iPhone 5 to be Verizon-AT&T hybrid, maybe LTE, data caps, says insider

If those who know don't speak and those who speak don't know, then Verizon's recent mouthing off about the unannounced iPhone 5, which includes the nugget that it'll be a Verizon-AT&T (CDMA-GSM) hybrid device and still yet might or might not sport 4G LTE, must be taken with a grain of salt. On the one hand, if anyone does know iPhone5 details outside of Apple itself, it's one of the phone's primary carrier partners. But on the other hand, the fact that so many companies can't keep their lips shut about Apple's secrets is reason enough to believe that Steve Jobs and company are smart enough not to give partners like Verizon the entire picture up front. Then again, this was Verizon's CEO Fran Shammo himself sharing purported iPhone 5 details to Reuters, and they're the kind of details which he and his company would know about. So here's what Verizon's honcho claims to know about the iPhone 5g.

First he says there will be a single iPhone 5 which works on both Verizon and AT&T. This is no surprise. The existing Verizon iPhone 4 uses a chip which some who've torn it apart believe could have been used as a GSM-CDMA hybrid chip now, if Apple had wanted to go there. So the notion that a single iPhone 5 will talk to both networks sounds plausible enough to be believable.

But whether the iPhone 5′s hybrid antenna system will include 4G LTE is another story. Verizon says that's still up to Apple, which can be interpreted in multiple ways. Either Apple hasn't made up its mind yet and Verizon's comments are merely reflecting that, or Apple is not planning to include 4G LTE but Verizon is still hoping to push Apple into changing its mind before launch. Yes, major companies, even partners, are not above using public comments like this to attempt to subversively push each other into making certain moves; if Verizon can create enough of an expectation that the iPhone 5 4G, then Apple might have to go ahead and make it happen just to avoid public disappointment otherwise.

Finally, Verizon's CEO spoke on something which is in fact his decision: the brief days of new Verizon iPhone customers getting unlimited data plans are over. Those iPhone users who haven't yet switched from AT&T to Verizon aren't going to be able to take their unlimited data with them if they're planning to wait until the iPhone 5 arrives before moving. This alone will keep a good chunk of AT&T iPhone users standing pat for the iPhone 5 and generations to come, as heavy mobile data users look to avoid getting caught in the prospect of either hefty overage fees or having to think twice every time they go to check their email on the iPhone. Here's more on the iPhone 5 news.