The best iPhone yet, announced early yesterday morning, is unable to handle simultaneous voice and LTE data on CDMA networks as confirmed by Apple. This would definitely help some people come to a decision as to which carrier will they purchase their iPhone 5, although I do admit that for the extremely casual phone user, it does not matter that much since you will most probably be holding the phone to your ear while carrying out a conversation so there is no need to worry about your data path being “blocked”, so to speak. Power users might be peeved at this development though, as many a time you might tether your iPhone 5 and an incoming call comes, breaking whatever data connection you were enjoying previously.
According to Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison, it is “not yet possible” to perform side-by-side CDMA voice and LTE data on a “single-radio” design that is found in the iPhone 5. Do you think that this is because Apple wanted to ensure the hardware differences are kept to the bare minimum between CDMA and GSM users? This would rule Verizon and Sprint out of the big four telcos in the US, meaning you have just AT&T and an unlocked iPhone 5 on T-Mobile to experience simultaneous voice and LTE data.
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