iPhone 5 to be CDMA-GSM 'world phone'?

In what could be a big come-on for jetsetters, Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5 may be a "world phone" that supports both CDMA and GSM networks, a tech site reported Wednesday (Manila time). TechCrunch cited a developer of a popular app who said their logs showed a "tiny number of people" registered for one of their applications with a dual-mode phone. "According to this person (and app usage logs) ... a tiny number of people have recently registered for one of their applications from a single, brand new Apple device that is decidedly dual-mode – meaning it supports both CDMA and GSM," it said. With a dual-mode iPhone 5, TechCrunch said users can now roam between both networks effortlessly. Rumors had indicated the iPhone 5 will be globally released in the third quarter of 2011, timed with the release of iOS 5, Apple’s mobile operating system. "An Apple-made ‘world phone’ would be great news for consumers, especially those in countries where certain carriers use CDMA (the U.S., India, Japan, Argentina, and more). Travelling abroad with a phone that only supports CDMA, in particular, is a major pain...," it added. It said the logs also show the app has been briefly tested by a handful of people using a device running iOS 5, and sporting two distinct sets of mobile network codes (MNC) and mobile country codes (MCC). The MNC and MCC are codes that can be used to uniquely identify mobile carriers. "Sure enough, some registrations for the app – which the developer also asked not to be named – were logged from a new Apple device, using the MNC/MCC codes from both Verizon and AT&T," it noted. TechCrunch said that while the first iPhone was a GSM phone released exclusively on AT&T in 2007, a CDMA version of the iPhone 4 debuted in 2010. "Now that Apple is catering to both carriers (and their respective networks), it makes all the sense in the world for the company to combine support for both CDMA and GSM in a single device, turning it into a ‘world phone’ or a ‘global phone’ as the cool kids would say," it said. Possible test unit? However, a separate article in PC World said it is possible the unknown device running iOS 5 may be a test unit Apple's engineers are using to try out the two cellular networks. Yet, it said this was not the first time hints have surfaced suggesting the next iPhone would be a world phone. "Rumors that the iPhone 5 might be a dual-mode phone picked up steam in February after teardowns of the Verizon iPhone discovered the device had a dual-mode GSM/CDMA chip," it added. — TJD, GMA News