Apple could be field-testing Verizon iPhone and second-gen iPad as we speak
iOS 4 allegedly sports a mysterious code that lets Apple field-test future iPhone and iPad prototypes without activating them in iTunes beforehand. References to a prototype hardware led Boy Genius Report to assert that a rumored Verizon iPhone and next-gen iPod touch might be nearing device verification test (DVT), the phase that precedes manufacturing prototypes.
Providing a screenshot of the mysterious code, included below, the site explained its sole purpose is to enable Apple and carriers to field-test prototype hardware in a more secure manner than before:
Our source says that the code queries the device, and if the device is either a CDMA iPhone or iPad 2, the device will auto-activate, thus bypassing the need for iTunes. We’re told this block of code has appeared every year consequently before a major iPhone / device release, removed right before launch. This allows the products to be field tested by carriers (or partners) without having to activate the handsets or devices.
Quoting another source, the site claimed that Apple code-named a CDMA iPhone and third-gen iPod touch as N92AP and N81AP, respectively. the mention of “iPhone3,2″ and “iPhone3,3″ and “iProd2,1″ in the code suggests a slight iPhone revision and a major new iPad hardware as the first number denotes major hardware change, per Apple’s naming convention.
Read more at Boy Genius Report
Christian’s Opinion
Apple is employing new tricks to prevent future incidents like Gizmodo’s stolen iPhone 4 prototype. as for this rumor, Boy Genius Report has a respectable track record of accurate Apple reporting, but they’ve had their shares of misses as well. the site recently published a purported Steve Jobs email conversation that Apple debunked as fake.
The speculation about Apple field-testing a CDMA iPhone sharply contradicts their June piece which claimed the same and joins an inaccurate July report about a cloud-based iTunes service “definitely happening soon.” I wouldn’t keep read too much into the piece beyond the fact that a CDMA iPhone, next-gen iPod touch, and second-gen iPad are all in various stages of development.
Apple could be field-testing Verizon iPhone and second-gen iPad as we speak
