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Analyst Suggests AT&T May Have Gained iPhone Exclusivity Through 2010 With iPad Data Deal

Its a shame if they get anymore exclusivity for the iPhone...especially in the US, it just seems unfair. Not to mention shortsights Apple IMO...as they can reach a broader more willing partner to take it up a notch with Verizon.

I just get sick of all the problems people complain about when I ask them about their iPhone and possibly switching to ATT for it..simply put they dont recommend me to it..though they love their iPhone.



bobsentell said:
Apple and Verizon are still slamming each other in commercials. Why do that if you are about to become partners?
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I dont think it really has much to do with Verizon getting an iPhone, I mean ATTs iphone isnt necessarily Verizons iPhone. Vz is just standing up for itself...i guess so is ATT.

I mean Apple poked/pokes fun as Microsoft yet they both are somewhat partners on various platforms...not exclusive but same regard.
 
Jumping Ship

I wonder how many people will wait to purchase a new iPhone until a decision is made to offer it on Verizon. AT&T coverage where I live north of Seattle is awful. I will wait. My contract expires in a year after which time I would seriously consider moving to Verizon. Verizon coverage in my area is way better than AT&T. Coverage inside my home is terrible while someone standing next to me with a Verizon phone can access both phone and data without dropping calls or losing the data connection.

I would imagine there are a lot of other folks in the same boat, just waiting for an opportunity to jump ship. That must make AT&T a little nervous. Hopefully it will put them in a position to improve their network and maybe offer some incentives for folks to stay with them.
 
Cool, great news. I wish they would just keep exclusivity indef. AT&T is hands down the best cellular company in the US. And its good for Apple too. Why would anyone want verizon, my work phone is verizon and dropped calls/no service renders the phone useless.
 
nozebleed said:
Cool, great news. I wish they would just keep exclusivity indef. AT&T is hands down the best cellular company in the US. And its good for Apple too. Why would anyone want verizon, my work phone is verizon and dropped calls/no service renders the phone useless.
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True. Best at having the most dropped calls. Best at having the lowest customer satisfaction. Best at not being the least expensive. Best at having the most unreliable data connections in metropolitan areas.
 
In my city, there’s no other company I’d want instead of AT&T—and I relay on having voice and Internet at the same time—but I DO want more competition between all these miserable carriers. The sooner the exclusive arrangements can end, the better.

And if Apple’s negotiating stuff in trade.... how about throwing in free SMS for iPhone users :eek:

nozebleed said:
Cool, great news. I wish they would just keep exclusivity indef. AT&T is hands down the best cellular company in the US. And its good for Apple too. Why would anyone want verizon, my work phone is verizon and dropped calls/no service renders the phone useless.
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That very much depends on WHERE in the US. AT&T has been extremely reliable for me too—but I know very well if I went to another city that might not be so.
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Supposedly the demand from Verizon that Apple cripple the iPhone caused Apple to walk out of the original meetings they were having..
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On the contrary, according to to the earliest and most dependable articles, Apple kept trying to get Verizon to take the iPhone (sight unseen) off and on for almost a year before they gave up and signed with ATT.

Verizon said no because Apple didn't want to sell through their outlets like WalMart or Best Buy (ironic, isn't it?), didn't want to give customers a subsidy, and didn't want Verizon's input on handset replacement (Verizon would've probably offered insurance like they do for everything else).

As for crippling, it was Apple that left out GPS and 3G in the first model (all Verizon smartphones had both at the time), locked down where apps can come from (Verizon does not do that with their smartphones), and has left out most Bluetooth stacks.

JediZenMaster said:
No they do not. As it was pointed out to me earlier Verizon does not use SVDO
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Note that Verizon doesn't have to do anything to enable SVDO. It's done by the phone maker.
 
Apple's Name

While Apple's name continues to be the butt of all jokes due to AT&T's crappy network.
 
I'll eat my shoe if there's ever a CDMA iPhone. It just doesn't make any sense. Apple looooves its margins. If CDMA would've offered them (very) significant extra income we would have seen one from the beginning.
They'd need an entire separte production line for CDMA iPhones. Exclusively for Verizon. As opposed to the GSM iPhone which has worldwide compatibility.
No matter how "good" CDMA technically may be, it makes zero sense to go CDMA. Just to serve one carrier.

It'll be YEARS before there's a Verizon iPhone because of the simple fact that it will be YEARS before they'll have a usable LTE netwok. People seem to have this illusion that the "LTE rollout" equals instant full LTE coverage. It'll be years before there's actually usable LTE coverage for most people. And that is the point in time when we will see a "Verizon" iPhone.
Look at 3G network rollouts all over the world. I don't think there's any network that can claim 99% 3G coverage (while we do get 99% EDGE here, we only get 60% or so 3G coverage).

Once there is
 
All I know is that if there isn't a Verizon iPhone by February 2011, when my contract is up...I'm getting a Droid Incredible. I'm sorry, but my desire for an iPhone does not make me turn away from nearly a decade of great service both to myself and my phones. And I'm deffinitely not going to the company that double charged me for a Go phone, then refuse to give me the money back or extend it to the next month of service. Yeah, the ATT customer service pretty much said "Its our money now, you can go f*ck yourself!" Fortunately, I was still young, living at home and had parents who know how to kick down doors. I got a check and an apology from the CEO, but only after I had already gone to Verizon.
 
I am very unhappy with AT&T service and would transition to Verizon in a heartbeat if an iPhone or iPad was released on that network.

Further I will not be buying iPads or iPhones in the future if they are constrained to AT&T. If Verizon does not have the iPhone by the time I'm looking for a new phone I will look at alternatives that Verizon does have (likely something Android based). I have an iPad Wifi and a Verizon MiFi card so find the iPad acceptable but not ideal with that solution.

Get real Apple. No more exclusivity with ANY carrier - particularly a carrier as bad as AT&T. Offer a dual network chip like many other smartphone manufacturers and let consumers choose.
 
Rogzilla said:
All I know is that if there isn't a Verizon iPhone by February 2011, when my contract is up...I'm getting a Droid Incredible.
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Pfft, Droid Incredible. There will be 32 new iterations of the Droid by Feb. 2011...
 
Goldfinger said:
I'll eat my shoe if there's ever a CDMA iPhone. It just doesn't make any sense. Apple looooves its margins. If CDMA would've offered them (very) significant extra income we would have seen one from the beginning.
They'd need an entire separte production line for CDMA iPhones. Exclusively for Verizon. As opposed to the GSM iPhone which has worldwide compatibility.
No matter how "good" CDMA technically may be, it makes zero sense to go CDMA. Just to serve one carrier.

It'll be YEARS before there's a Verizon iPhone because of the simple fact that it will be YEARS before they'll have a usable LTE netwok. People seem to have this illusion that the "LTE rollout" equals instant full LTE coverage. It'll be years before there's actually usable LTE coverage for most people. And that is the point in time when we will see a "Verizon" iPhone.
Look at 3G network rollouts all over the world. I don't think there's any network that can claim 99% 3G coverage (while we do get 99% EDGE here, we only get 60% or so 3G coverage).

Once there is
Click to expand...

+100. this is the way i've always seen it
 
God I wish this is incorrect. I have been salivating at the thought of the iphone coming to Verizon and this report is crushing. There is no way in hell that I will jump ship to At&t and deal with their horrible reception.

Common Apple, you have tons of $ $ $ $ just waiting on the sidelines from VZ customers waiting for this deal to happen! :confused:
 
this guy is the biggest dumbass ever. he said this 2 days before the ipad annoucement. it cant change this fast. it's clear that apple likes att and wont be droping them. as for this guy he should never make a front story on this website again.
 
Goldfinger said:
I'll eat my shoe if there's ever a CDMA iPhone. It just doesn't make any sense. Apple looooves its margins. If CDMA would've offered them (very) significant extra income we would have seen one from the beginning.
They'd need an entire separte production line for CDMA iPhones. Exclusively for Verizon. As opposed to the GSM iPhone which has worldwide compatibility.
No matter how "good" CDMA technically may be, it makes zero sense to go CDMA. Just to serve one carrier.

It'll be YEARS before there's a Verizon iPhone because of the simple fact that it will be YEARS before they'll have a usable LTE netwok. People seem to have this illusion that the "LTE rollout" equals instant full LTE coverage. It'll be years before there's actually usable LTE coverage for most people. And that is the point in time when we will see a "Verizon" iPhone.
Look at 3G network rollouts all over the world. I don't think there's any network that can claim 99% 3G coverage (while we do get 99% EDGE here, we only get 60% or so 3G coverage).

Once there is
Click to expand...

Seems Blackberry and other smartphone manufacturers put dual chips in some of their smart phones so they can work on both types of networks.

And in most of the world GSM networks are actually very reliable and work very well (unlike AT&T's network in North America).

The only way AT&T makes sense is if the kickbacks to Apple outweigh the huge potential revenue stream from Verizon and Sprint. When the iPhone first came out there was nothing like it. Now there are compelling offerings from other far batter carries so it will not only mean unrealized revenue from those carriers but the iPhone will begin to loose share to those carriers products.

While a big Apple fan, I for one won't be buying any more products locked in to AT&T. When it comes time to replace my existing wireless devices I will be choosing a different brand if all Apple offers requires AT&T
 
kdarling said:
Note that Verizon doesn't have to do anything to enable SVDO. It's done by the phone maker.
Click to expand...

Most absolutely wrong.

Please Please PLEASE stop reading Qualcomm wet-dream press releases and think that it's all ready to go.

It's not.

Yes, the damn network HAS to be upgraded. No, it's not just "software."

At this time, I know of NO plans for ANY of the major carriers to go with 1X Advanced. Of course, Qualcomm would love for you to think that it's right around the corner, but it is not.

Verizon is up to their necks with supporting just their existing legacy stuff and the LTE rollout - that's not just operationally, but financially as well.
 
Wayazo said:
I wonder how many people will wait to purchase a new iPhone until a decision is made to offer it on Verizon. AT&T coverage where I live north of Seattle is awful. I will wait. My contract expires in a year after which time I would seriously consider moving to Verizon. Verizon coverage in my area is way better than AT&T. Coverage inside my home is terrible while someone standing next to me with a Verizon phone can access both phone and data without dropping calls or losing the data connection.

I would imagine there are a lot of other folks in the same boat, just waiting for an opportunity to jump ship. That must make AT&T a little nervous. Hopefully it will put them in a position to improve their network and maybe offer some incentives for folks to stay with them.
Click to expand...

From what I hear, it is not just in your area, but pretty much everywhere. I love Apple products and would love to get the iphone to complete my tech life, but not until it comes to big Red.
 
If Apple doesn't bring iPhone to other US carriers then they're just asking for Android to beat them.

I have an iPhone. I want an upgrade. But if iPhone isn't on Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint this summer then I'll just be getting a 4th generation iPod touch to go along with my iPad and a regular phone on one of those networks.

AT&T's coverage is crap. Truly. There are so many areas where AT&T's map claims "best" coverage but, in reality, theres none. At all. Not just with my iPhone, but various other iPhones and AT&T phones.

Apple making a CDMA iPhone wouldn't just benefit us in the US who are sick and tired of AT&T's BS. It would help in some other countries around the world, such as Japan and China, where current competition is limited and similar to the US in that some carriers use CDMA while others use GSM.

One final thing, and this is a stone cold fact, AT&T's network is the WORST out of the four major carriers in this country. The worst.
 
mosx said:
If Apple doesn't bring iPhone to other US carriers then they're just asking for Android to beat them.

I have an iPhone. I want an upgrade. But if iPhone isn't on Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint this summer then I'll just be getting a 4th generation iPod touch to go along with my iPad and a regular phone on one of those networks.

AT&T's coverage is crap. Truly. There are so many areas where AT&T's map claims "best" coverage but, in reality, theres none. At all. Not just with my iPhone, but various other iPhones and AT&T phones.

Apple making a CDMA iPhone wouldn't just benefit us in the US who are sick and tired of AT&T's BS. It would help in some other countries around the world, such as Japan and China, where current competition is limited and similar to the US in that some carriers use CDMA while others use GSM.

One final thing, and this is a stone cold fact, AT&T's network is the WORST out of the four major carriers in this country. The worst.
Click to expand...

A recent independent study that shows fastest speeds might disagree with you there. Also, as per network coverage, Sprint has the worst, they have bare minimal and make it up in roaming.
 
Location, location, location

Plutonius said:
Argh, when will people realize that your phone connectivity varies from where you are (i.e. no network is good everywhere).
Click to expand...

Yes, "service great" or "service sucks" meaningless without stating your location.
 
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