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iphone 4.. is it a world phone?

dan330

Extreme Android User
Jan 22, 2010
12,492
4,028
Hi,

my friend.. is looking to purchase from another friend.. the white iphone 4.

it is a verizon phone... cdma...

I know the new iphone 4S is a world phone.. so it should take sim cards and accept GSM and CDMA towers

question:
is the iphone 4 on verizon CDMA, a world phone too? can it accept sim cards and work on GMS towers?

the little that I know.. the iphone 4 is not a world phone.. is that correct?


thanks
 
AFAIK iPhones come in two flavours CDMA or GSM. A CDMA iPhone might work in countries which have CDMA networks, US, Canada and China, there maybe some others. Not sure if one can roam a CDMA phone though.

GSM iPhones should work very much anywhere, as just about all countries have GSM networks. Either by roaming with carriers which have roaming agreements, usually very expensive, or if the iPhone is unlocked by using a local SIM card for whatever carrier is available.
 
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The Verizon iPhone 4S is definitely a world phone ... I know because I've spent time recently shopping for one. There's a slot for a micro SIM card in the phone, and customers in good standing with Verizon can ask that the phone be unlocked for overseas use. You can then use SIM cards from overseas carriers in the device. (The phone still wouldn't work with a SIM from a US carrier, though.)
 
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The Verizon iPhone 4S is definitely a world phone ... I know because I've spent time recently shopping for one. There's a slot for a micro SIM card in the phone, and customers in good standing with Verizon can ask that the phone be unlocked for overseas use. You can then use SIM cards from overseas carriers in the device. (The phone still wouldn't work with a SIM from a US carrier, though.)

There's more info about that:

Beware the iPhone 4S's 'worldphone' trap | Mobile Technology - InfoWorld
 
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That web page is dated ... and by current reports, not accurate. Newer accounts report that Verizon will readily unlock the iPhone 4S on request to customers who have been with Verizon for at least 60 days. I've also seen a number of reports on iPhone forums of Verizon customers in the US who have obtained the unlock, and are successfully using third-party overseas SIMs in their phones.

AT&T and T-Mobile SIM cards won't work on an unlocked Verizon phone, but a SIM from a European or other overseas GSM carrier will. If you use a European card in the phone but are in the US, you reportedly are able to roam on the AT&T network.
 
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that is pretty low! not exactly customer friendly!




" you need to wait until November to get the $649 unlocked iPhone 4S directly from Apple or get the $549 unlocked iPhone 4 from Apple today."

what does it mean about the unlocked iphone 4??? does the old phone from apple have a sim slot? that will work from both CDMA and GSM?

i guess to confirm.... this particular iphone 4 will have a sim card slot accessible without taking the phone apart?
 
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Could you link to those reports?

The link I provided is dated about two weeks from today, fairly current, although prior to much in the way of hands on use of the iPhone 4S, obviously. ;)

Yeah, there has certainly been a fairly high level of confusion about Verizon's policy on this ... understandable given the phone's newness, and Verizon's typically-flakey customer service.

Here's a sample discussion thread from what is basically the iOS equivalent to Androidforums -- a fair amount of confusion to wade through in the early pages, but if you look at the last few pages you'll see several reports of people successfully using overseas SIM cards on the currently-available VZW iPhone 4S.

Surprise: CDMA iPhone 4S Comes With An Unlocked SIM Slot

There are a couple other threads in that same forum with similar reports. Usually, I think the most accurate current tech information comes from user forums (like this one! :) ), rather than from pundits who are usually more interested in generating page views than anything else.
 
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" you need to wait until November to get the $649 unlocked iPhone 4S directly from Apple or get the $549 unlocked iPhone 4 from Apple today."

what does it mean about the unlocked iphone 4??? does the old phone from apple have a sim slot? that will work from both CDMA and GSM?

i guess to confirm.... this particular iphone 4 will have a sim card slot accessible without taking the phone apart?
The $549/$649 CDMA iPhones will be locally SIM-unlocked, meaning that you could use an AT&T or (presumably) T-Mobile SIM card in it while in the USA if you wanted to.

The $199/contract iPhones that are available now are internationally SIM-unlocked, meaning that SIM cards from foreign GSM carriers will work, but cards from USA-based GSM carriers will not.

Talk about confusing! :)

----------

And no you don't need to disassemble the phone. There's a SIM slot on the side of the device, and you can pop the card out with a paper clip.
 
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ok.. so... my friend was offered a verizon iphone4... for $200.
is it or is it not sim usable? if so what are the restrictions?

this is confusing!

A Verizon iPhone 4 doesn't have either a GSM radio or a SIM slot, so it won't work. Your friend would need a Verizon iPhone 4S, which has both those things.
 
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