Apple will reportedly use a baseband chipset from Qualcomm in its next-gen iPhone instead of the Infineon chipset it's used in all previous iterations of the iPhone
The Chinese-language China Times is reporting that for the 5th generation iPhone, Apple will use a baseband chipset from Qualcomm in place of the Infineon chipset it’s used in all previous iterations of the iPhone. Remember it was only a few weeks ago that Intel announced that it acquired the Wireless Solutions unit of Infineon for $1.4 billion.
Interestingly enough, a recent feature from Wired detailing the tumultous relationship between Apple and AT&T explained how Apple’s decision to use Infineon as their baseband chipset supplier irked some executives at AT&T in light of the oft-reported network problems that were so prevalent when the iPhone first launched.
AT&T executives aren’t so crazy about Jobs, either. They complain that Apple hasn’t accepted its fair share of the blame. They say — and Apple sources confirm — that the software running the iPhone’s main radio, known as the baseband, was full of bugs and contributed to the much-decried dropped calls. What’s more, Apple had chosen to source the radio from Infineon, whose hardware was used widely in Europe but rarely in the US, where cell towers are placed farther apart and reception is therefore less forgiving.
In any event, it’s easy to read into Apple’s decision to go with Qualcomm over Infineon as further proof that a CDMA iPhone is just around the corner. A number of sources have indicated over the past few weeks that an iPhone capable of running on Verizon’s CDMA network is scheduled to launch in early 2011. Adding fuel to the fire, there have also been speculative reports stating that Apple may launch an iPhone with a hybrid CDMA/UMTS chip from Qualcomm.
All that said, if Apple is indeed hammering out a deal with Qualcomm for a CDMA iPhone, it would make good business sense to have them supply a “Qualcomm solution in the GSM version” of the iPhone as well.
via unwiredview
