Alternative iPhone 4 nears end of test phase, claims insider

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? ®