Evidence mounts for a GSM/CDMA iPhone 5 (ruling out LTE)

An unnamed iOS app developer has provided further evidence that the iPhone 5 will be a dual-mode “world phone” that can work across both CDMA and GSM 3G networks, TechCrunch reports.

The dev provided TechCrunch with logs that showed someone is using their app on an iPhone 5 running iOS 5 — but most intriguingly, the phone sported two sets of mobile network codes (MNC) and mobile country codes (MCC). The codes can be used to identify carriers, and not surprisingly they pointed to both AT&T and Verizon.

If accurate, the report means that the iPhone 5 will be able to work across most cellular networks worldwide, and that Apple would only have to build one device to support different cellular standards.

This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve heard tale of a dual-mode iPhone 5, but the new evidence is worth noting now since we’re so close to the iPhone 5’s unveiling. It was pretty much a given that the iPhone 5 would be a world phone when it was discovered earlier this year that the Verizon iPhone featured a Qualcomm chipset that could technically work on AT&T as well. At one point, Verizon’s CFO basically confirmed that the iPhone 5 would be a worldphone, although Apple never acknowledged his gaffe.

If the iPhone 5 is truly dual-mode, then it likely won’t feature LTE 4G support. Honestly, that was a longshot from the start — LTE chipsets are still too bulky and power-hungry to meet Apple’s strict user experience standards. It also doesn’t help that AT&T still hasn’t rolled out its LTE network yet.

Image via MacRumors.net