Alternative iPhone 4 nears end of test phase, claims insider
iPhone 5 some way behind CMDA-compatible model
A new iPhone 4 variant has entered its final testing stage before release, it has been claimed.
The handset is coded by Apple as the "iPhone3,2", a "solid" mole has told website BGR. The current iPhone 4 is "3,1".
It's being widely assumed that the 3,2 is the rumoured CDMA-compatible handset being developed for US network Verizon and, presumably, for other networks around the world that likewise haven't adopted the GSM standard.
BGR also suggests that it might be an iPhone 4 that supports CDMA and GSM/HSDPA 3G, allowing Apple to continue to produce one handset but one it could sell to any carrier, or any consumer in any country.
A third possibility is that it's a GSM iPhone 4 that's been tweaked to minimise the antennagate signal strength reduction, but we'd suggest that Apple's success at weathering that particular storm means that any such tweaks will be reserved for the iPhone 5 - which is also in testing, but at an earlier stage than this one, the BGR mole maintains.
Doing a universal iPhone 4 that can roam anywhere seems to us more the kind of notion that would appeal to Apple. If such a design happends to fix the reception issues, so much the better, but best not mention the war, eh? ®
COMMENTS
Re: Just rumours courtesy of Apple PR
I think yesterday's Apple results - 14m iPhone sales in a three-month period, well up on previous quarters - shows that Apple sales have not flattened.
Flattened doesn't mean stopped or slowed
from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/apr/21/apple-financial-results-analysis
the graph shows sales flattened, they may be still going up, but the rate of increase has slowed, as is typical - a population curve, the iPhone market is saturating - it becomes increasingly difficult to find new buyers. Almost everyone who wants and can afford an iPhone, probably has one.
What conclusions you draw from this unreliable, short-term data is debatable.
They didn't meet forecast sales
Whether a goal not achieved is called flattening or a modified curve the fact remains they slipped.
Pretty sure this is genuine
A mate at one of the (UK) mobile companies has played with one of the prototypes last week. He's not a techie so no proper details, but there's something on it's way, and it works in blighty.
