Apple is working on a UTMS/CDMA hybrid iPhone that would allow the company to offer the device through Verizon in the third quarter of 2010. The news comes through an analyst research note from OTR Global reported by AppleInsider, and is based on supposed leaks from Apple's Taiwan manufacturing chain.
As a hybrid device, Apple would be able to offer it through both AT&T's UTMS 3G network, as well as Verizon's larger, but older, CDMA network. This would be enabled by a new chip developed by Qualcomm. The new phones would be manufactured by Pegatron, a subsidiary of the large manufacturing firm Asustek.
OTR's report would also be smaller than current iPhone models, with a 2.8" screen, though there was no mention of what resolution this display might feature. Display resolution would be a big factor in whether or not the 100,000 iPhone apps currently on the App Store would be compatible with such a device.
Assuming, of course, OTR Global's sources are accurate to begin with. Rumors of an on-again, off-again deal with Verizon have been circulating for more than a year. Those rumors were heating up as AT&T's exclusivity deal with Apple neared its end, but were dampened when Verizon recently began its "There A Map For That" commercial that indirectly criticized the iPhone by denigrating AT&T's 3G coverage.
Be that as it may, however, OTR's report said that a deal between the two companies has already been reached.