.
They will let the Verizon or AT&T reps worry about confused customers

 

[MarlboroLite]

It's been this way for years....there were razrs for gsm carriers and identical razrs for verizon and sprint....same with blackberries and treos and nokias and pretty much every other manufacturer.

I don't know why Apple chose to not make the VZ phone a "world phone"...possibly cost, possibly design compromises, who knows? But they could have done it if they wanted to as the tech exists, they just chose not to.

Eventually we will be back to a single iPhone in a few years as LTE takes hold around the world.

 

[molala]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/5.0.019802/22.414; U; en) Presto/2.5.25 Version/10.54)

There will be a some people who will need more guidance from the Apple Store employees. But that should be fine, employees can find out from customers' current phones which carrier they use. Also, if it's activated in store, then there's less risk of providing the wrong phone.

 

[macsrcool1234]

everyone here can make the distinction, but joe blow plumber possibly can't....thats all, just speaking my mind

Uh, no. Most people can take a simple look at their bill and determine carrier. It's not a rocket science to figure out what carrier you have.

Jesus, where do you people think this #$%^ up?

 

[jav6454]

It will be easy to tell customers the difference. One iPhone has a SIM slot, the other doesn't. The one with the SIM slot only works with AT&T, and vice-versa.

Now, as to the hybrid CDMA-GSM iPhone. It is not going to happen ever. This one all engineers are going to agree with me. The current iPhone barely has space for one radio. They had to go the microSIM route to make it work. Having an extra radio is not possible, unless they make the iPhone fatter or bigger, which I highly doubt Jobs will allow.

 

[callmemike20]

The only mistake that I see is the slight movement of the side buttons. Before, all iPhone cases were made for the current generation and you knew it would work as long as it said iPhone 4. Consumers are now going to have to make sure their case works with the carrier version they have.

Every single time I'm in an Apple store, people are already confused as heck when looking through the case sections. "Oh, this is for the iPhone 4." "iPod 3G, where's the iTouch cases?"

 

[jpetticrew]

The only mistake that I see is the slight movement of the side buttons. Before, all iPhone cases were made for the current generation and you knew it would work as long as it said iPhone 4. Consumers are now going to have to make sure their case works with the carrier version they have.

Every single time I'm in an Apple store, people are already confused as heck when looking through the case sections. "Oh, this is for the iPhone 4." "iPod 3G, where's the iTouch cases?"

Yea, the pain will come when people have to ask if their case will work work with their iPhone 4 and why the iPhone 4 case they bought doesn't work with their iPhone 4.

 

[Small White Car]

I'm sorry, but this thread is actually insulting to almost everyone in the U.S.

Yes, there are many threads on subjects like "most people don't know the difference between RAM and a hard drive" or "the general public doesn't know what GSM is."

And you know what...those kind of statements are accurate. A lot of people don't know all this stuff. Not everyone is going to know everything. That's cool.

But this question goes too far. It's akin to asking "How can they sell rat poison in stores? Won't people eat it and die?" I mean...really.

What is the OP suggesting? That someone will walk into a Verizon store when they really wanted to buy an AT&T phone? (D'oh!) Or does he think they'll tell the Apple employee "I'm on AT&T" when they really wanted a Verizon phone? I mean, which scenario is he pushing here? Which one is even remotely believable?

At a certain point you cross the line from saying "not everyone knows everything" over to "everyone is a complete imbecile!" This thread is way, way over that line.

I mean, let me ask you this, OP. Do you find it confusing that the Apple store sells Macbook charging cables and iPhone charging cables? Should Apple look into their "problem" of having multiple cables? Seriously...what prompted this question?

 

[Rooftop voter]

Uh, no. Most people can take a simple look at their bill and determine carrier. It's not a rocket science to figure out what carrier you have.

Jesus, where do you people think this #$%^ up?

No kidding.

 

[Geckotek]

I think the OP is on crack. This is nothing new to the US market in any way.

Now, as to the hybrid CDMA-GSM iPhone. It is not going to happen ever. This one all engineers are going to agree with me. The current iPhone barely has space for one radio. They had to go the microSIM route to make it work. Having an extra radio is not possible, unless they make the iPhone fatter or bigger, which I highly doubt Jobs will allow.

I think you are forgeting there is a CDMA/GSM chip out there and it's already been placed in some thin smartphones I believe. So as long as it's not to big...it could happen. If it's not small enough today, it could be 6-12 months from now.


However, with LTE coming out, it's more likely that they'll just launch LTE/CDMA and LTE/WCDMA phones first. We won't see a single model until a very small and power efficient LTE/CDMA/WCDMA chip is made. And this may be years from now.

 

[Eso]

Now, as to the hybrid CDMA-GSM iPhone. It is not going to happen ever.

At least you were smart enough to not technically say "never" - that way you can deny it later when the time comes just like the Verizon iPhone.

 

[drummingcraig]

everyone here can make the distinction, but joe blow plumber possibly can't....thats all, just speaking my mind

I can't see how it will be any different than the current state of affairs. The customer is going to get their device from one of three places:

1. Apple
2. Their respective carrier or a licensed dealer
3. 3rd party reseller (ebay, craiglist, guy on street corner with trench coat,etc)

Numbers 1 and 2 aren't going to sell them the wrong phone. So their only risk of getting screwed is by buying from #3, and folks have been buying iPhones to use with "Carrier X" since day one only to get home and find out they just wasted their money. Its buyer beware like always.

 

[Ashin]

Average Joe doesn't even know what GSM or CDMA even is, they just know what network they are on and don't give a damn

 

[maflynn]

The only mistake that I see is the slight movement of the side buttons.

The thing here is, apple fixed the antenna issue, and that resolution required a slight modification to the button placement.

I can't say this is a mistake because it resolves the deathgrip problem.

 

[mpossoff]

Average Joe doesn't even know what GSM or CDMA even is, they just know what network they are on and don't give a damn

That's true. In the USA customers aren't educated about the specifics.

I've been an att customer for years and in my area att works great. I know Verizon customers and Verizon is also great in the same area.

 

[scaredpoet]

I'm sorry, but this thread is actually insulting to almost everyone in the U.S.

Yes, there are many threads on subjects like "most people don't know the difference between RAM and a hard drive" or "the general public doesn't know what GSM is."

I used to think threads like this were insulting. Then I got into IT. It's surprisingly accurate, unfortunately. And not only are there amazingly large numbers of uneducated people out there, but they refuse to learn, and they refuse to accept the consequences of not learning, and expect others who constantly hold their hands and clean up their messes, and forgive their costly mistakes.

But this question goes too far. It's akin to asking "How can they sell rat poison in stores? Won't people eat it and die?" I mean...really.

I too am an advocate of self responsibility. And if you don't know what you're doing or what you're buying, you deserve what you get.

The problem is, there's going to be SOME guy out there who will make a stink that his Verizon iPhone will not work on AT&T (or vice versa), and blame the carriers, or Apple, or all of the above. And then they'll try and do a class action lawsuit. And the courts will actually entertain the buffoon's legal actions.

Mark my words, it'll happen.

 

[drummingcraig]

I'm sorry, but this thread is actually insulting to almost everyone in the U.S.

Yes, there are many threads on subjects like "most people don't know the difference between RAM and a hard drive" or "the general public doesn't know what GSM is."

And you know what...those kind of statements are accurate. A lot of people don't know all this stuff. Not everyone is going to know everything. That's cool.

But this question goes too far. It's akin to asking "How can they sell rat poison in stores? Won't people eat it and die?" I mean...really.

What is the OP suggesting? That someone will walk into a Verizon store when they really wanted to buy an AT&T phone? (D'oh!) Or does he think they'll tell the Apple employee "I'm on AT&T" when they really wanted a Verizon phone? I mean, which scenario is he pushing here? Which one is even remotely believable?

At a certain point you cross the line from saying "not everyone knows everything" over to "everyone is a complete imbecile!" This thread is way, way over that line.

I mean, let me ask you this, OP. Do you find it confusing that the Apple store sells Macbook charging cables and iPhone charging cables? Should Apple look into their "problem" of having multiple cables? Seriously...what prompted this question?

I respectfully disagree with you completely on this. As I posted in this thread earlier, I don't think that Verizon getting the iPhone is going to create much more confusion than already exists. However, I do think that you are giving the general public more credit then they deserve on this subject.

People understand that different appliances require different power cables because its something they deal with on a daily basis. My computer needs a different power cord then my printer, and my cell phone power supply won't charge my electric razor, etc etc. How often do people deal with the in's & outs of buying a new cell phone, much less switching carriers entirely? Remember, I am not talking about the tech savvy gadget guru who always wants the latest and the greatest. I am talking about the average person who doesn't understand that one cell phone doesn't not automatically jive with any carrier.

And we're not just talking about knowing the difference between CDMA & GSM, but also *which* company supports *which* format, and how those devices interact with each respective network. Think about someone who has only ever used GSM phones with SIM cards. Unless they go out of their way to learn about it, they're not going to automatically know that switching CDMA phones is not as simple as popping a SIM card in & out.

I can quickly think of *at least* 10 people I know (who are not morons drooling into a napkin) that wouldn't know the difference between those things and would need to ask for help. As I said in my other post, if they buy from a dealer they'll be fine. But those folks who go to 3rd party sellers are the ones at risk for getting burned.

 

[mpossoff]

I respectfully disagree with you completely on this. As I posted in this thread earlier, I don't think that Verizon getting the iPhone is going to create much more confusion than already exists. However, I do think that you are giving the general public more credit then they deserve on this subject.

People understand that different appliances require different power cables because its something they deal with on a daily basis. My computer needs a different power cord then my printer, and my cell phone power supply won't charge my electric razor, etc etc. How often do people deal with the in's & outs of buying a new cell phone, much less switching carriers entirely? Remember, I am not talking about the tech savvy gadget guru who always wants the latest and the greatest. I am talking about the average person who doesn't understand that one cell phone doesn't not automatically jive with any carrier.

And we're not just talking about knowing the difference between CDMA & GSM, but also *which* company supports *which* format, and how those devices interact with each respective network. Think about someone who has only ever used GSM phones with SIM cards. Unless they go out of their way to learn about it, they're not going to automatically know that switching CDMA phones is not as simple as popping a SIM card in & out.

I can quickly think of *at least* 10 people I know (who are not morons drooling into a napkin) that wouldn't know the difference between those things and would need to ask for help. As I said in my other post, if they buy from a dealer they'll be fine. But those folks who go to 3rd party sellers are the ones at risk for getting burned.

But in reality does it really matter? In regards to being able to make calls and use the Internet is what matters.

What should be investigated is which carrier provides best coverage in your area.

 

[drummingcraig]

But in reality does it really matter? In regards to being able to make calls and use the Internet is what matters.

What should be investigated is which carrier provides best coverage in your area.

Do you even know what we're talking about here????

 

[kdarling]

It's been this way for years....there were razrs for gsm carriers and identical razrs for verizon and sprint....same with blackberries and treos and nokias and pretty much every other manufacturer.

+1000. Empirical proof that it won't be a problem for the majority. Most Americans are used to buying phones per carrier, not per protocol.

It will be easy to tell customers the difference. One iPhone has a SIM slot, the other doesn't. The one with the SIM slot only works with AT&T, and vice-versa.

Good point, also.