RUMOR: iPHONE 5 DESIGN & SPECS REVEALED

See that up there? That could be your next iPhone. It's a mock-up of what is said to be the iPhone 5, according to anonymous sources quoted by Joshua Topolsky.

A continuation of the concepts laid out in our post-CES look at what's next for Apple, the design here is said to be thin, metal-backed, tapered, and sporting a 3.7-inch display with the same 960 x 640 resolution in the iPhone 4's retina display, resulting in a slight drop from that phone's vaunted 326ppi density. The home button is quite obviously enlarged, possibly adding some thumbable gestures into the mix.

Internals are said to include a "swipable" area, possibly meaning NFC, along with a Qualcomm Gobi chipset with support for CDMA and GSM, so this could be the one phone to rule all the carriers. Or, it might wind up only ever having domain over a single .PSD file. To us, well, it looks a little too thin to be packing all that and a bag of antennas as suggested and, with all the weight at the top, we can see this things flying out of hands left and right. But, we're certainly willing to be surprised.

The source did update his statement to say the bevel may be exaggerated and the back may not be metal.

APPLE INVESTIGATING VERIZON iPAD 2 3G ISSUES

Having trouble hooking up your iPad 2 to Verizon's 3G network? Turns out you're not alone, and thankfully, Apple's well aware of this. In a statement to All Things Digital, Cupertino said it's investigating this CDMA connectivity issue as reported by "a small number of iPad 2 customers," and word has it that a software patch will be available soon.

SPRINT TRYING TO REPLACE iDEN AGAIN WITH CDMA

Looks like Sprint is gearing up to take another shot at its seemingly unsinkable (but aging) iDEN push-to-talk network that it inherited from its Nextel acquisition.

The new so-called Sprint Direct Connect service is slated to launch in the fourth quarter of this year using CDMA underpinnings, a throwback to the QChat-based push-to-talk network that Sprint launched back in 2008 but never gained traction. Presumably, Sprint thinks that it knows how to make the transition work this time around, promising wider coverage, better in-building signal strength, user availability notifications, support for up to 200 chat participants, and of course far faster data services than iDEN could ever deliver.

VERIZON iPHONE COSTS MORE OFF CONTRACT THAN AT&T

Verizon's iPhone is expected to sell over nine million units in 2011, most of which will be at the promotional price of $199 for the 16GB and $299 for the 32GB with a two year contract. These are the same prices as AT&T.

However, some of those nine million will be at full retail without any promotional pricing. Those people can expect to pay an additional $50 for the Verizon version, over the the AT&T version. Verizon's full retail price for the 16GB is $649 versus AT&T's $599 and the 32GB will set them back $749 versus $699 at AT&T.

While the CDMA chipset, used in the Verizon iPhone, costs about $30 more, this does not justify the increase in price considering the markup for the iPhone is around 400 percent.

RUMOR: VERIZON iPHONE BEING ANNOUNCED ON TUESDAY

According to the Wall Street Journal Verizon has announced a special event for Tuesday January 11th. They are reporting that the long rumored Verizon iPhone will be announced. In a further rumor, Steve Jobs is said to be making a surprise appearance at the event.

Why is Verizon announcing the iPhone and not Apple? According to some buzz going around, it is because the Verizon iPhone is not a new device, simply an existing Apple product being offered by a new vendor.

The biggest question right now seems to be whether or not the Verizon iPhone will have LTE. Obviously, Verizon has launched its LTE network in a big way, with plenty of upcoming devices, but it sounds out of character for Apple to jump on so early -- they famously went with EDGE for the original iPhone, despite 3G being a rather mature tech on AT&T at that point. Of course, Qualcomm makes a Gobi chipset that has LTE along with EV-DO backwards compatibility, and there is a SIM slot in those parts photos (LTE requires a SIM, EV-DO doesn't). It will probably remain a mystery until Tuesday, but our money is on no LTE -- there's always the iPhone 5 launch in the summer to offer an LTE upgradeportunity. Overall we're probably looking at an iPhone 4 that runs on Verizon, nothing fancier for now. Rumor has it that the phone will begin to ship in February, after this January announce.

The Wall Street Journal has one of the best track records of correctly predicting new Apple products.

RUMOR: 3 MODELS OF iPAD TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2011

According to sources, it seems we can expect three models of the iPad 2. It is believed the models will support Wi-Fi with some also supporting either UMTS or CDMA. Verizon Wireless, which utilizes CDMA technology, began selling Wi-Fi versions of the iPad this year accompanied by MiFi devices to allow the iPad to be utilized on their cellular data network in the absence of a CDMA version. In comparison, AT&T offers the 3G version of the iPad since it is built for use on their network, in addition to the iPhone.

It seems Apple hopes the ability for the iPad 2 to connect to more than one type of wireless network will help meet the demand that Apple is currently seeing with 3G versions of the original iPad. Currently, 60%-65% of iPad shipments are 3G models. Apple also plans for anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments for the iPad 2 to allow it to better compete with the Kindle.

Mass production of the iPad 2 models are expected to begin in the second half of January 2011 with Apple shipping 500k-530k of its units to its channels by the end of the month. An official launch of the iPad 2 is expected to occur by the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second. Production of the original iPad is expected to stop after January with 2-3 million units rolling over into the new year from 2010.

Based on the success of the original iPad, Apple is planning an agressive push of the iPad 2 with 40 million units expected to ship in 2011. Those shipments will account for 65%-75% of the tablet PC market. [Geek]

VERIZON WORKING ON CDMA TO LTE HANDOFF ISSUE; MAC DRIVERS

According to a spokesperson, Verizon Wireless is working on a fix for a hand-off delay that some users are experiencing on the company’s new Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The delay, which can last up to two minutes, occurs when the USB data stick attempts to switch from CDMA to LTE — the modem is not responsive during that time. The issue has been reported by several members of the press and early device testers.

In the same breath, Verizon also noted that it is actively working on Mac drivers for its LTE hardware. Although no specific timetable was given, the spokesperson did say that the software would be available “relatively soon.” [BGR]

APPLE'S iPAD2 TO HAVE UNIBODY CONSTRUCTION, CDMA AND GSM SUPPORT

Haven't bought an iPad yet? Good, the next the generation is shaping up to be major. The iPad 2 (or iPad v2) is strongly rumored to have the following enhancements:

• Inclusion of a Qualcomm CDMA-GSM chip creating a “World iPad” for all networks
• A front-facing camera for FaceTime
• A unibody case made out of a single sheet of metal meaning no pins
• A new design/component layout meaning a thinner tablet

RUMOR: VERIZON iPHONE HITS AP TESTING PHASE

Sources from BGR are reporting that the  CDMA-compatible iPhone (widely believed to be headed to Verizon in the US) has hit the AP testing milestone.  This is the last phase of testing before retail release.  There is a bit of odd news though..it contains a SIM card slot, which leads to a number of possible scenarios.

• The iPhone 3,2 could be the mythical CDMA + GSM/HSPA device that would support Verizon, AT&T, and the other current worldwide iPhone 4 carriers frequencies. The mid-cycle refresh would bring an updated antenna design for the current iPhone 4 and bring CDMA-compatibility; essentially, Verizon Wireless subscribers would have the same device as AT&T subscribers.
• The iPhone 3,2 could be a CDMA-capable iPhone that houses a SIM card for global roaming capabilities; though that certainly seems more complicated than just having one single glove that would fit both hands.
• One last possibility that the iPhone model 3,2 would simply be a slightly different design that doesn’t suffer from the same antenna attenuation as the current model; though that would be a little disappointing.

Also of note is the iPhone 5 is in the engineering test phase, which is 2 steps away from retail readiness. [BGR]

LEAKED: iPHONE WILL NOT SUPPORT 4G

It is being reported by numerous sources the iPhone will not support 4G, at least in the foreseeable future.  With the rampant rumors of a Verizon iPhone coming, or being announced, in January, it is being speculated that the phone would support the 4G/LTE deployment Verizon is rolling out.  According to a sources the annual refresh of the iPhone in mid-2011 will not support 4G/LTE either.  Instead, Apple will concentrate on a dual CDMA/GSM iPhone so it can be used on any carrier in the world.  The earliest a 4G iPhone would be available then would be mid-2012.  This makes good business sense for Apple as 4G/LTE deployment has just started and won't really kick into gear until the later part of 2011. [TechCrunch]

SAMSUNG GALAXY TABLET ON MULTIPLE CARRIERS

With all the hype and Verizon Wireless's own statements, one would assume the Samsung Galaxy Tablet was headed to just one carrier.  The Wall Street Journal is now reporting, sourcing "three people familiar with the matter" that the tablet will be available on the Verizon, AT&T and Sprint networks.

Samsung has vast experience in making their mobile devices using CDMA, GSM and even WiMax technology, so it is no surprise they are casting the Galaxy tablet net far and wide.  Pricing for each carrier is still undetermined, but it would appear that potential users would need another contract for their carrier of choice. [Engadget]