Okay, I figured I’d be the one to start this thread… So, who is hoping that Sprint will get on board with Apple and make the iPhone available to its customers?? Since the agreement is Non-exclusive with Verizon; Sprint needs to kick it into high gear…
Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook revealed on Tuesday that his company's agreement with Verizon for the CDMA iPhone is non-exclusive, meaning the new handset could also appear on Sprint's CDMA network. When asked if the new CDMA iPhone is exclusive to Verizon, Cook called the deal "multi-year" and "non-exclusive." That means the other major CDMA carrier in the U.S., Sprint, could also offer Apple's smartphone, if it were to reach a deal with Apple. Of course, the non-exclusive deal also leaves open the possibility of a future GSM iPhone offering compatibility with the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S., T-Mobile. T-Mobile's U.S. network relies on different frequencies in the AWS 3G spectrum, supporting the 1700MHz and 2100MHz bands, while AT&T supports 850MHz and 1900MHz. The current iPhone hardware does not support the 1700MHz frequency, meaning a modification of the hardware would be necessary. Another possibility could be regional wireless provider MetroPCS, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S. Like Verizon and Sprint, it too operates a CDMA network. Prior to Tuesday's news, some had speculated that Verizon could pay Apple extra in their deal to keep the iPhone away from other carriers like T-Mobile and Sprint, leaving Apple's smartphone only available from AT&T ant Verizon. Outside of the U.S., the new CDMA iPhone will likely also allow Apple to make the iPhone available on other carriers like China Telecom. Last October, it was rumored that Apple and China Telecom were already in talks to offer a CDMA variant of the iPhone
They definitely need it. Don't want another Razr fiasco where Sprint didn't offer it for 2 years while it was the best selling phone.
I'd love a Sprint iPhone. We're mostly Nextel at work and I'd love to get our iPhone users back on the same bill.
Don't count on it any time soon, we would have had some word of it, or at least a leak at this point.
I'm sure Sprint is chomping at the bit to get the iPhone as VZW was to get it. Sprint will see the iPhone sooner or later. In what flavor (cdma/evdo, wimax?) who knows?
From the Sprint twitter feed: "Can't comment on future device plans, but we have a great portfolio now that compares favorably to iPhone. Also excited about 2011 lineup!" So yeah, don't expect it anytime soon
To add to your comment, I posted a thread on their Facebook page, and this was the response I got: "Sprint-Can't comment on future device plans, but we have a great portfolio now that compares favorably to iPhone. Also excited about 2011 lineup!The iPhone is a great device, but we're confident in what Sprint has to offer. Sprint's devices like the EVO and Epic still stack up favorably head-to-head with the iPhone. Combine our device lineup with a solid 3G and 4G network, along with some of the best value in wireless, and we like where we stand." I would just hate to see Sprint make a mistake and miss out by not capitalizing on this product; times are tough, and this would be a great opportunity for Sprint to make some money!
I'm not so sure that Sprint has any control over this. Maybe Apple is the one who has to decide if they are willing to offer up an iphone to Sprint?
I dont think they will make one for sprint. First of all, apple already is paying for parts and chipsets for GSM/UMTS/GPRS/WCDMA (for sim cards or AT&T) and CDMA2000/EVDO/1X/*LTE (* means 4G down the road, and for Verizon Wireless)... If apple were to make one for Sprint, Apple would have to buy additional chipsets to work with Sprint. CDMA/PCS/WiMAX/EVDO (Sprint) Sprint uses PCS for digital voice while verizon uses cell band CDMA2000.... PCS is very old.... WiMAX and LTE are two different types of 4G data networks and may require varying chipsets.... It may just be cheaper for apple to just stick with the current types of iPhones, plus Sprint dosnt cover as many areas and markets (including small towns and rural areas) that Verizon Wireless does....
A lot of mis-information in that post: 1. The chip used in the vzw iphone is actually a GOBI chip, meaning it has a combo CDMA/GSM chip. That one chip can do both CDMA and GSM with a simple option change in the phone. WiMax is another story however. 2. PCS is very old? That doesn't even make any sense. Verizon also uses 1900 PCS in many places in conjunction wit 850, and in other places like Florida uses ONLY 1900. 3. For Apple to release an iphone on Sprint, all they would have to do is rebrand the vzw model and give it to sprint, that is all (4G excluded, which the vzw model does not have)
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9630/5.0.0.975 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105) If the Verizon iPhone was a World or global phone, wouldn't there be a slot for the SIM Card (GSM)? As far as I know the iPhone for Verizon Wireless is non global and does not use a sim card for global roaming, therefore making it incapable of using GSM technology
You have do do some research before you make statements like this. Google "iphone4 verizon teardown" and you will discover that it actually uses a Qualcomm GOBI dual mode chip that supports both GSM and CDMA. However, apple & verizon have just choose not to enable that available feature.
For the mid-cycle release of the iPhone 4 specifically for Verizon, yes. Though knowing Verizon, I wouldn't be surprised to not see a SIM slot on a possible future global iPhone. Verizon locks down their global phones for use on their approved global roaming partners (Vodafone in countries serviced by them). Unlocking a global Verizon iPhone for use with ANY global GSM carrier will probably be next to impossible. So a lack of a SIM card slot on a Verizon iPhone means little. We are talking Verizon here. For the record: Verizon iPhone teardown reveals dual-mode GSM-CDMA potential, sparks ‘world phone’ iPhone 5 talk
With vzw global phones, if you are a customer in good standing, you can have them unlock the SIM and use it on any international carrier you want, just not here in the US. It is more likely that Apple didn't want to program a multi-mode phone, as it is something they have never had to do before. Might not ever see a vzw world iphone, until we are all running on LTE. Using the GOBI chip is just cheaper for everyone in the long run. It is just one chip to buy.
Good to know. I didn't think they ever SIM unlocked their global phones. It's also been forever and a day since I had the horrible Samsung SCH-a790, the first global phone they ever carried (back in 2004). IIRC, back then they weren't unlocking them at all, though not sure about this.
