April 27, 2009

LTE iPhone hitting Verizon in 2010?

According to the latest leaks, Verizon and Apple are in discussions regarding a new iPhone for the carrier, which would be launched in 2010. USA Today quote “people familiar with the situation” who claim discussions between Steve Jobs and Verizon began a few months ago.

While USA Today suggest a CDMA iPhone would be the likely result, Apple’s recent financial conference call would seem to debunk that. During the call, COO Tim Cook dismissed talk of a CDMA iPhone because the CDMA standard is predominantly a US specification. Instead, Apple want “one phone for the whole world”.

What that could indicate, therefore, is a LTE (Long Term Evolution) iPhone, just in time to spearhead Verizon’s new LTE network set to launch in 2010. LTE has been adopted by not only Verizon but other US carriers – including AT&T – as well as networks worldwide, in keeping with Apple’s “one phone” intentions. What remains to be seen is how AT&T might react to the possibility of a super-fast new iPhone bypassing their exclusivity.