Verizon sees iPhone 5 in fall; China Telecom may follow
updated 03:20 pm EDT, Fri July 22, 2011
Verizon hints iPhone 5 in fall as China expands
Verizon COO and soon-to-be CEO Lowell McAdam during the conference call for spring results said his company was anticipating the next iPhone's launch in the fall. Although he claimed Verizon didn't know when the new model would ship, the carrier was planning for a "significant jump" in business during the fall. Verizon had anticipated a release in the summer but didn't get that.
"You will have to ask Apple," he said, using the same language he relied on when he had full knowledge of a Verizon iPhone 4 launch but publicly avoided questions.
Most leaks have had Apple shipping a revamped iPhone in September or possibly slightly earlier. If so, it would still make the summer but arrive at the tail end of the season. Verizon's launch may have played a part, since the February launch both demanded work on a CDMA iPhone and left a small four-month window between Verizon's support and when a new iPhone would arrive.
A Verizon iPhone 5 release may be accompanied by Chinese carriers at the same time. A rumor propagated by the country's Caixin had China Telecom launching the next iPhone at the same time as Apple's existing partner China Unicom. Their release would come as soon as the summer and backed the September rumors.
China Mobile, despite talks with Apple, wouldn't be the first in the country to get support. The largest Chinese carrier is likely to need extra time for its use of its unique TD-SCDMA standard for 3G.
Apple has usually released its products later in China but has been putting more and more importance on the country through its potential for growth. China as a business has surged 600 percent from year to year and contributed to southeast Asia making Apple $8.8 billion in revenue in the past nine months.
