Verizon iPhone Rumors Refreshed
NEW YORK (
) -- The
Verizon
(VZ) - Get Report
iPhone rumor mill is alive and well -- again.
According to a new report from
The Wall Street Journal
,
Apple
(AAPL) - Get Report
will start mass-producing an
iPhone that can run on Verizon's network
later this year. Citing people briefed by Apple, the
Journal
reports that this CDMA version of the phone will have a similar design to the existing iPhone.
As reported
by
TheStreet
earlier this year, the device contains a
Qualcomm
(QCOM) - Get Report
chip and is expected to make its debut in the first quarter of 2011. Apple is also building a new, fifth-generation iPhone, although it is unclear when Verizon will start selling the device.
|
Apple has had an exclusive U.S. relationship with
AT&T
(T) - Get Report
to sell the iPhone since the smartphone's launch in 2007, although talk of an iPhone selling at the nation's no. 1 wireless shop has ebbed over the past few years.
Following Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg's recent comments that a Verizon iPhone might be a more realistic option when the company gets closer to completing its 4G network in 2012, there's been chatter around Verizon selling a 3G iPad next year.
Apple, which faces fierce competition from
Google's
(GOOG) - Get Report
Android operating system, recently opened up another front in the smartphone war,
launching its new iPhone 4 in China
.
Despite some much-publicized antenna problems, Apple has described the iPhone 4 as its most successful launch ever and has already sold more than 3 million of the new phones.
The tech giant's shares dipped $1.17 to $287.76 on Wednesday as the Nasdaq slipped 0.96%.
--Written by James Rogers in New York.
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