newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

If early reports are any indication, there appears to be serious demand for the new Verizon iPhone. Verizon and Apple were forced to stop pre-orders for the iPhone two hours after they started.

Apple and Verizon both ran out of pre-sale stock of the new CDMA iPhone and are directing customers to wait until Feb. 9 to purchase the device online or Feb. 10 for in-store purchases.

Verizon announced in January that the iPhone was coming February 10 for $199. According to appleinsider.com, analyst Mike Abramsky with RBC Capital Markets said he expects competing smartphones running the Google Android mobile operating system will work to quickly embrace 4G, giving them a feature that Apple's iPhone does not currently offer.

Abramsky also said he does not believe Apple will rush to release an LTE 4G phone, which will allow devices running Android, and potentially new ones from Research in Motion as well, to beat Apple to the 4G race.

The Verizon iPhone 4 beats its AT&T counterpart for the reliability and quality of its voice calls, though it may be a bit slower on data connections, according to early reviews from Consumer Reports.

Their reviewers noted that the two versions of the iPhone 4 are nearly identical, regarding hardware-except for differences made to accommodate Verizon's CDMA cell-phone network. AT&T iPhones run on a GSM cell-phone network. This accounts for the other main difference between the two phones: on Verizon's CDMA network, you can't make voice calls and be online at the same time.

But David Pogue of the New York Times mentions, "Continuing processes like downloads, Personal Hotspot and GPS navigation resume automatically when you end your call. You can still send text and get messages when you're on a call. And none of this applies when you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot; in that case, you can call and surf simultaneously."

Verizon appears to have an edge in the iPhone wars according to these early reviewers.

Yet iLounge has discovered that the Verizon CDMA iPhone 4 suffers from signal antenna problems similar to ones discovered in the original GSM version of the iPhone 4. The CDMA iPhone 4 can still lose substantial cellular signal strength when held in the prior "death grip" position, as well as Wi-Fi signal when held in a different position, in each case noticeably slowing or completely stalling reception.

Again, use of a protective case appears to fix the antenna issue.

According to gizmocrunch.com, Best Buy has announced that both their retail stores and mobile stores will open earlier than normal on the Verizon iPhone 4 release date, February 10th. All stores are expected to open at 7 a.m. to accommodate the rush of Verizon iPhone buyers come opening day.

You can also reserve a Verizon iPhone on February 9th to ensure that there is a unit available for you to pick on the 10th.