The rumors came true: iPhone 4 launches on Verizon Wireless Feb. 10
On Tuesday, one of the most fiercely demanded and most frequently rumored products was announced: the CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless. Lending credence to the long-running rumors, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam today said Apple has actually been testing iPhone on CDMA since 2008.
Most of the features of Verizon's iPhone 4 are identical to the one available on AT&T, aside from the different wireless radios. Contrary to recent rumors, it is not an LTE device, but EV-DO (rev A). 3G. Apple fans being what they are, it has already been noted that the faulty external antenna of the iPhone 4 that caused controversy in mid-2010 has been moderately redesigned with a series of notches visible in the chassis.
It has not been established whether this is an improvement to the device's antenna or simply a variant based upon the needs of the CDMA protocol.
In their press conference today, both Verizon and Apple highlighted the strength of Verizon Wireless' network and its ability to handle all the traffic that AT&T has reportedly struggled with since the iPhone launched on its network in 2007.
Verizon Wireless will begin selling the iPhone 4 on February 10 for $199.99 for the 16GB model and $299.99 for the 32GB model, with a two-year voice/data contract. The company has not yet begun accepting pre-orders for new subscribers, but interested customers can sign up to be alerted when orders begin, and current customers will be able to pre-order the device on February 3.
"This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century." Verizon CEO McAdam said in a statement Tuesday.
Since the device Verizon Wireless will sell is mostly the same as the one AT&T sells, the company is looking to set itself apart by offering the mobile hotspot capability that AT&T has disallowed. For a fee, customers can turn their iPhone 4 into a 4-device mobile hotspot. For AT&T subscribers, this feature could only be obtained by "jailbreaking" the iPhone, an act that voids the device's warranty.
Eyewitness reports say that the display models of the CDMA iPhone 4 are running iOS version 4.2.5, a build of the software which has not been released to the public yet.