Apple tipped to ship an international iPhone next year

Apple is said to be planning an international version of its iPhone handset next year that will work with 3G as well as CDMA2000 systems used predominantly in the US.

In a note to investors, Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar said that the new phone would use a hybrid chipset from Qualcomm and would be sold initially in the US via Verizon in the summer of next year.

If the phone does come into production it would be the first smartphone on the market capable of spanning different global networks.

The report backs up a similar note from analyst house OTR Global last week, which suggested that a "world phone" would be released by Apple in the third quarter of next year.

That report said that the new phone would be slightly smaller than existing iPhones, with a 2.8in display compared to the current 3.5in screen.