GSM Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Unlocked iPhone 4S coming in November, won't work with CDMA

by Steven Sande (Oct 7th, 2011)

If you were planning to preorder an unlocked iPhone 4S today, you're going to have to wait a little while. The unlocked and contract-free version is available starting in November, with no specific date listed on the Apple website. There's another bit of a surprise, although it makes sense: the ...

iPhone 4S officially lands on Sprint

by Kelly Hodgkins (Oct 4th, 2011)

Good news Sprint customers, the iPhone 4S is a worldphone and is now available on your carrier. Late-breaking rumors from the Wall Street Journal hinted that the iPhone was heading to Sprint and now it's officially official. Just like the Verizon and AT&T iPhone, the Sprint version will ...

Samsung files French patent complaint against Apple

by Kelly Hodgkins (Sep 13th, 2011)

Samsung and Apple continue to fight a heated legal battle overseas. In the latest skirmish, Samsung filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in France. The complaint claims Apple violates three UMTS patents held by the Korean company. UMTS is a 3G technology used on GSM-based cellular ...

Verizon iPhone 4 responsible for 32% of US iPhone 4 traffic

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 8th, 2011)

Data from mobile app analytics firm Localytics suggests the Verizon iPhone 4 now accounts for 32.3% of the U.S. iPhone market share. The CDMA version of the iPhone has been steadily climbing since launch, while the AT&T iPhone has apparently declined. Verizon confirmed during its Q2 ...

WSJ: Apple prepping thinner, lighter iPhone 5

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 6th, 2011)

The Wall Street chimed in with its insider information on the rumored iPhone 5. According to the report, Apple's next generation iPhone will be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4. It also may include an 8-megapixel camera, which is a nice boost from the 5-megapixel shooter on the current ...

Unlocked iPhone 4 available for $649 in US (Updated)

by Chris Rawson (Jun 14th, 2011)

Update: The unlocked iPhone 4 actually slipped out a day early, and is now available through the Apple Store. As mentioned below, this is a GSM model only. Also, we've answered many common questions in our unlocked iPhone FAQ. While we were skeptical about the rumors that came up over the ...

Verizon CFO: Next iPhone works on both CDMA and GSM networks

by Steven Sande (May 19th, 2011)

As part of the Reuters Global Technology Summit, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo today talked about data plan discounts, prepaid plans and the next-generation iPhone. During his talk, Shammo noted that the next iPhone model will be released simultaneously for both AT&T and ...

iFixIt releases transparent iPhone 4 rear panel

by Kelly Hodgkins (Apr 26th, 2011)

If you like to see the innards of your handset, then you have to check out this latest offering from iFixit. The repair company known for its detailed teardown analyses has released a transparent rear panel for the GSM/AT&T iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the Verizon iPhone 4 has a slightly ...

iPad 2 teardown: GSM and CDMA differences

by Chris Ward (Mar 30th, 2011)

The screwdriver- and heat gun-happy bunch over at iFixit have been disassembling iPad 2s again, all in the interest of keeping radio (and other) nerds "droolingly-happy," as Engadget puts it. Their original teardown was of a humble (relative to other iPad 2s only) 16 GB Wi-Fi only model. Now ...

Study finds AT&T iPhone downloads twice as fast as Verizon's

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Mar 7th, 2011)

We reported this morning on Verizon's iPad data rates crushing AT&T's, but if you're looking for raw download speed instead of cost savings, it might be worth checking out AT&T. Network World reported that studies from Metrico Wireless in five US cities showed that the iPhone 4 ...

Confirmed: iPad 2 will NOT be carrier-locked in Canada, or anywhere else

by Chris Rawson (Mar 6th, 2011)

At first glance, wording on Apple's Canadian website would seem to imply that the iPad 2 will be carrier-locked in Canada. "The iPad model you purchase is specially configured to work with either Bell, Rogers, or Telus," the site states. "So while you don't have to activate 3G service right ...

iPad 2 gets same quad-band 3G as iPhone 4

by Chris Rawson (Mar 6th, 2011)

Just like the iPhone 4 before it, the feature I wanted most from the iPad 2 was support for 900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA in its 3G chipset. And just like the iPhone 4, the UMTS/GSM version of the 3G-enabled iPad 2 delivers, with the same quad-band support as the iPhone 4. The original iPad (and the ...

Apple outlines differences between CDMA and GSM phones

by Kelly Hodgkins (Feb 16th, 2011)

Apple detailed the differences between the GSM and CDMA iPhone when it comes to voice calling and its associated features. The document confirms the Verizon iPhone is unable to hold a conference call with more than two attendees as well as put a call on hold. The Verizon iPhone can also use a ...

Verizon data limitations not unique to iPhone

by Dave Caolo (Feb 14th, 2011)

There's a video up at 9to5 Mac that demonstrates how iPhones on Verizon and AT&T handle conference calling differently. Specifically, the CDMA-based Verizon phone is unable to jump between calls like the AT&T iPhone can. The user began by placing a call on both phones. Once connected, ...

iFixit: Verizon iPhone using dual-mode chip

by Michael Rose (Feb 8th, 2011)

A lot of the anticipation and/or naysaying about the Verizon iPhone has focused on CDMA, the somewhat less travel-friendly and slower network standard that Verizon uses. GSM covers a lot more countries, including all of Europe, and in the US the AT&T data speeds are testing noticeably faster -- ...