iPhone Hardware

With all of the hoopla over the white iPhone 4 launch and a possible Verizon Wireless CDMA model it's easy to forget that carriers are frantically working to upgrade their cellular data networks. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and its the technology behind next generation 4G wireless networks. AT&T along with Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile have all committed to LTE standards.

AT&T, currently the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the US, plans to begin rolling out its LTE network in mid-2011. Trials of LTE are currently underway in Dallas and Baltimore as the company continues to expand HPSA+ 3G availability across the nation. The implementation of LTE could coincide with Apple's iPhone 5 launch next year.

Rumors have surfaced online that Apple and its partner AT&T Wireless have ceased to offer the iPhone 4 without a two-year service contract. Speculation on the issue has blamed the policy change on everything from an impending Verizon iPhone to AT&T greed. These reports would be informative except for one thing, the rumor is not true.

Both AT&T and Apple offer the iPhone 4 without a contract at no-commitment pricing. However, these deals are not available online. AT&T representatives have verified that the iPhone 4 can be purchased without a contract in person, from either an AT&T Wireless retail store or an Apple Store. To have an iPhone purchased online and shipped to your residence or place of business, a two-year contract is required.

Apple fans are still waiting for a white iPhone 4 release date as Apple claims to have encountered manufacturing difficulties. The device was delayed twice, even after Steve Jobs announced white iPhone 4 availability would come by the end of this month. It could be that the press conference about the iPhone 4 antenna has more to do with the white iPhone delay than the painting process.

Apple is offering iPhone 4 owners a free case to alleviate antenna reception problems until September 30. Speculation is now rampant that the company will use this time and the already long white iPhone 4 delay to implement improvements to the antenna design. A change would make it unnecessary to offer free iPhone cases to owners of the white model, especially if the white iPhone 4 release is delayed until October 1st.

Apple says the white iPhone 4 will hit stores at the end of July. Unfortunately, reports of production issues are making the date sound less likely. Even if the white iPhone 4 does hit stores or pre-ordering commences this month, quantities are going to be limited due to pent-up demand and slow manufacturing.

The glass back featured on the iPhone 4 as well as the white bezel design may be causing Apple more headaches than it had bargained for thanks to a difficult manufacturing process and high standards for the finished product. Chinese supplier Lens Technology is having trouble getting the right level of paint thickness and opacity for Apple's specifications.

In the wake of what Steve Jobs referred to as "Antennagate," Apple has launched an informational website to follow up on its Friday press conference on the iPhone 4. Much of the smartphone graphics and testing facility photos presented at the event are explained in detail on the new Apple pages. Pictured below is one of Apple's 17 anechoic chambers, which accurately measure antenna and wireless performance.

Apple highlights the fact they have spent thousands of hours logging tests in special facilities like these and in the field with prototypes of the iPhone 4 and all of their wireless devices. These state-of-the-art facilities cost Apple over $100 million to design and build.