The Verizon iPhone 4, available online tomorrow and in stores on Thursday, contains a Qualcomm “Gobi” radio chip that is capable of connecting to both CDMA and GSM networks, according to a detailed autopsy by Ifixit.com.
IFixit’s teardown reveals that most of the Verizon iPhone’s parts are not interchangeable with those from a GSM iPhone 4. Qualcomm’s MDM6600 Gobi radio chip will support both HSPA+ data rates up to 14.4 Mbps and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev. A/Rev. B., but it only has antennas for Verizon’s CDMA service.
Kyle Wiens, the cofounder of iFixit, speculates that Verizon’s new iPhone doesn’t support GSM because it might have been “easier to design antennas for a CDMA-only phone”.
The phone supports only two cellular frequency bands while Apple supports five bands in their GSM version used by AT&T. Wiens says this is particular significant because it is “a sign that Apple may be considering unifying the CDMA and GSM iPhones in the future.” Verizon’s iPhone will not be a world traveler since it will not work in as many international locations as its AT&T counterpart.
