iPhone Coming to Verizon in January

Verizon too, is expected to soon offer a tiered data plan that caps the maximum data usage. In addition to that Apple is bound by their contract with AT&T which expires in 2012. So this is all a speculation and a rumor. Apple's marketing works on being the "people's device", so it is highly unlikely they are going to do their iPhone 4 customers dirty, by releasing the iPhone 4 on Verizon in January, and even at that Verizon uses CMDA, which would make service better on the iPhone, but would compromise the experience.

(Just for the record, I am not an apple fanboy, I own a blackberry and an iphone)

These rumors seem to pop up every couple of months but are never substantiated. I'll believe it when Apple or Verizon makes an announcement.

I think a big question is if Verizon can handle allowing Apple to completely have its way with every decision about the phone. Knowing how anal Verizon appears to be about their phones, I would be shocked if Steve Jobs' ego could handle moving to Verizon.

Well the Iphone would also have to be completely redesigned to operate on the CDMA network. To my knowledge, Verizon is the only one that operates using this technology. I have heard that T-mobile will have the Iphone before year ed.

Sprint also uses CDMA.

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=ap5gMo.E6RUo

Here's the original article.

In addition to the fact that the contract is in place, the timing seems strange to begin with. It would be a pretty costly endeavor for Apple to outfit either all of their phones with CDMA/GSM technology or split production to manufacture one phone for ATT and one for VZW. What I think this is is a play on 4G networks. Since AT&T's 3G network has been so suspect, they have had to invest heavily in keeping pace with 3G while Verizon has been able to invest in LTE (4G) networks and will be one of the first to market. Apple has had to learn the hard way about choosing networks, especially since Verizon was their first choice for the original. Verizon just shut them down because working with Apple is a nightmare.

Also, think about the possibilities for Verizon. A January release of a CDMA iPhone and a 2012 deployment of true 4G means every single Apple fanboy already on Verizon jizzing their pants and buying full price 4G (true LTE) iPhones without their "New Every Two".

Personally, I hope Verizon doesn't get it. The last thing the mobile space needs is more douches with $600 buying inferior phones. Verizon has such a strong customer base, it is an excellent opportunity for handset makers like HTC, etc to gain some traction without competing against pure hype.

goalieman688, I'm not an engineer but I don't think there needs to be a total redesign of the phone in order for it to work on a CDMA network. You are essentially removing a GSM radio and replacing it with a CDMA radio.

At any rate, I think Scrambles is a little closer to the reality of the situation. While there have been rumors for over a year not that Verizon would get the iPhone everybody knows the contract Apple has with AT&T has to be running out and Steve Jobs knows there are people dying to have the iPhone but would never spend the money to break their contracts to leave their current provide (Verizon) not to mention that some people would flat out refuse to use AT&T's network no matter what phone was available. The analysts are estimating Verizon would sell 11 million iPhones next year. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue for Apple next year.

Verizon should be rolling out the LTE network in some cities by the end of the year/beginning of next and that could be a perfect opportunity for Apple to jump to Verizon.

Regards

Tell me “I told you so” in six months, but Bloomberg’s exciting news that two dudes said something about the iPhone coming to Verizon is false until we see hardware and there has been no hardware.

Apple picked GSM because it is an international standard. CDMA, the system used by Verizon and Sprint, is about as international as American beer – both are considered weak and both are reviled. Picking AT&T in this case was the only way Apple could reach a mass audience quickly without having two separate phone SKUs on the books – one for us and one for the rest of the world. AT&T has also been a good partner in terms of odd pricing systems including a la carte data. From a business perspective, it made sense.

Apple doesn’t innovate, per se. They make existing technologies better. If you recall, the first iPhone wasn’t 3G even though 3G was popular. It’s because they wanted to first inject something good on the market. The next iPhone had no front-facing camera although they had existed for years. It’s because they wanted to perfect the process of face-to-face calling. Howl all you want about your janky Nokia from 2002 with face chat: how many wireless face-to-face video chats on a cellphone had you ever experienced before Facetime? Approximately zero?

To that end, the possibility of bouncing off into CDMA/LTE/WiMax is highly suspect. First, they’d never go 4G/WiMax until it’s an established standard available everywhere.

Consider, also, the audience for Verizon phones – an audience that rarely travels abroad and is looking for the lowest price possible. Verizon just slashed prices on Microsoft’s abysmal Kin phones without Microsoft’s input and I doubt Apple would accept that sort of guff from any carrier. AT&T, at the very least, has been very amenable to changes in the age-old structure of the carrier universe.

But look: you guys need a little cheering up. Here’s a rumor I heard from “two reliable sources:” the iPhone will come to all carriers! They’ll have two radios built-in and two SIM cards and a keyboard and come in multiple colors and include a bumper case! And they’ll be free with contract with all carriers! Take that to the SEC and smoke it, Bloomberg.

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/06/30/sorry-to-shatter-your-dreams-but…

Apple cares what AT&T sells their phone for because its about the branding, and creating the idea that you're paying a premium for their whiz-bang product. Look at the prices of their MacBooks and MacBook Pros. For hundreds of dollars less you can get the exact same hardware in a Sony Vaio. What they are charging you for is their God's-gift-to-humanity-OS. Remember when the iPhone first came out and there was no discount for buying the phone with a contract? Also the cost to AT&T and other retailers (BBY, WMT) to acquire the iPhone from Apple is less than $400-$500.

Apple did try, as I mentioned, to price the iPhone at a premium to every other phone on the market when they released the first generation one back in 2007. They then realized that they couldn't singlehandedly change the way cell phone pricing in the US works so they had to play everybody elses' game, so that the iPhone could compete with BlackBerry, etc.

As for the laptops, what I mean is comparing a MacBook to a Sony/Toshiba/HP/Dell laptop. I'm not talking the netbooks, I mean just regular laptops. Comparing hardware specs.

I agree with you that the iPhone is a cash cow, but if Apple had it their way, there wouldn't be a discount for buying the phone even with a contract.