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I'mAMac

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 28, 2006
786
0
In a Mac box
Does anyone think that maybe down the road the iPhone will be available to verizon or other cell phone companies?
 

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
I doubt Verizon will ever carry the iPhone because Verizon uses CDMA, but Apple went with the worldwide standard, GSM.

Both CDMA and GSM are converging and once 3G networks are fully deployed it'll be hard to tell the difference between them. "3GSM/UMTS" is a wide-band CDMA standard.

Of course the 1st gen iPhone doesn't support it, but the one planned for Europe later in the year might already.

B
 

oceanmonster

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2007
152
0
I hope they do. I would really consider buying it in a heartbeat if it was on verizon. It is the strongest provider in my area and I refuse to switch networks.
 

crees!

macrumors 68020
Jun 14, 2003
2,014
239
MD/VA/DC
I hope they do. I would really consider buying it in a heartbeat if it was on verizon. It is the strongest provider in my area and I refuse to switch networks.

I use verizon here but I won't stand to use my inferior Razr any longer. I'll be switching back to Cingular in a heartbeat.
 

pianoman

macrumors 68000
May 31, 2006
1,963
0
I hope they do. I would really consider buying it in a heartbeat if it was on verizon. It is the strongest provider in my area and I refuse to switch networks.

same here. i'm in the Washington, D.C. area.

I use verizon here but I won't stand to use my inferior Razr any longer. I'll be switching back to Cingular in a heartbeat.

why not get a new phone instead of switching providers? Verizon sells other phones besides the RAZR. i just picked up a Samsung that's not loaded with features but it works as a phone, which is pretty much all i need it for.
 

fishkorp

macrumors 68030
Apr 10, 2006
2,536
650
Ellicott City, MD
same here. i'm in the Washington, D.C. area.

really? i've never had less than 2 bars anywhere i go in the DC/Baltimore area with Cingular. i switched to Cingular when i moved to the area 3 years ago because of their far better coverage and service they have here.

to answer the original poster: most people hit it on the head. the phone (at least initially) is GSM only and they have a multi-year exclusive agreement with Cingular in the US. if they'd go with Verizon it wouldn't be for a looooong time.
 

MacCheetah3

macrumors 68020
Nov 14, 2003
2,058
1,037
Central MN
Hi
Verizon will never carry it. iPhone + Verizon red OS = junk
Very good point. Verizon enjoys putting their crappy ( slow / unstable ) skin on phone OSs and Apple wouldn't allow that, nor would anyone wanting to purchase the iPhone. I bet using a Motorola phone from Verizon is a blast. :D :p ( hint: slow + slow ≠ pleasant )

On top of that, until Verizon finally moves to WCDMA from the outdated CDMA, Apple won't likely touch them with a 10ft pole.
 

Aperture

macrumors 68000
Mar 19, 2006
1,876
0
PA
why not get a new phone instead of switching providers? Verizon sells other phones besides the RAZR. i just picked up a Samsung that's not loaded with features but it works as a phone, which is pretty much all i need it for.

I think he means how VZW cripples their phones. They disable 90% of the features on the Razr, which gets me mad too. (I have a V3m)

VZW + :apple: =:mad:

(Sorry, have been looking for an excuse to use :apple: all day)
 

7on

macrumors 601
Nov 9, 2003
4,939
0
Dress Rosa
I think he means how VZW cripples their phones. They disable 90% of the features on the Razr, which gets me mad too. (I have a V3m)

VZW + :apple: =:mad:

(Sorry, have been looking for an excuse to use :apple: all day)

indeed, I want to switch to T-Mobile though (Cingular is almost as bad as Verizon minus the crippling phones part). Hopefully Verizon's SMS price hike can get me off w/o etf
 

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
Sure, there may be an iPhone available through Verizon after Apple's deal with Cingular times out, but Verizon's version will be called the "iPhon" because they'll have crippled out half of the features.

I was thinking "IFN" given Moto's naming scheme, RAZR, ROKR, ... :p

B
 

nutmac

macrumors 603
Mar 30, 2004
6,044
7,288
Both CDMA and GSM are converging and once 3G networks are fully deployed it'll be hard to tell the difference between them. "3GSM/UMTS" is a wide-band CDMA standard.

Both right and wrong. While both 3G/3.5G successors of GSM (Cingular, T-Mobile) and CDMAone/CDMA2000 (Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless) are based on CDMA, they are incompatible. For GSM, 2.5G = GPR, 2.75G = EDGE, 3G = UMTS. For CDMAone/CDMA2000, 2.75G = 1xRTT, 3G = 1xEV-DO.

Here's where it gets tricky. Both Verizon and Sprint are committed to 1xEV-DO and has/will roll out faster revision (e.g., EV-DO rev A, rev B) that will effectively upgrade it to 3.5G. On the other hand, some Asian countries that used CDMA2000 (e.g., Korea) is abandoning CDMA2000 in favor of HSDPA. But HSDPA is not part of CDMA2000 family and will not interoperate.
 

balamw

Moderator emeritus
Aug 16, 2005
19,366
979
New England
Both right and wrong.

....

HSDPA is not part of CDMA2000 family and will not interoperate.

I see how I was unclear, but I didn't mean to imply interoperability, only that most of the future air interfaces are far more like CDMA than traditional GSM. And that this fact will drive future "GSM" and "CDMA" handsets to be more similar than they are today.

Ultimately CDMA wins over TDMA-like systems like GSM.

B
 

NavyWings

macrumors newbie
Dec 2, 2006
6
0
If Verizon

continues to use their current user unfriendly business model, no. Verizon enjoys the luxury of having one of the strongest networks in the country. They own most of the towers that the other providers use, but verizon has traditionally refused to listen to users needs.

I've been looking for a good reason to switch from verizon and the iPhone just may be it. I bought a RAZR only to find Verizon deliberately disabled the OBEX feature allowing transfer of files via bluetooth :mad: . Verizon claimed it was a security issue (what kind I'm not sure :confused: ) though other networks enable this feature. It's all about money. When you take a picture and have to email it to yourself rather than download it, Verizon picks up a cool 30 cents. Multiply that by millions of users and multiple emails, well it's a nice chunk of change.

I think Verizon's greed and unwillingness to listen to the customers desires and needs will ultimately backfire on them and the iPhone just may be the first pebble in the dam.
 

falcon1

macrumors regular
Jul 22, 2006
229
0
Georgia
I've used Verizon for the past 2 years and our contract is up next month but I can't switch. Where I live most people if not all use Verizon so its cheaper for unlimited text messaging for $10 a month and talking with the IN minutes Verizon customers. I'm hoping that when I move to Atlanta for my final two years of college in 2 years that I can switch to Cingular or maybe before then i'm not sure.
 

suneohair

macrumors 68020
Aug 27, 2006
2,136
0
Stunning deduction.

Didn't details come out stating that Verizon said no? I doubt Verizon will change its pracitce of controlling the UI, which isn't going to fly with Apple.

If it does happen we are talking years. At which point Cingular may have coverage over the posters house so he can switch.

Also, sometimes the phone is to blame for poor coverage, so the iPhone may actually work. There is a return policy of 14 days, so you could try it and take it back if it doesnt work.
 

yadmonkey

macrumors 65816
Aug 13, 2002
1,306
838
Western Spiral
Didn't details come out stating that Verizon said no? I doubt Verizon will change its pracitce of controlling the UI, which isn't going to fly with Apple.

If it does happen we are talking years. At which point Cingular may have coverage over the posters house so he can switch.

Also, sometimes the phone is to blame for poor coverage, so the iPhone may actually work. There is a return policy of 14 days, so you could try it and take it back if it doesnt work.

You're quite right, though I know that it's the coverage and not the phone in terms of Cingular working at my place. I have people in and out of my house daily and only Verizon people get a signal.

I suspect that the iPhone will eventually come to Verizon, though not for at least a couple of years. If it sells well, Verizon will cave on the UI, especially if Cingular starts catching up on coverage.

Picking a cellular service feels like chosing a presidential candidate... you end up going with the choice which is slightly less nauseating.
 
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