Hold the presses – the undisputed smartphone sales leader is finally branching out to another wireless carrier in the US, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal claims that Apple’s industriously innovative mobile phone is coming soon to Verizon, the mobile service provider with more subscribers than anyone else in the US.
According to its story in Monday’s paper, a CDMA version of the iPhone is currently in production. CDMA is the wireless technology that Sprint and Verizon use, while AT&T and T-Mobile use the competing GSM infrastructure.
“The model that has CDMA capability, used by Verizon Wireless, is being manufactured by Pegatron Technology Corp., the contract manufacturing subsidiary of Taiwan’s ASUSTeK Computer Inc.,” the Journal said in its report.
The iPhone is consistently the highest-selling smartphone in the country. In the first two months of 2010, it accounted for nearly half of all smartphone sales, sweeping up the unit sales of the rest of the top 10 on the list, combined.
Despite its success, the iPhone has had a stumbling block with its exclusivity to AT&T, the runner-up in the mobile market share competition, behind Verizon. This has been a detracting factor for people who associate AT&T with dropped calls and a spotty 3G coverage area. The Motorola Droid, sold exclusively through Verizon, is a solid second on the monthly phone sales charts.
Despite AT&T’s efforts to extend its exclusivity contract with Apple, the initial deal only required Apple to be partners with the mobile provider through 2010. The WSJ says that the Verizon-equipped iPhone could come out as early as September.
