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AT&T iPhone Exclusivity to Expire in June 2010?

Verizon won't be next......

....it will be T-Mobile. Verizon has not been "playing nice" lately. Apple will open up to T-Mobile just to get the Feds off their backs and offer "a choice"...even though T-Mobile's 3G coverage is the worst in the industry and they don't have the capital to aggressively expand it.
 
For me personally, my family plan (1 iPhone 3Gs and 1 regular phone) costs me approximately $65.00 less on AT&T than on Verizon's plans and AT&T has the yearly rollover for unused minutes. I suppose I am fortunate that I've never had a dropped call or loss of network anywhere I've traveled in the Mid-Atlantic area. I would not switch to Verizon until they have rolled out 4G and made their pricing more reasonable. After all, they get enough money out of me for FIOS, unlimited telephone service and internet. I wish they would quit bugging me about FIOS television. I love my Directv. I've had it for 10 years and will not give it up. Every year on my anniversary I usually get a month of one of the premium packages free. This year they gave me the Showtime package for 6 months free.
 
AT&T will pay Apple a hefty price to keep exclusivity for another year. The iphone will not be coming to Verizon anytime soon.

I love AT&T. I had the iphone 3GS since July. I have never had a dropped call. 3G coverage is great in South Florida. I love rollover minutes. I just wish that AT&T would have rollover Text messaging.
 
That guy needs to work with Steve J...

...so that when Steve retires or needs to take a rest, Brian can do the pitch. He has the look. He has the knowledge. He has the professional charisma. He has the faith. :apple:
 
mikeb13 said:
AT&T will pay Apple a hefty price to keep exclusivity for another year. The iphone will not be coming to Verizon anytime soon.

I love AT&T. I had the iphone 3GS since July. I have never had a dropped call. 3G coverage is great in South Florida. I love rollover minutes. I just wish that AT&T would have rollover Text messaging.
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I have a new iPhone 3GS as well that I've had for the past few weeks and I've been with AT&T for the last 3 or 4 years now and I never have dropped calls either at home. I live out in a rural area so there are a few dead zones when driving but other than that AT&T's coverage is great out where I live. The only problem is no 3G coverage which is what they need to step up and get rolled out.

If I could get HSDPA here at home I'd most likely drop Verizon altogether since I haven't had that great of experience since the Alltel merger and once my contract runs out I'm certainly not going to be threatened by their 5GB/month download cap and crazy overage fees.
 
burningrave101 said:
No, Apple is a software company first and THEN hardware. People buy Apple products for OSX, not the hardware. If Apple didn't have OSX and was using Windows on their Apple computers people wouldn't pay $2,000+ for a MacBook Pro or iMac or Mac Pro when they can get one with the same hardware specs for half that price from the other OEM's like Dell and HP.
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That's not completely true. While I won't argue that OS X gives Macs an unparalleled advantage over other OEM's, most of them do make and sell high end computers in the same price range and similar specs to Apple's. If there wasn't a market for it then these systems wouldn't exist. Apple can charge a premium because good design costs money. A lot goes into research, manufacturing and materials. And there are people who appreciate the real value of a product and not just the original price. This is seen in just about every industry; cook ware, power tools, cars, stereo equipment, etc. Anyone who takes the subject matter seriously, knows the importance of using a quality tool and affordability means something more than just the sticker price, it also means time and expectations.
 
This just in

kdarling said:
I think so too. The question is, how many Verizon users will have locked into two year contracts on Droid or Pre models by the time the iPhone comes along? (Assuming it does come along.)

The first iPhone model was announced six months ahead of time, partly in order to give customers a reason to wait for it to go on sale.



ATT had a say in some major apps.

ATT didn't allow Slingplayer over 3G. And they didn't allow VoIP until very recently.

Verizon allows both, at least on other phones. No idea what they'd do for the iPhone.
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This is just a thought but why would Apple want another carrier. Competition for a comoditiy like the iPhone is something they would shy away from since AT&T is a cash cow for them due to the rebate per phone. If Verison joined the mix, there will be price wars that would potentially eat into how much Apple gets paid by each carrier. Unless Apple signes a deal that gives them a flat rate per phone and doesn't give a crap on the variability for plan cost etc. this idea of Verison will only be a dream.
 
burningrave101 said:
So for all intents and amount of profit Apple is a software company first and a hardware company second.
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Not sure how you can come to that conclusion, when hardware sales clearly subsidize software development and in turn the software is used to differentiate Apple's computers from every other computer on the market.

Personally I feel, Apple is equally both a hardware and software company. Without either them, Apple could not exist as the company it is today.
 
burningrave101 said:
So for all intents and amount of profit Apple is a software company first and a hardware company second.
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Take a look at Apple's financials. Looks at the hardware revenue. Then look at the software revenue. Now state Apple is a primarily a hardware company with a straight face.

Apple makes s/w to sell h/w not the other way around.
 
jayducharme said:
Brian said:


How is that possible? Does the device use the data network more conservatively? Or is it just that fewer people bother using the Blackberry for data-intensive tasks?
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I think it does actually. Often times, the Blackberry doesn't open up the full webpage, and it uses a WAP browser to open up a lot of "mobile version" sites. This actually consumes less data, and is a bit faster albeit not what you'd expect from a smartphone.

Someone correct me if i'm wrong here.
 
I don't know if iPhone will be coming to any other network because if it did, it would be lacking some features that the current AT&T iPhone has.
 
Verizon makes sense

Releasing the iPhone on Verizon makes great long-term business sense for Apple. They have 2-3 years of carrying a CDMA version, and then when both Verizon and AT&T have their LTE networks rolled out, they can converge on a single iPhone version. And, during those 2-3 years on Verizon, they pick up an appreciable number of loyal iPhone users that might otherwise become loyal Android fans.
 
OllyW said:
In the meantime you are leaving 50% of your biggest market out in the cold.
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And in the meantime, you only think within the bounds of your country, where, like myself, Apple thinks bigger: worldwide. Only 2 places out of the entire world use CDMA: here and China, which Apple put out a crippled phone for them. It was and continues to be more economical for Apple to use the same hardware everywhere it can instead of spreading themselves thin with different models of the same phone with different phone chipsets in it to support different networks. That's what killed Nokia.

GSM is where the world is at, and Verizon and China will only catch up when 4G is implemented worldwide. Then they can join in. But like I said; think globally. In that aspect, CDMA isn't worth it, especially if it is getting dropped for LTE.

BL.
 
burningrave101 said:
Apple can barely meet the demands of AT&T when they launch a new iphone refresh, what do you think is going to happen if supply is split between the two largest wireless companies AT&T and Verizon?? Also Verizon and Apple won't mix well if Verizon doesn't change their ways because they're too controlling of everything they do and allow whereas AT&T sort of lets Apple be in charge of their iphone. So I seriously doubt any of this happens and more than likely AT&T and Apple will just extend their exclusivity contract.
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Do you think Apple or any company TRULY cares if theres enough for everybody on launch day? The word "SOLD OUT" is their best friend. Do you remember the hype over the Wii? It was still sold out a year after the launch that people were going nuts figuring out when stores would get their next shipments in so they could camp out that morning. I think a bigger problem would be them getting enough flash drives to meet demand since there was that article about there being a worldwide flash drive shortage because of apple.
 
inkswamp said:
Yep, which is why it's so annoying when people attack the iPhone for supposedly not being able to multitask. I frequently find myself doing things on the iPhone while talking (i.e., looking something up on the Web that is relevant to the discussion, sending the person I'm talking to an email with some information, looking through my contacts, etc.)

I suspect a lot of people don't actually know what the term means on a technical level because the iPhone not only multitasks quite nicely, but is based on the OS that invented multitasking. Apple limits third-party multitasking but not the built-in functionality of the iPhone.

And I agree. Because of my line of work, that would be a big drawback for me too.
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Yep - I estimate I'm on the net about 2/3rds of the time I'm on the phone (i.e when I'm not driving). Not being able to do that does not work for me, so I guess I'm stuck on ATT. But, as someone else pointed out, once (if) the iPhone is available on VZN, many people will jump and maybe ATT's network will improve a bit.
 
logisticprism said:
It would be interesting to see the iPhone on Verizon. Although, as some other people have pointed out, Verizon just bashed the hell out of the iPhone with the Droid campaign. It would be pretty hilarious if they all of a sudden also started selling the iPhones. I would actually like to see them advertise both Driod and iPhone and see what they do with it.

I for one want this to happen. I agree that AT&Ts network sucks, but I think if millions of iPhone users in the US switch from AT&T to Verizon, Verizon's networks will take a huge hit, more than they have ever seen. Who knows, all the usage might even cripple Verizon's network. Like the guy on bloomberg said, 4% of the iPhone user base consumes 40% of the data. It won't take long for Verizon's network to also be crippled. I don't think people will be singing the same tune about Verizon after that.

I guess we will never know until it actually happens next year.
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Apple also bashed the heck out of intel before they switched.
bradl said:
Because, as said many times here and on other forums, Apple wants to standardize on a worldwide network,
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Oh, so who at Apple told you that?
burningrave101 said:
No, Apple is a software company first and THEN hardware. People buy Apple products for OSX, not the hardware. If Apple didn't have OSX and was using Windows on their Apple computers people wouldn't pay $2,000+ for a MacBook Pro or iMac or Mac Pro when they can get one with the same hardware specs for half that price from the other OEM's like Dell and HP. It's the same thing with the iPhone and iPod. Stick Windows Mobile and Microsoft Zune software on them and see how many people still buy them. The profit margin for hardware is also not usually that great whereas with software there is a lot more profit. That's why with gaming consoles for example the manufacturers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo make their profits from the games and accessories while with the console itself there is only a small profit and at times even a loss.

Also, i kind of doubt AT&T is going to want to continue to pay what they are now with exclusive rights to the iPhone so Apple won't make the same amount of profit they are now per sale and that may not matter with an increase in the volume of sales through multiple carriers but if I was AT&T I wouldn't offer them any more than rock bottom price if they start selling to Verizon as well. Also it would not be entirely beneficial for Apple to develop a CDMA phone because as has already been stated Apple is a worldwide company and CDMA is North America. They may pick up quite a few Verizon customers but they will be manufacturing an exclusive phone that won't work when people travel abroad.

Apple's best move would be to stay exclusive with AT&T and hopefully AT&T will move forward with rolling out a lot more 3G coverage because the exclusivity of the iPhone is one of the things that adds to popularity, if it's a phone that you can get on any of the major carriers then its price and market value is going to drop.
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Your half right. Apple is a hardware company. Their major selling point is software. The majority of Apple's profits are from hardware, and they sell hardware because of their software.
 
Is it really true that 4% of iPhone users consume 40% of the bandwidth on AT&T's network? That was my understanding of what Brian said. If that's correct, I don't think a more solid case could be built for capping the iPhone data usage. Honestly, I think one of the biggest problems with AT&T's network is their unwillingness to cap data usage. I think 99% of people would be under the cap, and the small minority that really put a strain on the network would have to pay their share.
 
bradl said:
And in the meantime, you only think within the bounds of your country, where, like myself, Apple thinks bigger: worldwide. Only 2 places out of the entire world use CDMA: here and China, which Apple put out a crippled phone for them. It was and continues to be more economical for Apple to use the same hardware everywhere it can instead of spreading themselves thin with different models of the same phone with different phone chipsets in it to support different networks. That's what killed Nokia.

GSM is where the world is at, and Verizon and China will only catch up when 4G is implemented worldwide. Then they can join in. But like I said; think globally. In that aspect, CDMA isn't worth it, especially if it is getting dropped for LTE.

BL.
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It's not a problem in my country, all the networks here are GSM and they have just done away with exclusivity with the iPhone. :p
 
mobi said:
Just in time, as my iPhone is getting kinda beat...cracked housing, 2nd battery...very much looking forward to a VZW iPhone!
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Very much looking forward to a 4th generation AT&T iPhone.
 
kdarling said:
I think so too. The question is, how many Verizon users will have locked into two year contracts on Droid or Pre models by the time the iPhone comes along? (Assuming it does come along.)
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It's a huge problem. My contract is expired and I'm getting toward needing a new phone for Verizon. I'm not crazy about the droid or eris, though I could probably live with either. But I'll be really mad if I get one and then VZ gets the iPhone 6 months into a 2 year contract. (Or the iPhone gets on VZ :rolleyes:)
 
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