Techcrunch reports that at least one developer has found evidence that Apple is testing the iPhone 5 against current App Store apps. The logs seem to confirm that the iPhone 5 (running iOS 5) will be a dual-mode device supporting both GSM and CDMA in one phone.
The logs show that the app has been briefly tested by a handful of people using what is almost certainly an iPhone 5, evidently running iOS 5, sporting two distinct sets of mobile network codes (MNC) / mobile country codes (MCC). Those codes can be used to uniquely identify mobile carriers.
Sure enough, some registrations for the app – which the developer also asked not to be named – were logged from a new Apple device, using the MNC/MCC codes from both Verizon and AT&T.
Apple presently produces two different models to support both Verizon and AT&T. It's long been believed that the iPhone 5 will support both standards in a single device.
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Qualcomm's "world-mode" MDM6600 wireless chip found in CDMA iPhone 4 and iPad 2
(Source: iFixit's Verizon iPhone teardown)
Apple's Verizon iPhone 4 already contains the expected Qualcomm chipset that supports both standards. Verizon CFO has even publicly stated their belief that the next iPhone will be a "global device".
Top Rated Comments
As exciting as this is, I can't help but ask something: Why no love for T-Mobile? (or Sprint for those people wanting a Sprint iPhone).
Sprint runs on CDMA(same as Verizon) and T-Mobile runs on GSM(same as AT&T) so this dual-mode iPhone could very well run on both of those networks if that's what you were asking.With the insanely small bandwidth caps now in place, (or that are being phased in right now) - the only thing LTE would offer me is just a faster way to exceed my cap... and be penalized.
I'm not saying 3G is adequate forever, but LTE with current caps = being given a nice Lamborghini, but with the maximum speed limited to 35mph. Why bother with something like that?
Isnt the speed limit in the US 65mph on most highways anyway? Much lower than the 150mph of which a super car is possible.
I just don't get these complaints that LTE will make you drain your cap much faster - in Oz we have 2GB caps for around $25/month and I never exceed that - even with a faster download speed I wouldnt be exceeding that as I wouldnt be downloading more just more quickly.
No wonder Apple is kind of half-assing this upcoming iPhone 4s/5 with the late release and the weak feature set.
Could you share the detail of the weak feature set as I didnt think anyone had a full and accurate feature set to assess as yet.
How about iPhone automatically switching to the best carrier? If you're in the US and you happen to be where AT&T is strongest, your iPhone could switch to AT&T. If Verizon happens to be strongest at the moment, your iPhone could switch to Verizon.
You pay Apple every month instead of any single carrier. Apple forwards payment to AT&T or Verizon (or whatever carriers you happened to use), pro-rated by actual minutes used.
I'd gladly do that. (As long as it isn't *too* much more than just paying just one carrier directly...)