Cupertino contracts South Korean expert company in network interworking

Apr 10, 2012 08:48 GMT  ·  By

Fearing potential leaks, Apple has decided to forego iPhone carrier testing this year and instead enlisted the help of a company specializing in network interworking to confirm that the device runs well on existing cellular networks.

It is known that mobile phone manufacturers provide operators with their upcoming products for network interworking tests roughly two months before their official debut. This is no longer the case with at least two prominent smartphone manufacturers, reports etnews.com.

Expected to arrive either in summer or later this fall with LTE 4G networking, the sixth-generation iPhone, or iPhone 5, is said to be undergoing internal testing at Apple.

Featuring updated internals but the same iPhone 4 / 4S enclosures, the prototype devices are off limits even to the operators that do business with Apple to carry the elusive phones. Why?

Well, for the Apple fanatic, it’s pretty obvious really. For the past two years, Apple has leaked an unacceptable amount of prototype units, even calling on the FBI to solve a missing iPhone case in 2010 (involving tech site Gizmodo).

Apple’s last resort apparently meant no more moving around these prototype devices. Instead, the Cupertino, California-based computer giant is seeking the help of a company that specializes in network tests based in South Korea. According to a report by Korea’s etnews...:

“Apple has decided not to provide telecom operators with mobile products for the test. The American mobile manufacturer has reportedly commissioned a company specializing in the test of network interworking to test the South Korean telecom companies’ network environment. South Korean telecom companies are expected to see iPhone when the release of the product is near at hand.”

Before you go trashing Apple’s secretive approaches to keeping the eyes of the media off its prototypes, know that rival Samsung is doing the same.

Downright headquartered in the test zone (South Korea), Samsung is also “implementing covert operations in the network interworking tests of their products, for fear of their designs being leaked,” says the same report.