Never you mind the fact that the photo seen here features a white iPhone 4 -- the far more interesting aspect of this spy shot is that it’s an iPhone 4 running 3G on T-Mobile, which is currently not possible due to differences in the carrier’s radio bands.
BGR is reporting that Apple is testing an iPhone 4 prototype capable of running on T-Mobile’s slightly different radio bands. As anyone who has jailbroken and unlocked their iPhone knows, Apple’s handset is capable of making calls on T-Mobile, but it can only access EDGE data speeds due to differences with AT&T and T-Mobile’s radio spectrum. So how exactly is the iPhone 4 seen here running 3G data?
The answer is easy: Apple is testing its hardware with a prototype capable of running on T-Mobile’s 3G here in the U.S. Of course, given that AT&T and T-Mobile may wind up becoming one by year’s end, this may not seem like such a big deal -- so no one knows for sure how long this has been going on, or if it will ever see the light of day.
“The actual internal model is N94, and if you remember, the Verizon model is N92 while the standard GSM variant is N90,” BGR reports. “We have verified that the phone itself is running a test version of Apple’s iOS, much like the one we saw in those videos from Vietnam, and it includes internal Apple test apps like Radar and Apple’s employee directory app. Additionally, the front of the white iPhone pictured looks a little different from the photos of the retail white iPhone 4 that surfaced recently — specifically, the proximity sensor has changed on the retail version.”
AT&T plans to use T-Mobile’s 3G spectrum to extend their own 4G LTE plans, which would seem to indicate that Apple’s prototype may ultimately be scrubbed if the merger goes through. At any rate, it’s nice to see that Cupertino at least had plans to bring the iconic device to a third U.S. carrier at some point -- and when the acquisition is final, you’ll likely see it come to fruition sooner than later anyway.
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(Images courtesy of BGR)
