While chipmalker Qualcomm would love to have something up and running
that Apple could put in their phones ready for Verizon's CDMA network
and AT&T's UMTS network, an industry analyst says "not so fast."

Before Verizon customers with iPhone lust in their hearts begin crying
and calling Qualcomm a tease, this doesn't necessarily delay Verizon
from launching their own iPhone handset. It merely means if Apple wants
two carriers, Apple's going to have to launch two handset models.

According to AppleInsider, Ashok Kumar, an analyst with Northeast
Securities, claims that while the chipmaker would love to roll out the
worldwide model by third quarter of 2010, they are nowhere near far
along enough in testing to make that deadline. To back up his claim,
Kumar cited insiders at Qualcomm who agreed with his assessment.

As a practical matter, Kumar suggests that complications in rolling out
the worldwide model iPhone would involve "hardware issues in terms of
the baseband, but also software issues." More likely, he suggests, 2010
will see a Verizon-only iPhone alongside an AT&T-only model.

"That's probably a 2011 story, not a 2010 story," Kumar concluded in
regards to the universal handset. While this is certainly a small
complication on the path to a worldwide iPhone model, it still appears
a sign that Apple is definitely moving ahead with breaking out of the
AT&T monogamy.