AT&T Prepares for Loss of iPhone Exclusivity as Subscriber Base Approaches Verizon's

[ComputersaysNo]

My guess is, that this will be a global roll-out. I've been reading news items for a while now about how T-mobile is losing it's rights in the Netherlands selling Iphones. It has been in the news recently that from the 1st of November, Tmobile raises its prices from 170euro to 230euro and up for a 2-year 30euro-per-month-contract, for an iphone 4 16gb. (30 euro is the cheapest, 150 min + 150 text's) I guess they do this to tie last-minute buyers to a 2-year contract before cheaper tel-co's start offering them. (Tmobile stated that the 170euro per phone was a limited offer and that a minimum of 230euro was more realistic. )

Within a few months more tel-co's will be able to offer iphones. And as those other company's (vodafone, KPN, telfort) operate on a larger scale than the Netherlands, more countries can look forward to apple's phone, and there will be more choices in contracts.

edit* O2 Germany starts at 24,95 euro per month, @ 300euro for an 8gb IP4

 

[tigress666]

You are not correct.

Cingular bought AT&T Wireless and then changed their name to AT&T, which is has better brand recognition. The iPhone was released when this was happening, which is why the original iPhone was launched on the Cingular network, which later became "The New AT&T".

Watch that video the guy posted in reply to me Click me

I may not be correct but I was more correct than you are. They didn't just change their name to AT&T just for the name recognition (and if it makes you feel better, for the longest time I believed the same thing you did until some one corrected me a few months ago. I just couldn't remember exactly what the deal was. Actually, no I didn't believe the same as you as I remember them buying out an AT&T (AT&T wireless in this case) and renaming that Cingular. Some how a lot of people don't remember that part. That happened I think at least a year before they then changed their name to AT&T. The part I had originally missed was that they had then gotten bought out (or the companies that owned Cingular anyways) by AT&T (but not AT&T wireless) a year or so after buying AT&T wireless and then renamed to AT&T. I just thought they changed their mind about keeping Cingular as a name and decided AT&T had more name recognition).

 

[finnns2000]

AT&T is pathetic. Trying to get me to buy a MICRO CELL because I don't get service in my house. Yeah, let me give you $150 for your shortcomings.

 

[pika2000]

Apple does sell unlocked iPhone in the United States.

Don't know where you've been.

The problem is there is only one network that supports the iPhone fully in the United States and that's AT&T.

Wrong. Apple does NOT sell unlocked iPhones in the US. Proof it to me otherwise. Even non-subsidized iPhones sold by AT&T/Apple in the US are still provider-locked.

 

[TSloper]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C5115c Safari/6533.18.5)

Unless you live in an area where the AT&T 3G service is absolutely terrible why would you want to go with CDMA? While on a call you can't do anything with data. That is a very significant compromise in the entire experience.

 

[NoExpectations]

AT&T is pathetic. Trying to get me to buy a MICRO CELL because I don't get service in my house. Yeah, let me give you $150 for your shortcomings.

All of the major carriers offer micro cells...many cost more than $150. The reason? PHYSICS. Signals do not penetrate various surfaces and materials. When the cell phone system was designed/engineered it was never intended to replace land lines. It was for MOBILE calls.....outside, free from obstruction.

 

[sportguy0913]

The real question here is how much did AT&T pay that customer to smile.

+1!!!!!

I would love to shove this in the AT&T rep's face that said "Verizon will NEVER get the iPhone, they can't do data and voice at the same time". Lol.

 

[sportguy0913]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C5115c Safari/6533.18.5)

Unless you live in an area where the AT&T 3G service is absolutely terrible why would you want to go with CDMA? While on a call you can't do anything with data. That is a very significant compromise in the entire experience.

You ahve to remember that Verizon peeps have never had this opportunity, so they won't know the difference when iPhone comes out..

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Yes. We should believe you, and not the New York Times, not The Wall Street Journal, and not Bloomberg.
Makes total sense to me.

Yes you should believe me over the NYT on this issue. I've been right several times and they have been wrong.

Do you honestly believe ATT would wait until the last minute to get ready for loss of exclusivity? Give me a break. First of all this story about ATT pushing other phones does not prove there will be a Verizon iphone in 2011. Secondly assuming it has to do with loss of exclusivity, it tells me ATT is starting to prepare for 2011 to be a transition year before 2012 comes around.

I seriously cannot believe people are so taken in by these rumors. Again and again this happens. I heard November 2009 and the summer of 2009 and the summer of 2010 and March of 2010.


There is a good reason these dates come and go. The contract ends in 2012. It was revealed in a court case against Apple. And the idea of a reworked contract comes up again and again. And the people who say it is a reworked contract are the people pushing this rumor and the people wanting to believe it.

 

[doobs22]

iPhone4 on Sprint

According to Reports,Apple plans to introduce the iPhone 4, which will support AT&T and Verizon. It has SIM card slot and CDMA compatibility for network access worldwide.
Apple announced the iPhone,now Apple has signed an agreement with Verizon to sells the iPhone 4 in the U.S. It is expected that other network providers such as Sprint, Vodafone and T-Mobile offers the iPhone 4.
This information is from tech366. oom
http://www.tech366.com/2010/10/apple-cdma-iphone-will-arrive-in-january-2011/

 

[AttilaTheHun]

According to Reports,Apple plans to introduce the iPhone 4, which will support AT&T and Verizon. It has SIM card slot and CDMA compatibility for network access worldwide.
Apple announced the iPhone,now Apple has signed an agreement with Verizon to sells the iPhone 4 in the U.S. It is expected that other network providers such as Sprint, Vodafone and T-Mobile offers the iPhone 4.
This information is from tech366. oom
http://www.tech366.com/2010/10/apple-cdma-iphone-will-arrive-in-january-2011/

very good if Verizon will be better service no drop calls and data will be fastr
I am going to pay Att $350 and move to Verizon
Sick from att paying over $300 a month for my family service and treted like a s***t

 

[carlgo]

Had a Gen 1, got no reception. Really terrible in so many places. Two years and none of the promised towers were up.

Got VZ prepay cheapo Samsung. What an unintuitive POS.

But, it connects just about everywhere and I can actually make phone calls. Clearly the VZ has a vastly wider coverage area.

An iPhone with which I can make calls would be attractive again. What would make it more compelling is to offer low-use data plans or pre-pay.

 

[GodWhomIsMike]

AT&T is pathetic. Trying to get me to buy a MICRO CELL because I don't get service in my house. Yeah, let me give you $150 for your shortcomings.

Verizon has the same thing, but their in-home cell booster is $250.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/wireless-Network-Extender-verizon-cell,news-3354.html

 

[GodWhomIsMike]

I've had Verizon Wireless from around '99 all the to until February 2009. Don't get me wrong, they were good, very good. I recall hating their phones, because everything they got their hands on, they crippled the hell out of it (less ram, slower speeds, bloated with crapware, etc..). Their service was great, but when they got their hands on a phone, usually bad things happened. That seems to have changed very recently with the new Android phones and the Palm Pre Plus, but when I was a customer, the phones were terrible.

AT&T seems to get the good phones, and I been happy with their service for the most part. Oddly, the place where the service has been the weakest is in Manhattan, yet, I travel all the time in the outer boroughs, throughout NJ, and all of northeast Pennsylvania. I never ever have problems with service outside of Manhattan.

I will admit, I have not been too big of a fan of the iPhone 3G I have. I been on the fence with getting the iPhone 4. I don't know. I would like to give another smartphone a chance, but I have invested a lot into iTunes, and now my whole music collection is chained to it. That pretty much eliminates everything until I could find something that could grab my iTunes music.

 

[fcortese]

very good if Verizon will be better service no drop calls and data will be fastr
I am going to pay Att $350 and move to Verizon
Sick from att paying over $300 a month for my family service and treted like a s***t

I'm afraid all of us will be paying more no matter who we use. Tiered data plans are probably going to be a standard. Can Verizon handle the data increased if they go with the iPhone? Or will they run into the same problems that AT&T did?

 

[rans0m00]

I'm afraid all of us will be paying more no matter who we use. Tiered data plans are probably going to be a standard. Can Verizon handle the data increased if they go with the iPhone? Or will they run into the same problems that AT&T did?

Only thing atm that shines about ATT is the people that had an iPhone before the iPhone4 have unlimited data. I assume the smart phones on CDMA networks might use less data anyways because of the data stopping when a call is made so for that period, while the call is going on its the same as a dumb phone. Well unless the change to CDMA comes through in time so both can be used at the same time...

 

[rsocal]

I am interested in the monthly plans wars between these two. For me fortunately both companies have good reception where I live, so it all comes down who offers the best deal.

This is my feelings as well, I really think AT&T get's a bum rap, they have been great for me and my family, and friends that have AT&T. I came from Verizon so I do know both services. When the first iPhone was released I switched from verizon and they were fine, other then their C.S, their C.S sucked! Anyway I feel they both are fine, all cell services have some bad coverage in some areas. I hear it all the time, someone saying Verizon has bad service where I live and AT&T has great service, the next person says AT&T is terrible where I live but Verizon is great and on and on this story goes.

Bottom line is it's going to depend on where you live and if you are lucky enough to have good service from both in your area as I do we can hope for a little price war to help make our decision.
I have four iPhone 4's (wife & kids) with the family plan plus a 3G iPad and I would love to see that monthly bill go down and the only thing that would make me switch from AT&T, is a better deal, because they both have good service here. I prefer AT&T, do to the my good experience with them all around as well as the 3G talk & browse at the same time feature, that I have to have.

Let's go price wars!
Verizon also needs the iPhone so my Apple stock can continue to go up!!!

 

[GodWhomIsMike]

very good if Verizon will be better service no drop calls and data will be fastr
I am going to pay Att $350 and move to Verizon
Sick from att paying over $300 a month for my family service and treted like a s***t

Verizon and AT&T are generally just about identical in terms of pricing. If you can't afford it, look towards Sprint. Just note, I hear Sprint's customer service is terrible.

AT&T has had excellent customer service as far as I am concerned. I never wait for more than 2 minutes to talk to AT&T's customer service, their service has generally been great (except for some spots within Manhattan only), and their prices are on par with what I was paying with Verizon.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I'm afraid all of us will be paying more no matter who we use. Tiered data plans are probably going to be a standard. Can Verizon handle the data increased if they go with the iPhone? Or will they run into the same problems that AT&T did?

As pointed out before Verizon will not have a problem handling the data increase from the iPhone. Verizon's network already handles a lot more data going over it than the other carriers.

 

[TMar]

No one is forcing you to read these Verizon-related posts. Anytime there's a new one you voluntarily jump in and pound your chest "There's not going to be a Verizon iphone". You don't seem to like these threads, so why don't you just ignore them.

Just like no one was forcing you to read his post? You don't seem to like his posts, so why don't you just ignore him? I love hypocrites.

 

[kdarling]

Verizon getting an iPhone? Not unexpected, if true.

I thought the bigger news at the beginning of this thread was this:

... more than half of new (AT&T) customers chose a device other than the iPhone last quarter, up from 36 percent a year earlier.

 

[jacollins]

if people jump ship to verizon will at&t peeps see network improvements?

My prediction. You see Verizon get the iPhone, next quarter or so, you see AT&T cut the amount of money it puts into upgrading its network.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

I think the idea of an iphone for Verizon and other providers in 2012 is the perfect timetable.

The LTE/4G networks of both Verizon and ATT will be available in more locations. At about that time, offering a new version of iphone to go with the new networks would make more sense than a few months from now in that period when people might want to wait for the new technology to catch up. At the same time as a new generation of iphone comes around with the better network, the option of more networks comes around too.

The work on CDMA phones is then explained for purposes of being backwards compatible on a Verizon network in locations not upgraded to the new system.

Apple will want to get a good run out of the iphone 4 in terms of sales. Launching a new phone next quarter for Verizon would make no sense. It would slow down sales of the iphone 4 for ATT. Apple is a hardware company. They want to get as much out of each product as possible.

Not one of these stories mentions a source from a phone company or apple coming out and confirming any upcoming release. Expecting the iphone on Verizon before 2012 is simply wishful thinking. On the other hand 2012 makes a lot of sense. I hope it happens.

 

[icyfire]

Apple will want to get a good run out of the iphone 4 in terms of sales. Launching a new phone next quarter for Verizon would make no sense. It would slow down sales of the iphone 4 for ATT. Apple is a hardware company. They want to get as much out of each product as possible.

Your logic doesn't really add up. If they were to release a new iPhone 4 on Verizon next quarter, they would sell a lot more phones than just being on ATT. You are forgetting all the new untapped Verizon customers and a few ATT/Sprint/Tmobile customers who will jump over to grab the Verizon supported iPhone. Why would they care if ATT sales slowed down if Verizon sales are going to be on fire (which they undoubtedly will). Analysts predict that a Verizon iPhone would sell 2-3 million units in the first week itself. I know I would get one and a good number of Verizon users that I know would also. I have the Droid and hate it .

Not one of these stories mentions a source from a phone company or apple coming out and confirming any upcoming release. Expecting the iphone on Verizon before 2012 is simply wishful thinking. On the other hand 2012 makes a lot of sense. I hope it happens.

Just two weeks ago, I would be totally inclined to agree with you. However, the recent Apple/Verizon iPad partnership throws a whole new spin on this saga. There is no doubt that Verizon agreed to this iPad deal only if Apple were providing them a CDMA iPhone soon. Maybe not January 2011 but definitely by June/July 2011 when the iPhone 5 will be released. Why would Verizon partner with Apple now only to be snubbed during the iPhone 5 release next summer when only ATT would be receiving the phone? And I think ATT's new found love of Windows Phone 7 is no coincidence. They are clearly preparing to lose the iPhone.

 

[Geckotek]

Just like no one was forcing you to read his post? You don't seem to like his posts, so why don't you just ignore him? I love hypocrites.

Wrong, he chose to click on this thread and open it. Besides the title, he didn't have to read any further. Not to mention this is a news story, not a user post.

HOWEVER, HIS post was placed in-line with all the other replies to this news story. Someone serially reading all the replies would inevitably come across his post and start reading it without a title for warning.

So yeah, if you don't like the title of the thread or news story...just move on.