Verizon's iPhone features a redesigned antenna that overcomes the "death grip" issue that plagued AT&T's model, according to teardown analysis reports.
dropped call problem the AT&T iPhone 4 suffered when it is held in certain ways.
Apple was heavily criticized for the signal problems and initially blamed software errors, before issuing free cases to overcome the problem.
Verizon, which began selling iPhone yesterday, is projected to move 9 to 13 million units this year.
"Apple's new designs always exhibit changes, evolution and optimization," said Andrew Rassweiler, analyst at iSuppli. "As we dig deeper into our teardown analysis, we're certain that we will find a host of other tweaks all designed to improve quality but keep costs on a steady path of decline."
Parts for the Verizon iPhone cost $171.35, down from $187.51 for the AT&T equivalent, while production costs per phone were $7.10 lower per unit, according to iSuppli. The breakdown only includes estimates of hardware costs and do not include marketing, software and licensing costs.
Starting today, AT&T customers on a qualifying Nation or Family Talk plan that sign up for unlimited messaging, will be able to make unlimited calls to any mobile number regardless of carrier. The new plan is called Mobile to Any Mobile and calls made under this plan do not count toward your Anytime Minutes. The unlimited messaging costs $20 for individuals and $30 for the family plan. But think about all of those minutes you will be saving calling your pals who switched to Verizon's Apple iPhone 4.
