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MorphingDragon

macrumors 603
Mar 27, 2009
5,160
6
The World Inbetween
CDMA isnt going anywhere in the next 5 years at least. Much longer than the useful lifetime of an iphone. Apple could sell 10 million iphones on VZW in a few months. Do the math, that's a lot of cash for Jobs & co.

It all depends how Apple is organising their workforce. It could be far more profitable for Apple to simply work on a GSM phone and use that extra man power to say research ways of making the screen break less? Or making more funky designs and features that slowly warm on people.

Or here's another theory, Apple is simply contempt in the market they're in now. No real threat of Anti-Trust. The exclusive deal between AT&T and Apple is meaningless as they could've made a CDMA phone overseas by now.
 

TimUSCA

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2006
701
1,539
Aiken, SC
People CDMA is dead in the southern hemisphere and has hit a brick wall in terms of technological progress. It would be silly for a company to release a phone for something that they know will be dead soon.

Well that's a stupid argument… that's like saying Apple shouldn't invest in 3G since 3G won't be around anymore eventually. Even if CDMA was leaving us in 3 years (which it isn't), it'd STILL be worth making an iPhone. That's a lot of untaped customer base sitting over there.

Your argument wouldn't just stop with the iPhone either… I guess that means Motorola and HTC are wasting money by making phones for Verizon? Hardly.
 

QCassidy352

macrumors G5
Mar 20, 2003
12,028
6,036
Bay Area
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

mysticbluebmw said:
That would be great. Then we we'll start seeing all the posts about how Verizon sucks once they get hammered like AT&T.

We just need to spread the pain around. No, I don't think vzn could have handled the iPhone as the exclusive carrier, and I know t-mo and sprint couldn't have. But if some of the load leaves AT&T for another network, they might both be Ok, or at least better than AT&T is now.
 

WannaGoMac

macrumors 68030
Feb 11, 2007
2,721
3,990
I decided to not upgrade my iPhone 3GS because of AT&T network is driving me nuts. I believe in about 1yr the Android GUI will be significantly improved and not such a huge difference from iPhone usability. Steve et al are leaving a lot of money on the table and Android is sneaking up on them fast....
 

MorphingDragon

macrumors 603
Mar 27, 2009
5,160
6
The World Inbetween
this data is a few years old...

"For the first time, there is now more than one mobile service for every Australian, with 21.26 million mobile phone services in operation at 30 June 2007"

That is just noise compared to the close to 300+ Million CDMA subscribers in the US and Asia.

GL

Im not talking about importance in terms of Subscribers, Im talking about importance economically. Australia's a big player whether if you want to admit it or not.

Your argument wouldn't just stop with the iPhone either… I guess that means Motorola and HTC are wasting money by making phones for Verizon? Hardly.

So is that's why Motorolas operating income must be falling, They're wasting good money trying to develop phones for Verizon. ;)


It's just like the iPad. Most everyone I've talked to about it thinks it's worthless, just a big iPod Touch... And for most people that's about it. But Apple's selling millions of them.

Regardless of whether or not CDMA is a viable long term solution, Apple will sell millions of the iPhones to VZW customers.

Apple is a business. The goal of business is to make money. Apple will make money on this.

That's an un-useful comparison.

The iPad is a new piece of technology. CDMA is a mature Cellphone standard that has been implemented in several countries, but is now being killed off.
 

tthere5

macrumors member
Sep 9, 2006
81
0
Phila, PA
I used to be happy with AT&T, but as my dropped calls have gone up and my download speeds have gone down, I am getting more and more frustrated. I love iPhone 4, but I don't think I want another 2 years of this subpar service (why is quality getting worse??). So if this is true, I'll gladly hold off. But people have been saying this for years now... I'll believe it when I see it.

Can't say I completely blame AT&T for this. I use 3 phones with them: a chepo nokia for work, my iPhone 3G and my wife's blackberry curve. The only one that consistently drops calls is the iPhone. I think Apple's getting a little bit of a free ride with everyone blaming the carrier. Look, don't get me wrong I love the iPhone, to me all the other features are worth the twice weekly dropped calls but isn't it at least plausible that the hardware is partially to blame. Anyway I'm replacing my hardware and my wife's curve with iPhone 4s- so here's hoping my dropped calls diminish.:eek:
 

franswa za

macrumors 6502a
Mar 24, 2010
582
26
south africa
Add Korea and Japan to that for now.

China Unicom runs both a GSM and CDMA network and China Telecom expects 100 million users on its CDMA network in the next 2 years.

That's a lot of potential sales. Well worth the engineering effort to change out the radios and retest/recertify. The more interesting challenge would be what restrictions the Chinese government would want to put on the software.

GL


+1:D
 

macdonkey3

macrumors newbie
Sep 1, 2009
4
0
Makes sense

I'm guessing AT&T knew that Apple was opening the iPhone to Verizon later this year, which explains the upgrades they were offering to iPhone 3GS users. They wanted to lock people in before this news made it to the public.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
I wonder if they have overcome the CDMA battery life issue somehow

That kind of battery comment is years out of date. GSM 3G is also a form of CDMA (it was the best choice for increasing bandwidth and users), and thus uses more power than GSM 2G.

or if it will have LTE support since VZW states LTE end of this year/beginning of next for quite a few markets.

Yep, many people think/hope that a Verizon iPhone will have LTE support.
 

seank-d

macrumors newbie
Jun 17, 2010
1
0
iPhone 4 sighting in NYC

Although I don't see the point in the 4th Gen iPhone being released with Verizon with the impending change to 4G (LTE) I just wanted to share that I was driving in midtown Manhattan on Monday when I noticed someone in the back seat of a car next to me who had 4 iPhone 4s in holders stuck to the side window with the goose necks bent down so that nobody on that side of the car could see them from outside. I let down my window and spoke to the driver of the car and said "4 iPhone 4s, that's a lot." The driver looked rather shocked and said "We're testing them" To which I said "Who for?" He didn't appear to know what to say and looked over his shoulder at the person in the back who was glaring at him. He didn't say anything else and hurridly made a right to get out of traffic. As the car turned right I saw a glimpse of the screen of the laptop that the person in the back who was looking at the iPhone 4s had on his lap. I saw what appeared to be a Verizon logo, and noted that the car had Pennsylvania plates as it sped back towards the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel from 9th Avenue. I just got home and did a google search and I think I saw that the Verizon Wireless headquarters are outside Pittsburgh, PA.

I'm not sure if there is anything to these details, and nobody has to believe me. Maybe he was testing for AT&T. I was just a little shocked to see 4 iPhone 4s in the wild already.

Just my 2¢
 

griz

macrumors 6502a
Dec 18, 2003
583
222
New London, NH
ok these rumors are not gonig to end are they ..............as a apple fan i dont want a cdma phone with Verizon to happen because i want all the droidboys to stay where they are but if global take over is what jobs wants well thats what he will get when verizon is had :apple:

That's like saying that Apple should have stuck with PPC because Intel was for Windows users. I think the biggest problem Apple will have is that their phone will be on two competing networks. How will those networks compete without both making Apple look like it is stuck in the middle.
Ever been at a party where you have two friends who each don't like each other? You have to tip toe between them making conversation all while brushing off their badmouthing each other.
 

huntercr

macrumors 65816
Jun 6, 2006
1,039
0
Something to consider...

Verizon is not the only CDMA carrier. More importantly, the US isn't the only CDMA country. There's no reason this Pegatron phone isn't for another market other than the US.

I'm just sayin' ....
 

mdatwood

macrumors 6502a
Mar 14, 2010
901
875
East Coast, USA
Can't say I completely blame AT&T for this. I use 3 phones with them: a chepo nokia for work, my iPhone 3G and my wife's blackberry curve. The only one that consistently drops calls is the iPhone. I think Apple's getting a little bit of a free ride with everyone blaming the carrier. Look, don't get me wrong I love the iPhone, to me all the other features are worth the twice weekly dropped calls but isn't it at least plausible that the hardware is partially to blame. Anyway I'm replacing my hardware and my wife's curve with iPhone 4s- so here's hoping my dropped calls diminish.:eek:

I've been saying this for awhile. There is a reason the new iPhone moved the antenna outside the phone.

I also have the 'free' nokia ATT phone and it has never dropped a call. My 3gs went through a period where I could not last more than 5 minutes on ANY call. I used the ATT app to mark where I was (sitting in my house) every time it happened and things have gotten better over time, but I still drop way too many calls for the amount of money I pay.
 

iJon

macrumors 604
Feb 7, 2002
6,586
229
It all depends how Apple is organising their workforce. It could be far more profitable for Apple to simply work on a GSM phone and use that extra man power to say research ways of making the screen break less? Or making more funky designs and features that slowly warm on people.

Or here's another theory, Apple is simply contempt in the market they're in now. No real threat of Anti-Trust. The exclusive deal between AT&T and Apple is meaningless as they could've made a CDMA phone overseas by now.

You're saying it would be more profitable for Apple to research a phone with a screen that breaks less instead of extending their phone to 90m customers in the United States?

Glad you're not running things.
 

MorphingDragon

macrumors 603
Mar 27, 2009
5,160
6
The World Inbetween
You're saying it would be more profitable for Apple to research a phone with a screen that breaks less instead of extending their phone to 90m customers in the United States?

Glad you're not running things.

Yet Vodafone alone has 427.99 Mill customers as of March (Vodafone's service is Unified worldwide, so it is a fair comparison). Wouldn't it be far more profitable to try reach out to more of these customers, than to gain only a fraction on Verizon? Nokia is in fantastical love and control over GSM markets, there's a far bigger potential for Apple to eat Nokia's Smartphone lunch than to serve a vocal, relative minority. (That makes VZ less than a quarter in subscribers, than that of not even the biggest GSM provider BTW)

Or China Mobile, THE BIGGEST, 538.887 mill subscribers. GSM, GRPS and TD-SCDMA.
 

bergmef

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2005
797
87
North East, MD, USA
Although I don't see the point in the 4th Gen iPhone being released with Verizon with the impending change to 4G (LTE) I just wanted to share that I was driving in midtown Manhattan on Monday when I noticed someone in the back seat of a car next to me who had 4 iPhone 4s in holders stuck to the side window with the goose necks bent down so that nobody on that side of the car could see them from outside. I let down my window and spoke to the driver of the car and said "4 iPhone 4s, that's a lot." The driver looked rather shocked and said "We're testing them" To which I said "Who for?" He didn't appear to know what to say and looked over his shoulder at the person in the back who was glaring at him. He didn't say anything else and hurridly made a right to get out of traffic. As the car turned right I saw a glimpse of the screen of the laptop that the person in the back who was looking at the iPhone 4s had on his lap. I saw what appeared to be a Verizon logo, and noted that the car had Pennsylvania plates as it sped back towards the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel from 9th Avenue. I just got home and did a google search and I think I saw that the Verizon Wireless headquarters are outside Pittsburgh, PA.

I'm not sure if there is anything to these details, and nobody has to believe me. Maybe he was testing for AT&T. I was just a little shocked to see 4 iPhone 4s in the wild already.

Just my 2¢

No picture? :rolleyes:
 

myjay610

macrumors regular
Jan 6, 2008
131
0
Blah blah blah...this rumor has been all over the place for sometime. I even heard from a co-worker who's brother is an engineer for Verizon say Q3 and Q4 of this year. Frankly I don't care, I'm sick of my phone now and could I switch to an Android phone on my current VZW contract? Yes, and pay the same price for the iPhone 4 almost. I've used both OSes and LOVE iOS, Android, eh. Sure it has a lot of features that match or maybe even exceed the iPhone but when I use it I just am not that impressed. That's all Android is to Google anyway, an "eh." It's not a money maker, it's a wrench in the big gears of Apple and an attempt to throw off Apple's grasp on the smart phone market. Do I think Google is awesome? Yes. They have awesome online apps and I rely on them for all sorts of centralized services, but not technology I want to hold in my hand.

When it comes down to it, as of now, I have to either 1) have the phone, features, and apps I want and put up with the network or 2) have the good network but put up with some other phone ... I choose 1 which is why I preordered my iPhone 4 on Tuesday. Sorry VZW, maybe in the next few years. Luckily I've been in good service areas for both networks and since I'm in the military if I go somewhere that sucks for either I can use my military move to break the contract and switch if I have to...
 

brent0saurus

macrumors regular
Feb 16, 2006
228
1
Oh no, what do I do? :rolleyes:

Do I enjoy my iPhone 4 for six months and then port back to VZW or do I return my iPhone 4 keep my VZW phone and hold out for 6 months only to find out the rumors are not true, curse myself and then wait another 6 months for the iPhone 5. It's a vicious cycle.

i know this cycle all too well.
 

jholzner

macrumors 65816
Jul 24, 2002
1,385
21
Champaign, IL
While obviously skeptical, think about this: If AT&T knew that Apple was going to eventually go to Verizon as well wouldn't you want to get as many people as possible to sign into a 2 year contract BEFORE the announce of a verizon iphone. It would make sense for AT&T to allow early eligibility for customers not otherwise eligible because they want that new contract to be with them instead of verizon whom they could leave to if they had allowed them to wait out their contract. It all makes sense now...

I was making this exact same case a week ago to a friend. Makes sense to me.
 

alex.sebenski

macrumors member
May 26, 2010
64
0
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
AWS frequency?

If Apple really starts broadening their iPhone line up to CDMA then the next step (or the same step) could be using AWS frequencies.

I'd kill to have an AWS capable iPhone in Canada with all the new providers available using those frequencies. It could save me $10-20 per month on my phone bill AND offer true unlimited calling, text, AND data.

Unlimited data on my iPhone would mean I could cancel my home internet and just tether my computer. I could torrent over my 3G connection. That'd save me another $40-60 a month on my telecomm bill.

A guy can dream.
 

jav6454

macrumors Core
Nov 14, 2007
22,303
6,257
1 Geostationary Tower Plaza
I seriously lol'd at the guy who said Verizon has 90N loyal customers. ha! Bollucks, Verizon flat out bought ~15M of those from Alltel. Meaning people who didn't want Verizon in the first place. Now, iPhone 4 is going to be a huge seller (look at the pre-order mess), it is a wise move for Verizon to release rumors of a CDMA iPhone. However, truth is people are leaving en massè Verizon for the iPhone. They know it.
 

bergmef

macrumors 6502a
Sep 20, 2005
797
87
North East, MD, USA
It all depends how Apple is organising their workforce. It could be far more profitable for Apple to simply work on a GSM phone and use that extra man power to say research ways of making the screen break less? Or making more funky designs and features that slowly warm on people.

Or here's another theory, Apple is simply contempt in the market they're in now. No real threat of Anti-Trust. The exclusive deal between AT&T and Apple is meaningless as they could've made a CDMA phone overseas by now.

Workforce, you mean the one or two engineers and the two technicians that would do the cdma radio? Instead the RF guys will work on the glass. ok
 

eastercat

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,323
7
PDX
I didn't see Verizon mentioned in the article, why assume it's for them. Could be an Asia thing only (mainly China).

If true of course.
This makes a lot more sense. I find it hard to imagine a scenario where AT&T would end their exclusivity a year (or two) early. The exclusivity ends in 2012.
Unless Apple and AT&T worked out a deal that would allow for a CDMA phone in the US, I think it's more likely that this rumored CDMA phone is for the overseas market. It'd make more sense that Apple wants to move further into Japan, China and Korea.
 
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