According to Jeffrey Fidacaro, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, individuals within Apple's overseas supply chain report that the company will begin assembling its first round of CDMA iPhones in December. The suppliers in question tell Fidacaro that Apple could build as many as three million CDMA iPhones before January 1, 2011.
If such ambitious plans materialize, Apple Insider notes that total GSM and CDMA iPhone production for the quarter would come in at around 22 million. Fidacaro, however, predicts that Apple will sell just under 12 million iPhones in the fourth quarter of the company's fiscal 2010. "We expect the September 25 launch of iPhone in China and Apple's target of making the iPhone available in 88 countries by month end to aid results in 4QFY10," he noted. "Our checks show that Apple is still struggling with yields on the mass production of the white iPhone 4."
While rumors have lingered for many months regarding a forthcoming ramped up building of CDMA iPhones, rarely is such talk of "certain plans" routed from overseas suppliers to prominent market or industry analysts. Of course, there are also other clues. "We believe the company has selected Qualcomm as its modem supplier for the CDMA iPhone as well as for the iPhone 5," says Ashok Kumar, a managing director and analyst at Rodman & Renshaw. "The iPhone 5 will likely use a two-chip modem, allowing the company to create 3G and 4G products."
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