Next-Gen iPhone (4G) Likely Thinner, Snappier - Report

Apple is on track to start producing the next generation of iPhones, people briefed on the matter are telling The Wall Street Journal. It is reported that the new handset could allow U.S. phone carriers other than AT&T Inc. to sell it. First on that list of wireless service providers is Verizon, these people say, thanks to its CDMA technology.

Citing people aware of the two companies' ongoing plans, the WJS outlines that, “The new iPhone would work on a type of wireless network called CDMA,” noting that Verizon Wireless utilizes the standard. “CDMA is used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T's main competitor, as well as Sprint Nextel Corp. and a handful of cellular operators in countries including South Korea and Japan,” the report confirms, adding that, “The vast majority of carriers world-wide, including AT&T, use another technology called GSM.”

It is being speculated that Apple is likely positioning itself to roll out a phone with CDMA capability. If the scenario proves true, “Its exclusive U.S. arrangement with AT&T dating to 2007 appears set to end,” the Journal forecasts.

While both Verizon and Apple declined to comment on the matter, an AT&T spokesman said, “There has been lots of incorrect speculation on CDMA iPhones for a long time. We haven't seen one yet and only Apple knows when that might occur.”

Apple wouldn’t take the tech industry by storm with the release of a fourth-generation iPhone this summer. The company has released three iPhones in three consecutive years, with every revision building upon its predecessor, both from a software point of view, and from a design standpoint.

The 4G iPhone Apple is expected to roll out in the coming months is no different, the Journal’s sources imply. “[…] Continuing its practice of annual upgrades at about the same time of year,” Cupertino’s new iPhone “is likely to be thinner and have a faster processor,” according to two people familiar with the device, WSJ reveals. Currently, Apple is focused on its iPad’s big debut. The slate-shaped device is set to go on sale this Saturday, starting at $499 for the 16GB, Wi-Fi-only version.