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AT&T iPhone Exclusivity Originally Scheduled Through 2012

People, you can whine and complain all you want but here is the hard truth.

Apple is marketing the iphone(s) as a world class iphone. They have their sights set on grabbing the biggest marketshare worldwide with one device. At the same time, they dont want to have to have some features work on one network and not on another. They chose GSM world networks as being the most capable network for what they were trying to accomplish with the iphone.

I personally use AT&T but that does not mean I am bias towards them. Here is the hard truth. AT&T does indeed suck in some areas of the US. Verizon is a great company with a great network BUT, as stated in previous posts, they are using CDMA which is a older technology not designed to work with voice and data simultaneously. This is why Apple is no longer interested in creating a CDMA iphone.

In a few years, when the world standard changes, then all bets are off. If Apple can still make just once device but both AT&T and Verizon Networks run the same frequencies, then the iphone will do even better in the US. But who knows what will happen by then. We may all be under a company called "Apple Wireless" by then and AT&T and Verizon will both be considered sub-par!
 
richpjr said:
Just because YOU live in an area with good coverage doesn't mean that others have your same coverage. From the number of iPhone users complaining, it has NOTHING to do with envy and everything to do with spotty coverage. And what does leaving AT&T because of the bad coverage have to do with envy - aren't the people you are telling to leave already iPhone customers? And you answered your own final point - yes, AT&T would make a lot more money by coming out with a Verzion version.
Click to expand...

What? How would AT&T make money with a Verizon version of the APPLE iPhone? That makes no sense. My comments were multifaceted...iPhone envy to the cryers on other networks sobbing about wanting the iPhone to come to thier network because it is superior and blah blah blah and what a mistake Apple made and blah blah blah. And bye bye to the cryers that have bad coverage...if your coverage is so bad...stop the belly aching and just leave. Oh and I can turn your comments around on yourself...just because YOU live in an area with bad coverage doesn't mean that others have your same coverage. Apple did not make a mistake...they are making money hand over fist...yes a Verizon version would make them even more money...but so would a Sprint version or T-Mobile version or any other carrier version. AT&T gave Apple what they wanted...Verizon wouldn't...so how is that AT&T's or Apples fault?
 
I pointed out that at best 20% of them are in the market for smart phones.
Click to expand...


From a current article on CNBC.com about Apple's "Disruptive Strategy":

http://www.cnbc.com/id/37065369/

"Apple [AAPL 253.94 -0.05 (-0.02%) ] will move if it feels it can enter and capture customers that formerly the incumbents haven't been able to capture very well or monetize," said RBC Capital Markets' Mike Abramsky. "Typically Apple tends to be disruptive because it's products are powerful and also simple."

So any GUESS based on "how many dumbphone users would never buy an iPhone" is foolish at best...and to assume that some mythical low number of potential customers exists at other carriers is irrational.
 
i agree with a few others,

- if apple wants to be on verizon they will get there. current profits nor sales are suffering, bringing the phone to another carrier could push price down cutting into profits.

-if there isn't an elegant solution to manufacturing both phones at the same plant with little extra cost there isn't a reason to go after a smaller market.

-the us market is not the only market, it's too often overlooked. gsm is worldwide and makes sense. would going after one carrier in the us be profitable enough?

does Verizon cripple the os in their phones?

-everyone seems to think that going to Verizon will solve everyones problem. while i think choice is good, not everyone is unhappy with at&t and has coverage issues, sucks if you do though. what happens if your phone sucks on Verizon's network?

I think the mass migration is overblown, especially if exclusivity ends,at&t simply needs to match Verizon's data plans, because at the end of the day if you have decent coverage and the price is the same or similar, you're not going switch plans.

apple knows how to play their cards.
 
bergmef said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by hayhay View Post
...iPhone envy is the root to a lot of the criers.




The other 95% is lacking in ATT coverage either at home, work or in between.
Click to expand...

That's a horrible assumption to make. I have Android and LOVE it. Even if the iPhone came to my carrier I wouldn't buy one at this point...I have too many paid apps with Android to move and do it all over again. Plus, the customization of Android is much much better than with the iPhone. The keyboard is about 1000 times better as well for my needs. At this point, at least when it comes to a mobile phone OS, I'm a proud user of Android, and will remain loyal to it for a long time to come. It's the only non-Apple electronic device on my desk :)
 
Smh

Verizon CEO: Can I haz iPhone?
Apple: kick rocks


as an old Cingular customer since 2002, I've always had GREAT service and been treated with respect by Customer service and when the AT&T merger occured nothing changed... I purchased all three iphones on their release days....I am going out on a limb with my theory that the iPhone not AT&T's network is the problem...no one EVER complained about Cingular/AT&T prior to iPhone's release...and I think both Apple and AT&T are aware of this and Apple is simply rewarding AT&T for keeping mum on the iPhone's technical limitations regarding the method it uses to contact cell towers...also I'm not sure if most people are aware but contracts such as Apple and AT&T's exclusivity aggreement typically run on the fiscal calander and not the 12 month annual calander... bearing that in mind even if the aggreement ends in 2010 it would be set to end this summer between june-july which is the start of most company's fiscal year so we'd know a Verizon iPhone is coming at this point if it were....one tell tell will be AT&T opening it's network up to more Android phones which at this point has not occured...Apple and AT&T are conducting business like true partners, if one is attacked the other will defend as we've seen in the recent ad campaigns...also Apple is trying to keep Google from officially joining AT&T's network and AT&T is trying to keep iphone off Verizon...so while the two companies JOINT strategy may not seem to make sense to us the consumer, it works for them.....another point about the Character of Apple as a company...as a consumer I've noticed that Apple does NOT seem to want it's products in everyone's hands it seems to be an exclusive company that sells high end products....people keep throwing out the pharse "market share" as if that's something that Apple is concerned with...if market share was a concern of Apple's wouldn't we see more affordable Mac Books, Pros, and Air's? in order to compete with PC's? wouldn't everyone that wanted a Mac be able to get it? sure walmart and best buy are selling iphones but when you buy an iPhone from one of those places you're technically buying it from AT&T....NO VERIZON iPHONE untill 2012 at the earliest, no Verizon iPhone announcement until the Summer of 2012....and finally the Android vs. iPhone argument....this is a flawed comparison! it's not like you're saying Ali (iPhone) vs. Frazier (android) the actual comparison most people are making is more like a group of lightweights (Android) has mustered up the courage to get in the ring with Ali (iPhone) iPhone is ONE device and the Android is a team of several devices... is there any one Android device that is out selling iPhone? NOPE
 
darwen said:
This rumor is so tired.

It does not make sense to manufacture a verizon iPhone. The rest of the world uses GSM. It would need to be a custom design for one carrier. The unit would come at a production premium cost that Apple would not be able to pass off to the consumer. They would make less profit on the verizon model simply to make it available for that one carrier. What is the incentive?

Apple is with AT&T because they want to be. If they wanted to be on another carrier (ANY other carrier), they would be.

edit: I'm getting some hate so I'd like to explain. The cost is not minimal. Factories must be retooled when a product changes from version to version. A CDMA iPhone may cost just as much to manufacture on a unit by unit basis, however Apple is not making just one unit. If they make a CDMA version they must setup an additional factory to assemble it. If factory A outputs even the smallest margin more than factory B, it costs more to make phones in factory B. We are not talking about a small margin though, we are talking about carriers across the world vs an individual carrier.
Click to expand...

The incentive is access to millions of Verizon customers. Every Verizon customer has renewed their 2 year contract since the iPhone landed, so that excuse is out. There are literally millions of people that Apple can't currently sell a phone to because they are on the wrong network for whatever reason (I'm one of them). Phone message boards have had Verizon customers begging for iPhones for years now.... there is a definite demand.

The retooling cost is relatively minimal. There are combo chips that could do the US CDMA network, US GSM if they want, and GSM everywhere else (like the current Verizon "world phones" do, ala the Blackberry Storm). The iPhone is a proven model and the hard work is done. There are profitable phones that are made from scratch that are only sold on one network.

If I remember right, Japan has a much stronger CDMA network than GSM. Besides, the current planned LTE network in the US makes it look like Verizon and AT+T phones may be cross-compatible, so at that point it would be a decision made in a board room, not a lab. Verizon's LTE network is running privately in a few cities for testing, and should be public in late 2010 or early 2011. I think AT+T is farther behind on building the new network.

*IF* Apple cares about outselling Blackberry and Android, they have to expand beyond AT+T in the US. Maybe they don't care, I have no idea.
 
bobsentell said:
I agree. As long as V uses a different radio standard than the rest of the world, iPhone will NEVER come. As for possible changes to the contract, most changes result in extensions. Apple is not going to punish AT&T because of network issues in three cities. The fact AT&T has eclusivity on the iPad should be a clue. (I know it is "technically" unlocked, but they are using a sim standard that is currently exclusive to AT&T.)
Click to expand...

Question: What iPad exclusivity? By no means is the MiniSim exclusive the AT&T, though admittedly only one or two other companies in the US use it.

I think it's still a case of Wait and See. Apple could realize incredible new sales by adding Verizon to the fold, and if the different radio package can fit the same space in the body, then it wouldn't be all that hard to switch back and forth, would it? If two assembly lines can now produce one model, then it wouldn't be hard at all for the second assembly line to build a different version of that one model. Maybe they'll call it the iPhone 4G(V).
 
darwen said:
edit: I'm getting some hate so I'd like to explain. The cost is not minimal. Factories must be retooled when a product changes from version to version.
Click to expand...


The reason you're getting so much grief is because there is indisputable proof that making a CDMA phone is worth it.

All you have to do is to notice that every other phone manufacturer makes both CDMA and GSM models.

Thus your comment is as odd as someone claiming that it can't possibly be cost effective to make a left-hand drive car, because there's so many more right-hand drive countries in the world. And yet look around.

This is not rocket science nor is it impractical. Apple started with far fewer sales for their first iPhone factory setup, retools every year, and has already switched radio chips in a major way at least once when they added WCDMA to get 3G.
 
SAD*FACED*CLOWN said:
Verizon CEO: Can I haz iPhone?
Apple: kick rocks


as an old Cingular customer since 2002, I've always had GREAT service and been treated with respect by Customer service and when the AT&T merger occured nothing changed... I purchased all three iphones on their release days....I am going out on a limb with my theory that the iPhone not AT&T's network is the problem...no one EVER complained about Cingular/AT&T prior to iPhone's release...and I think both Apple and AT&T are aware of this and Apple is simply rewarding AT&T for keeping mum on the iPhone's technical limitations regarding the method it uses to contact cell towers...also I'm not sure if most people are aware but contracts such as Apple and AT&T's exclusivity aggreement typically run on the fiscal calander and not the 12 month annual calander... bearing that in mind even if the aggreement ends in 2010 it would be set to end this summer between june-july which is the start of most company's fiscal year so we'd know a Verizon iPhone is coming at this point if it were....one tell tell will be AT&T opening it's network up to more Android phones which at this point has not occured...Apple and AT&T are conducting business like true partners, if one is attacked the other will defend as we've seen in the recent ad campaigns...also Apple is trying to keep Google from officially joining AT&T's network and AT&T is trying to keep iphone off Verizon...so while the two companies JOINT strategy may not seem to make sense to us the consumer, it works for them.....another point about the Character of Apple as a company...as a consumer I've noticed that Apple does NOT seem to want it's products in everyone's hands it seems to be an exclusive company that sells high end products....people keep throwing out the pharse "market share" as if that's something that Apple is concerned with...if market share was a concern of Apple's wouldn't we see more affordable Mac Books, Pros, and Air's? in order to compete with PC's? wouldn't everyone that wanted a Mac be able to get it? sure walmart and best buy are selling iphones but when you buy an iPhone from one of those places you're technically buying it from AT&T....NO VERIZON iPHONE untill 2012 at the earliest, no Verizon iPhone announcement until the Summer of 2012....and finally the Android vs. iPhone argument....this is a flawed comparison! it's not like you're saying Ali (iPhone) vs. Frazier (android) the actual comparison most people are making is more like a group of lightweights (Android) has mustered up the courage to get in the ring with Ali (iPhone) iPhone is ONE device and the Android is a team of several devices... is there any one Android device that is out selling iPhone? NOPE
Click to expand...

First off, a run-on sentence like the one above is, at best, difficult to read. I also find your arguments less than convincing on the facts, as well.

I, too, have been a Cingular/AT&T customer since before 2002. In fact, Cingular was the only company that could give me coverage where I used to live, the location a notorious cellular 'black hole' in the region. However, even there I used to experience dropped calls which, at the time, I blamed on the location. However, after I moved to a new home where just about any network is pretty solid, I continued to get dropped calls--which I began blaming on the network. I tried Motorola phones, I tried Sony-Ericson, I even tried a Nokia--they all dropped calls and they all needed battery replacements after less than a year in service. Most of these phones even had external antennae.

But when the iPhone 3G came out, I decided to try it. I'm glad I did. Ever since I purchased my iPhone, I've not had a dropped call that wasn't my own fault; either by going into a tunnel or otherwise masking the signal (house basements are not conducive to retaining a connection no matter what system you use.) The battery has held up for far longer than any previous phone, nearly to my second year of use and almost as much battery life now as when I purchased it. In other words, the iPhone has proven to be better hardware than any previous phone I have owned.

Yes, I have the same connection issues anyone else has when they get out of range of 3G--nearly every road trip I make drops me to EDGE out of 3G. A Verizon phone could conceivably fix this. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I'll switch to Verizon just because the iPhone is there. I will wait and see how it performs on their network at least for a while to determine if switching providers is worth it.
 
rayray5884 said:
The incentive is to stop those on Verizon (an other non ATT networks) from getting comfortable with Android and to a much lesser extent, Palm. The radio technology used by V or ATT is not new and untested and they wouldn't be reinventing the wheel, just swapping out a chip. Even if there is a premium to add a different chip, you'd be gaining customers that would be more likely to stay loyal to the brand, instead of trying out the competitors product because it's the best choice on that network. The longer the iPhone isn't on any other network, the more time customers have to cozy up to Android phones on other networks. They need to get on other networks as soon as possible.
Click to expand...

I think those exclusive deals are really strange. Here in Germany they only sell the iPhone with T-Mobile even tough there are three other networks that are fully compatible with the iPhone (including 3G and HSDPA). Many people do not wand to change the network or they cannot (for example if the SIM is part of a biz contract). The same applies to many other European countries.

So in Europe it would be even easier for them to reach a lot more potential customers. Simply forget about exclusive deals and that f.....g simlock. They would not need any technical modification at all.

So I think the cost for a special CDMA version (or whatever else) is not the
real problem. They simply WANT to keep the product exclusive.

Christian
 
FrankieTDouglas said:
Well, I'd say the people living inside of this red zone would like to be able to use an iPhone, since right now their options are "Sorry, not possible, period." ATT doesn't exist except for a small minority, isolated inside big cities.

att.jpg


The map of no ATT coverage is actually much bigger, but I could only fit that much of the map into the viewer.
Click to expand...

Having traveled inside of that area with both an Iphone and a verizon (was the work phone at the time) phone...I've found the coverage to be pretty similar (with one phone having a little better signal the other...then later on it switching as I moved into a different area)

Doing lots of travel for work, all over the country...and my work phone being an Iphone...I've had maybe 4 (on the Iphone, and other phones with ATT) calls dropped in the last 3 years. Will some ares be more prone to this? Yes, but that's the case with any carrier.

On a side note...I was with Verizon many years ago (12ish) before finally switching due to poor customer service.

ATT is not that different from any other carrier. There are areas of good reception, and areas of poor reception for all.
 
kdarling said:
The reason you're getting so much grief is because there is indisputable proof that making a CDMA phone is worth it.

All you have to do is to notice that every other phone manufacturer makes both CDMA and GSM models.

Thus your comment is as odd as someone claiming that it can't possibly be cost effective to make a left-hand drive car, because there's so many more right-hand drive countries in the world. And yet look around.

This is not rocket science nor is it impractical. Apple started with far fewer sales for their first iPhone factory setup, retools every year, and has already switched radio chips in a major way at least once when they added WCDMA to get 3G.
Click to expand...

When it is "worth it" to Apple from an overall business perspective, they will do it. It is not your decision whether it is worth it. :)
 
marksman said:
Again it is not possible to have 48 personal relationships with people to the degree it would be necessary to have the information you claim to have without spending every waking minute doing it and/or being a social terrorist.
Click to expand...

There's a lot of blowhards on the internet who think they know more than everyone else, but you're one of the worst I've ever run across. I don't mind people who debate facts, but you have to get personal about it and try to let us all how much smarter than everyone else you are, the worst kind of internet troll.

People talk about cellphones. "Oh you have an iPhone? Yeah me too, but it drops calls all the time." That's all you need, there is no deep personal relationship required to get that information as you seem to think. I have 8 people in my immediate group who I work with every day who have iPhones, it's pretty hard to avoid the subject.
 
this whole topic is funny....

Ok guys before we get all personal, lets talk it out.


You have Verizon because it works for you, and he has AT&T cause it works for him. This is not that serious, its one phone on one carrier, if you don't like AT&T's coverage, don't buy it!!! Cant get an iPhone? Buy something else!!!!

End of discussion.

I will be so happy when other carriers do get the iPhone. So then you people will stop complaining about it and arguing amongst yourselves over insane topics.
 
WolfXL said:
Having traveled inside of that area with both an Iphone and a verizon (was the work phone at the time) phone...I've found the coverage to be pretty similar (with one phone having a little better signal the other...then later on it switching as I moved into a different area)

Doing lots of travel for work, all over the country...and my work phone being an Iphone...I've had maybe 4 (on the Iphone, and other phones with ATT) calls dropped in the last 3 years. Will some ares be more prone to this? Yes, but that's the case with any carrier.

On a side note...I was with Verizon many years ago (12ish) before finally switching due to poor customer service.

ATT is not that different from any other carrier. There are areas of good reception, and areas of poor reception for all.
Click to expand...

you are missing the point though. you will have service when travelling in much of the area, but if you actually live there you can't be an at&t customer. I don't have the option of getting at&t because they are not in my area. for me it is basically verizon or nothing, that is until at&t offers service here which will be at least a year from now.
 
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