An outside contributor to TechCrunch, engineer and entrepreneur Steve Cheney, this morning penned a think piece on Apple‘s (AAPL) forthcoming Verizon (VZ) iPhone, writing that neither that device nor the next iPhone refresh expected in the summer, will support so-called 4G, or Long Term Evolution, networks. That will apparently have to wait until 2012, writes Cheney, citing no sources in particular.
Cheney, who wrote back in August about a Verizon iPhone, before The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times ran their own articles last week and today, writes that Apple will introduce a mixed-mode phone that will accomodate both CDMA, the wireless technology used in Verizon’s current network, and GSM’s 3G, the stuff used by AT&T (T) and others. Cheney implies this mixed-mode phone will be the 2011 summer refresh of the iPhone.
Despite the fact that both AT&T and Verizon have roadmaps to roll out 4G starting the end of this year, Cheney argues Apple “doesnt want to be the guinea pig” for 4G networks and that it will be awhile before Apple moves to the standard, waiting till the kinks are worked out. Google (GOOG) and others will have phones supporting 4G next year, Cheney points out.
Instead, Apple will focus on “near-field communications,” short-range communications technology that can be used for things such as electronic payments from the iPhone. AT&T and Verizon, meanwhile, are being pushed by Apple to extend their 3G networks with upgrades, using HSPA+ in AT&T’s case, and something called “voice over Rev A” in Verizon’s case, which allows for simulaneous voice and data transmission. (The Verizon network doesn’t do data comms at the moment while making a voice call.)
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