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Apple's CDMA iPhone headed to China, Japan, South Korea - report

The new CDMA iPhone headed to the Verizon network in the U.S. will also become available with compatible carriers in China, Japan and South Korea, according to a new report from the Far East.

Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes reported on Thursday that Foxconn will be the sole manufacturer of the Verizon CDMA iPhone, while another overseas supplier, Pegatron, will build the CDMA model of Apple's smartphone for "China and other countries." The report went on to note that Apple is "set to start supplying its CDMA iPhone to Japan and South Korea."

The anticipated launch of the CDMA iPhone in at least four countries is expected to help Apple achieve a record year of handset sales. The report noted that the availability of the iPhone to 93 million Verizon customers on Feb. 10 is expected to double its sales in the U.S.

Sources indicated that Apple currently plans to have about 7 million CDMA iPhones built in the first quarter of 2011. The report also noted that the CDMA baseband module in the new iPhone 4 is slightly more expensive, which would make the handset's bill of materials as high as $200 — higher than the estimated $188 cost of components in the GSM iPhone 4.

Earlier this week, one Wall Street analyst said that higher cost could result in the Verizon iPhone 4 carrying a subsidized price $20 to $30 higher than the standard. However, the CDMA iPhone 4 will have the same $199 starting price as on AT&T for the 16GB model.

Carrier China Telecom has been viewed as a potential candidate for the new CDMA iPhone, and one analyst also believes India's Reliance would be an ideal alignment. While Thursday's report mentioned China, along with Japan and South Korea, it made no mention of a potential launch in India.