Verizon and the iPhone

[mpemburn]

Curious to know what people here think about the chance that Verizon will make a deal with Apple to sell iPhones after their exclusive deal with AT&T lapses next year. Someone I know has a couple of friends who work for Apple and they think it's going to happen. Others say that the iPhone's heavy bandwidth requirement could drag Verizon's network to its knees and this possibility has the big "it's the network" provider quaking in its boots. What's your opinion and why?

-- Mark

[oculus42]

Verizon does not use GSM/GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA; they use CDMA/EVDO. The iPhone does not currently offer CDMA/EVDO support. Verizon's own execs have admitted it's unlikely they will pick up the existing iPhone.

[mpemburn]

Good point but I think if Apple and Verizon were to reach an agreement, it wouldn't be all that much of a hurdle to produce a CDMA/EVDO capable iPhone. There's also the '4G' or WiMax technology looming on the horizon and it would seem the logical next step for Verizon to leapfrog from their antiquated protocol to that. Well, logical to me -- I can't speak for logic of Verizon (especially after having worked for them at one time).

-- Mark

[MisterMe]

... if Apple and Verizon were to reach an agreement, it wouldn't be all that much of a hurdle to produce a CDMA/EVDO capable iPhone. There's also the '4G' or WiMax technology looming on the horizon and it would seem the logical next step for Verizon to leapfrog from their antiquated protocol to that. ...This question has already been asked in previous threads. That said, if Verizon upgrades to 4G this afternoon, then the company cannot and will not upgrade its entire network simultaneously. The majority of its network will remain CDMA/EVDO for years to come. This means that a Verizon iPhone would have to be CDMA/EVDO-compatible, or Verizon subscribers using iPhones would have to sacrifice Verizon service outside its 4G coverage areas.

Wishful thinking aside, a Verizon iPhone is not a realistic expectation.

[Divyesh]

Well According to the latest leaks, Verizon and Apple are in discussions regarding a new iPhone for the carrier, which would be launched in 2010. USA Today quote “people familiar with the situation” who claim discussions between Steve Jobs and Verizon began a few months ago.

[mpemburn]

Well, I'll go with the more hopeful outlook, being essentially an optimist. :)

The 4G network is being rolled out slowly (we just got it in nearby Baltimore and I think they have it in San Diego, as well) and there are plans to blanket the U.S. by 2011. There's a federal gov. initiative to make this happen, as well, since it will realize the hope of getting broadband out into the un- or under-served rural areas. Being in one of those under-served areas, I'm champin' at the bit in anticipation. Verizon is not going to sit on their hands while this goes on and will doubtless roll out some units with built-in 4G sooner or later.

So, while there are some reasons to think otherwise, I'm hoping the leaks are right.

-- Mark

[oculus42]

It is not altogether difficult to produce a phone that can work on both GSM and CDMA networks, it just takes up precious space and power. Apple might, given the problems people have with AT&T, bite that particular bullet and release an iPhone on Verizon.

[MTI]

VZW and APL tried before, but APL went with the carrier that would make them more money and wouldn't cripple their device.

[mpemburn]

VZW and APL tried before, but APL went with the carrier that would make them more money and wouldn't cripple their device.

And that's a serious consideration. Verizon wants to sell you services to pay back the cost of those really expensive phones that they virtually (or in some cases, literally) give away, so they disable some of the features that other carriers allow (like the ability to transfer pictures to a PC or sync calendars and contacts). There are some third-party apps that claim to be able to get around the crippling without violating Verizon's terms of use but I have no idea whether they work.

-- Mark

[MTI]

I believe that only recently has VZW allowed their Palm and Blackberry products to use the native GPS features built into the devices instead of their "Navigator" system.