CDMA

Verizon CFO Says that iPhone 5 Will Be GSM + CDMA “Global Device”

The iPhone 5 will be a dual-baseband device that operates on both GSM and CDMA networks. According to comments made by Verizon CFO Fran Shammo in the company's last quarterly earnings call, Apple's next iPhone will be a "global device" compatible with all carriers.

Shammo was the one that leaked the information that Verizon would be getting the iPad 2, so there's reason to believe his claim is true.

What the AT&T and T-Mobile Merger Means for the iPhone

Well, no one saw that coming. Out of nowhere, AT&T has bought T-Mobile and become the largest wireless provider in the U.S.

It was originally thought that Sprint and T-Mobile would merge, but network incompatibilities made that idea look less and less attractive. Instead, AT&T and T-Mobile have shacked up to become the big kid on the block. Combined, AT&T and T-Mobile account for 130 million wireless customers in the United States, blowing by Verizon's 90 million users.

The question on our mind is: What does this all mean for the iPhone? LTE? What if we actually start getting reception in our own homes...

iOS 4.3 Will Not Be Compatible With All iDevices

We've gotten questions from readers asking if iOS 4.3 will be compatible with all iDevices. Sadly, the answer is no. The public release of iOS 4.3 that Apple announced at their iPad 2 event will only work on certain iDevice generations.

Most notably, 4.3 will not be installable on the Verizon iPhone. Because the Verizon iPhone runs on a different baseband and has different bugs to fix, Apple has to release a separate 4.3 build for that device. (Which they haven't announced yet.)

Hopefully your iDevice isn't on the 4.3 incompatibility list...

Apple Seeds iOS 4.3 GM to Develepors

Apple has seeded the iOS 4.3 Golden Master to develepors. This timely release paves the way for 4.3's public release next Friday.

Whenever a GM version of iOS is released, it means that it is nearly ready for deployment. This version of iOS will be made available for all iDevices, except for the CDMA iPhone 4.

Consumer Reports Doesn’t Recommend the Verizon iPhone Due to Antenna Issues

Proving that they do have something against Apple, the fine folks at Consumer Reports have refused to give the Verizon iPhone their official recommendation. After testing the Verizon iPhone for antenna issues, Consumer Reports determined that the same "antennagate" issue that plagued the original iPhone 4 on AT&T also plagues the CDMA version of the iPhone.

Despite the Verizon iPhone being generally well received by the public and press, the stubbornness of Consumer Reports prevails with their verdict of judgement.

Verizon iPhone Hacked to Work in China

You technically can't use a CDMA iPhone in China but according to this WSJ article, a few China Telecom employees managed to get the Verizon iPhone to make its first call from China.

The group of hackers that call themselves the Apple Lab Team posted this image of a Verizon iPhone on a Twitter-like site in China, commenting that the "CDMA iPhone 4 has made its first call in China"...

Apple Posts Differences Between CDMA and GSM iPhone 4

Yesterday, we posted a data speed comparison, comparing AT&T and Verizon networks. While Verizon seemed to do better than AT&T in every way (in the San Francisco area, at least), it looks like the Verizon iPhone has some shortcomings as well.

Although we missed it, it seems that Apple had posted a comparison chart last week, detailing the differences between the GSM and CDMA versions of the iPhone. This comparison chart solely focuses on how the GSM and CDMA versions of the iPhone handle calls...

New Verizon iPhone Has Antenna Issues Too

Just when you thought we were done with the antennagate, a new video from iLounge surfaced, showing that the Verizon iPhone is also affected by an antenna issue. When held in the prior "death grip" position, the Verizon iPhone loses substantial cellular signal, just like we previously saw with GSM iPhone 4.

Additionally, the CDMA iPhone 4 seems to be affected by a loss of wifi signal when held snugly in landscape mode. Both issues seem to be taken care of with the use of a case...

Verizon iPhone Chipset Supports Both GSM and CDMA

The guys over at iFixit already got their hands on a Verizon iPhone and took it apart to compare its guts to those of the "original" iPhone 4. Most of what they found wasn't very surprising, but they did make one interesting discovery.

The Verizon iPhone sports a Qualcomm MDM6600 baseband chipset similar to the Droid Pro World Phone's, which brings support for both CDMA and GSM...

Will a Qualcomm Baseband Grace the Innards of the iPhone 5?

More potential iPhone 5 goodies to start your weekend off right. Well known Italian hacker, Zibri, has documented his findings from a recent decompile of the latest version of iTunes, uncovering some interesting tidbits.

According to him, the decompile uncovered two files that are quick and easy indicators that future iPhone basebands will be Qualcomm Based. What does this mean for the future of the iPhone?

Is Sprint the Next Carrier to Get The iPhone?

The iPhone from Apple, after being locked to one U.S. GSM carrier (AT&T) for close to four years, was announced Tuesday to be coming to Verizon Wireless. This will greatly even the playing field between Apple iOS and Google Android as the two mobile platforms battle for most units sold here in the states on a quarterly basis. The question is will Sprint, as the 3rd largest U.S. wireless carrier, be the next to pick the iPhone up?

This is a valid question for a few reasons. The first is similar technologies. The new Verizon Wireless iPhone has CDMA chipset inside, the same technology Sprint uses.  Also, when asked if the deal was exclusive, Tim Cook, the COO of Apple, said "the deal with Verizon was multi year but not exclusive."

A Closer Look at The Verizon iPhone’s ‘Personal Hotspot’

Yesterday, the Verizon iPhone was announced. Not much is different; there is a new CDMA antenna and mobile hotspot feature coined as "Personal Hotspot." This new (currently) Verizon-specific iPhone feature mimics popular jailbreak utilities like MyWi.

Personal Hotspot will be a new, pre-installed software feature for the Verizon brand of iOS. This mobile hotspot feature has been available on most Android phones for quite some time. Some more details have surfaced about Personal Hotspot...