Monday, October 11, 2010, 09:00 am
Verizon iPhone may be among first CDMA handsets to offer concurrent data and voice
Forthcoming enhancements to the CDMA wireless standard could allow Apple to be among the first handset makers to deploy phones on the wireless networks of Sprint and Verizon that would be capable of simultaneous voice and data transmissions like those operating on AT&T's GSM network.Add to that persistent rumors that Apple will choose for its next iPhone revision a hybrid baseband controller from CDMA proprietor Qualcomm capable of handling both CDMA and GSM transmissions, and it appears more than likely that 2011 will enable the iPhone maker expand its offerings to CDMA network operators while maintaining its mantra of shipping one phone for the entire world (rather than separate GSM and CDMA devices).
In a recent discussion with the Wall Street Journal, CDMA Development Group spokesperson Brad Shewmake told the paper that a solution that will allow CDMA networks to carry voice and data simultaneously will become commercially available in the first half of next year -- roughly the same time Apple is expected to introduce the first iPhones capable of running on CDMA networks.
Such advances could prove critical for Apple, assuming it hopes to promote the same user experience for iPhones running on CDMA networks as it does for those currently on the market. The Cupertino-based company has hyped in its television commercials, for instance, that AT&T iPhone users can hold a call with a friend while simultaneously surfing the web or transmitting directions or contact information over MMS.
Those same multitasking capabilities aren't currently available to Sprint and Verizon customers due to a decision made several years ago by engineers developing the CDMA standard, in which they chose to split voice and data transmissions into separate signals that cannot run concurrently.
In recent days, both the Wall Street Journal and New York Times have citied 'people familiar' with Apple's plans in saying that the company is gearing up to begin mass production of a CDMA-capable iPhone that would hit the market sometime in early 2011.
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Forthcoming enhancements to the CDMA wireless standard could allow Apple to be among the first handset makers to deploy phones on the wireless networks of Sprint and Verizon that would be capable of simultaneous voice and data transmissions like those operating on AT&T's GSM network.
I think this bolt-on solution is possible but I've yet to see any evidence of this happening or how it will be accomplished. I hope it's as smooth and fast as 3GSM.
I know some say they don't care about this service but this is the one feature I will not go without after realizing that I'm using data on pretty much every call I'm on. Whether is doing a look up of a movie time, sending a pic to someone, sending a text reminder of what's being discussed on the phone, or simply bidding my time checking email and reading news while on hold.
I still don't see how this would be technically or financially viable for Apple. It's not like Apple has tried for a globally unlocked iPhone up to this point so having CDMA tech that requires per unit royalties based on the percentage of the handset cost per device sold seems excessive when it will likely never get utilized.
On top of that there are size, weight, power efficiency, radio spectrum numbers and HW costs to contend with. Apple has the smallest phone of all the players and obviously cares about size yet we are expected to believe Apple will go the other way with a larger chip and larger battery and more chips for radio frequencies? I do buy it.
If you think it's real please us some evidence that this mythical tech exists. That doesn't mean showing up a Blackberry phone labeled as 'world mode' despite being locked to a US CDMA carrier and only having limited UMTS bands that won't work in the US. Those are sort of 'world mode' phones from a geographic perspective but they aren't going to cover all the carriers Apple currently supports. Apple has 4 GSM bands and 5 UMTS bands in their iPhone 4. That is already more bands than these 'world mode' phones have. Note that the 'world mode' phone examples weaken any position of this being the ideal solution as vendors who make such phones only make very few models and all have the issues I stated earlier. If these were so great then BB, Nokia, SE, Moto and HTC would release all their phones like this so they can make just one that works for all networks and all countries. Yet, they don't.