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reasons I think this report is false:

AT&T + iPhone exclusivity is not a rumor. It is fact (announced at time of original launch). The exact time-course of the length of that exclusivity may be up for debate, but I doubt it was 1.5 years. And I trust USAToday's and CNN's sources more than anonymous-guy emailing 9to5Mac.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2008-07-31-att-iphone-stephenson-apple_N.htm

2010 is the rumored end of exclusivity:

Arn, I think you are right...
Although as much as I loved AT&T at my house in Florida, ever since I moved to New York City for college, I wouldn't mind a nice VZW iPhone ;)
 
reasons I think this report is false:

AT&T + iPhone exclusivity is not a rumor. It is fact (announced at time of original launch). The exact time-course of the length of that exclusivity may be up for debate, but I doubt it was 1.5 years. And I trust USAToday's and CNN's sources more than anonymous-guy emailing 9to5Mac.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/telecom/2008-07-31-att-iphone-stephenson-apple_N.htm

2010 is the rumored end of exclusivity:

+1
thought this was a something that most had read about.. i have a feeling that this 2010 date may be pushed back even further, around 2010 or near the end of 2009 their may be a *newer* model iPhone that will come out and you know at&t will want to keep it exclusive to them. OR hey maybe Apple is sick of dealing with at&t here and do in fact want to open their marketshare and allow others to sell iphones in the US.. who really knows??? but for now we can say 2010 no sooner, maybe later?
 
around 2010 or near the end of 2009 their may be a *newer* model iPhone that will come out and you know at&t will want to keep it exclusive to them

Yeah... they're doing one a year, every year. There will be a new iPhone next July. The Phone Borg will have to suck it up and get rid of exclusivity at some point.

But it's not going to Verizon while they're CDMA.
 
Won't happen. Any development of a CDMA phone will require a complete reconfiguration of the device, complete redesign because of the additional components CDMA phones require, and is going to be worthless in a matter of years because Verizon is going to LTE, which is GSM-based, for the 4G network in a matter of years.

I wouldn't say a new CDMA phone would be worthless. We're realistically looking at 5-6 years before we see any real adoption of LTE in the US. Do YOU keep your phones for 5-6 years?

However, a CDMA iPhone will pose some significant challenges for Apple. For one thing, it won't be a world phone if it's CDMA only. The same phone that can go different places on AT&T won't Be able to on Verizon. You'll get maybe Russia, Asia and some latin American countries, but not nearly the reach GSM has. Unless they add yet another set of radios to the existing design (CDMA + EVDO + WCDMA + GSM + WiFi + GPS + Bluetooth?).

If they decide to strip out the GSM and WCDMA electronics for a Verizon version in exchange for CDMA/EVDO, imagine the class action lawsuit that some dummy will file because their Verizon iPhone didn't work in the UK?

Maybe Apple will be able to pull off a true multiband, multi-protocol iPhone, but it'll probably be at the expense of any new features. Don't expect that 32GB iPhone anytime soon if you want Verizon service: the internals just won't have the room.

I realize that a lot of people think Verizon will be lots better than AT&T, but as someone who was on Sprint and Verizon for years before switching to AT&T, AND as someone who knows a former VZW employee (not retail, in their software development and backend department) CDMA is really not much better. It's subject to cell breathing and all of the exact same issues that 3G has, only there is no "edge" to fall back to. Verizon's veneer of being such a reliable network will fade pretty quickly, exposing all the cracks and creaks underneath. The only difference is that VZW's techs won't listen, and will probably blame the iPhone for issues even more than AT&T reps do.

That said, I welcome the attempt if the rumor happens to be true. I think what I've been saying about this for a while now will be proven right. Vindication will be sweet. :D
 
Well this could be good because more iPhone carriers = plan competition and maybe AT&T will lower some of their rate plan prices....im just afraid the iPhone will go the way of the Razr....idk why but i like the iPhone being exclusively AT&T
 
Well this could be good because more iPhone carriers = plan competition and maybe AT&T will lower some of their rate plan prices....im just afraid the iPhone will go the way of the Razr....idk why but i like the iPhone being exclusively AT&T

You realize that it's a joke that opening up a phone to more networks will lower the price of the data plan, right? Some states are looking into the collusion that is occurring between providers and how they all attempt to keep prices around the same in order to screw the customer.
 
To be honest, 9 to 5 Mac does not have a fabulous track record with rumours.

We shall see I guess.

Phazer

Are you kidding? They have been right every single time! 9 to 5 Mac has the best track record of anyone.

This rumor isn't from their same usual source though... its just an anonymous tipster, which leads to my thinking its false. They didn't post it as fact, they simply posted it for interest.
 
It always surprises me how many of these rumor fail to take into account other rumors.

What if the tipster heard that EVDO was being offered in a portable apple product?

How about the tablet mac having EVDO data connectivity? Wider data area with higher speeds than EDGE?

Maybe this could coincide with a 3rd rumor that apple has created an auction style data usage system like the rumored original plan for the iphone. So that the tablet mac user pays apple a set fee per data use, but apple finds the cheapest wholesale rate dependent upon location of the mac?

Just because Fred says he heard the iphone is going CDMA doesn't mean the touch isn't going CDMA or a tablet mac isn't going CDMA?

2 cents

Edd
 
I realize that a lot of people think Verizon will be lots better than AT&T, but as someone who was on Sprint and Verizon for years before switching to AT&T, AND as someone who knows a former VZW employee (not retail, in their software development and backend department) CDMA is really not much better. It's subject to cell breathing and all of the exact same issues that 3G has, only there is no "edge" to fall back to. Verizon's veneer of being such a reliable network will fade pretty quickly, exposing all the cracks and creaks underneath. The only difference is that VZW's techs won't listen, and will probably blame the iPhone for issues even more than AT&T reps do.

I'm sure you may know a "former VZW employee," but just an FYI in terms of call quality, network reliance, and customer service. VZW is almost always #1. Whereas AT&T? Not so much, it's almost always near the middle to bottom.

Back to the topic at hand, personally I have no doubt that Apple and VZW still have talks. Whether or not something is going to happen, I'm with everyone else I have a lot of doubts.

Still, one thing that is a little curious (at least for me) is why they called the 2nd generation iPhone: iPhone 3G? Usually when Apple does an update to an existing product, they just call it the same thing. Why did Apple call it iPhone 3G? Maybe to make room for iPhone EVDO? Who knows, it's just a long shot speculation.... LOL
 
I finally got the ok from the "Boss" to get us each an iPhone. Godamn Verizon! We each have to pay an ETF to get out of our contracts. Luckily mine ends in November so I will only have to pay for one if I wait until then. I hate having to wait a month when I want something now but hey, i'll save $175.
 
Won't happen. Any development of a CDMA phone will require a complete reconfiguration of the device, complete redesign because of the additional components CDMA phones require,

that's my question -- can Apple even make the economics work with CDMA? They could only produce what Verizon (and maybe Sprint) could sell, which is a lot smaller than the GSM market at this point. Can they scale the components enough to keep the price down? Or would they charge everyone else more to cover the cost?
 
I really wish that Apple and Att contract would end sooner. I get a lot of dropped calls with ATT and I miss my good old Verizon service.
 
I don't see anyone else getting the iPhone 3G. However, when the contract runs out I see T-Mobile and Verizon being players for the 4G LTE iPhone.
 
Apple stripped and redid their entire OS for the switch from PowerPC to Intel... who's to say that if the deal is right, they wont do it for Verizon for the iPhone? Verizon was still the first company Steve approached about the deal, but Verizon didn't want to give Apple all the control they asked for like AT&T would. With Verizon's purchase of Alltel (picking up towers in a lot of rural areas) and iPhone's fame, you never know what might be being said between the two. I'm not saying it will happen, but I wouldn't rule it out either.
 
Verizon had their shot. I'm sure some anti-Apple management guy told them the iPhone will suck and they passed on it.
 
Original Contract Rumors

The original contract rumor involved a 5-year exclusivity contract under which Apple could in no way research or develop an iphone for a competing carrier.

Who knows what's true? Who knows if we'll be using shiny rocks to pay for a new iPhone in 2010?
 
It is extremely unlikely that Apple would manufacture a phone just for Verizon. Setting up separate plants just for one market would cut into profits if Apple wants to promote this as a "world" phone. If any exclusivity deal were to expire, I think T-Mobile would be the logical choice as a second carrier, though the chip would have to be modified slightly to support the 1700Mhz band of 3G.
 
The only time this would make sense

This would only make sense when Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mo are all using the same system. Isn't that expected for the 4G systems? Hopefully, Apple will just sell them all unlocked by that time, and maybe even buy up MVNO time themselves.

Ultimately, the problem is that the phone companies are stupid and lack vision. They try to milk every dime in margins today without thought for tomorrow. Because of this (and their monopoly positions), the infrastructure is already over-burdened.

Here's a hint-- the 1GB TMo limit on the G1, and the 5GB limits on all the air cards. I would actually need a minimum of 6GB for today's modest needs, and within a year I would expect that to be easily 10GB.

I think we need some more USM bands made available for non commercial networks (non-telco).
 
They should do Crickit

yes they arnt that popular, still growing but I bet if they did a deal with them that may help them to grow a lot more.....
 
Verizon will be a huge contender for an iPhone in 2-3 years. Not only are they migrating to LTE, but they also just acquired the largest (and most desired) piece of the airwave spectrum that was up for auction last winter (was it the C block? D block? I forget which). AT&T bought the 2nd most desired block. I think the doors are going to be wide open for Apple to sweep the cellular market in a couple years time... providing Verizon becomes less restrictive.

I also think a CDMA iPhone would be pointless at this point, despite the fact I love Verizon. I can wait.
 
I'm sure you may know a "former VZW employee,"

As a matter of fact I do, and her title didn't have quotation marks.

but just an FYI in terms of call quality, network reliance, and customer service. VZW is almost always #1. Whereas AT&T? Not so much, it's almost always near the middle to bottom.

Let's not turn this into a JD Power validity debate, shall we?

You may disagree with the last paragraph in my message, and you're welcome to that opinion. But my technical analysis stands, and you have yet to challenge that. That IS the main topic of this thread, right?


Still, one thing that is a little curious (at least for me) is why they called the 2nd generation iPhone: iPhone 3G?

Ohhh because that was the main complaint people had about the original iPhone, and the main improvement of this version?

By the way, EVDO is a recognized 3G technology.
 
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