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iPhone Coming to Verizon... Next Year?
- Thread starter Mykbibby
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T-Mobile is likely it seems to get gobbled up by AT&T (IMO, however, grain of salt), Verizon is CDMA, and is incompatible with the current generation of iPhones (however, it is not stopping Apple from making any new ones either with a separate CDMA one, or a CDMA/GSM hybrid phone (Such as VZW World Edition phones)).
But with the contract AT&T and Apple have, at least here in the United States, I don't see Apple leaving AT&T anytime soon, whether if that's a good or bad thing, that all up depends on the consumer.
As huge of an Apple fanboy I am, Verizon (Storm looks great) , T-Mobile (G1 is way better than any WinMo phone they have now), and Sprint (The Instinct is a good competitor to the iPhone) all have their own good decent phones as well, and the iPhone is only one of them (and started them all to improve their selection of phones, I believe).
I currently am using a first generation iPhone now, but nothing is saying that nothing better is going to come out in the future.
And also, I, myself know quite a few people who will not leave Verizon for anything (I guess if you keep telling your customers you have the best network, people will believe it, but AT&T's network is just as good (in terms of coverage as a whole, not 3G etc)
But with the contract AT&T and Apple have, at least here in the United States, I don't see Apple leaving AT&T anytime soon, whether if that's a good or bad thing, that all up depends on the consumer.
As huge of an Apple fanboy I am, Verizon (Storm looks great) , T-Mobile (G1 is way better than any WinMo phone they have now), and Sprint (The Instinct is a good competitor to the iPhone) all have their own good decent phones as well, and the iPhone is only one of them (and started them all to improve their selection of phones, I believe).
I currently am using a first generation iPhone now, but nothing is saying that nothing better is going to come out in the future.
And also, I, myself know quite a few people who will not leave Verizon for anything (I guess if you keep telling your customers you have the best network, people will believe it, but AT&T's network is just as good (in terms of coverage as a whole, not 3G etc)
Does anyone know the exact details of the Apple and ATT negotiations? Theoretically, a new, CDMA iPhone could be considered a new product that does not fall under the contract of the Apple/ATT agreement. It would be like if Apple made a completely new phone, they could give THAT to Verizon, as it isn't the iPhone.
Here's your Verizon iPhone....
http://chinagrabber.com/3-5-ciphone-3g-iphone-clone--ciphone-i88i.aspx
http://chinagrabber.com/3-5-ciphone-3g-iphone-clone--ciphone-i88i.aspx
This would be kind of cool I think. If it does then I'll get one on Verizon just to test it out and see of Verizon's network really is that much better. It would also be pretty cool of they'd release a different version to differentiate itself from the other, like one with Hardware QWERTY, and an iPod like click wheel for navigation. I'd definitely give it a shot.
I already expended a large amount of energy debating a CDMA iPhone in these forums earlier this year before I finally bit the bullet and switched from Verizon to AT&T so I can get my iPhone. I did take a hit on coverage in doing so. It's a hit I can live with, except when I go to certain remote areas of the state where Verizon has coverage and AT&T has none. Plus I am experiencing more dropped calls than before. But to AT&T's credit, they are making a lot of progress in Cali and it was because of that that I decided to make the switch.
I would like to dispel a few myths that people propagate every time this subject comes up:
1. Myth: It is really difficult to develop a CDMA version of the iPhone. Fact: No it's not. Many other companies develop phones with both radios. Blackberry is now developing dual-mode world phones.
2. Myth: Apple wouldn't make much money on this deal becasue CDMA is not a world standard. Fact: Verizon has 60 million customers. Need I say more...
3. Myth: AT&T has a 5 year exclusivity agreement as announced when the original iPhone came out. Fact: There was NEVER an official announcement. Other than two USAToday articles based on inside rumors (which were possibly leaked by AT&T themselves), we have heard nothing solid at all. AT&T has gone to great lengths to keep this secret. Draw your own conclusions, but I think the agreement is less lengthy than implied, and that's exactly what they want us to think.
4. Myth: Verizon is going to LTE, and because of that, any new iPhone would follow that standard. Fact: Verizon is going to START LTE service in 2012. Full implementation is a LONG way off. Just imagine how many cell sites we are talking about. Revamping an entire national network takes a huge amount of resources and time. Therefore GSM & CDMA will remain very relevant through at least 2-3 more generations of iPhone.
5. Myth: Because Verizon rebuffed Apple the first time they were approached, Verizon won't talk to Apple again (or vice versa). Fact: Since when did big business let emotion get in the way of a money-making deal? C'mon!
My personal prediction is that we'll see a CDMA+GSM worldphone version of the iPhone on Verizon late next year or the following. But probably not sooner. I do believe AT&T has exclusivity for now, and perhaps for another 6-12 months. Long enough for me to go AT&T rather than wait.
I would like to dispel a few myths that people propagate every time this subject comes up:
1. Myth: It is really difficult to develop a CDMA version of the iPhone. Fact: No it's not. Many other companies develop phones with both radios. Blackberry is now developing dual-mode world phones.
2. Myth: Apple wouldn't make much money on this deal becasue CDMA is not a world standard. Fact: Verizon has 60 million customers. Need I say more...
3. Myth: AT&T has a 5 year exclusivity agreement as announced when the original iPhone came out. Fact: There was NEVER an official announcement. Other than two USAToday articles based on inside rumors (which were possibly leaked by AT&T themselves), we have heard nothing solid at all. AT&T has gone to great lengths to keep this secret. Draw your own conclusions, but I think the agreement is less lengthy than implied, and that's exactly what they want us to think.
4. Myth: Verizon is going to LTE, and because of that, any new iPhone would follow that standard. Fact: Verizon is going to START LTE service in 2012. Full implementation is a LONG way off. Just imagine how many cell sites we are talking about. Revamping an entire national network takes a huge amount of resources and time. Therefore GSM & CDMA will remain very relevant through at least 2-3 more generations of iPhone.
5. Myth: Because Verizon rebuffed Apple the first time they were approached, Verizon won't talk to Apple again (or vice versa). Fact: Since when did big business let emotion get in the way of a money-making deal? C'mon!
My personal prediction is that we'll see a CDMA+GSM worldphone version of the iPhone on Verizon late next year or the following. But probably not sooner. I do believe AT&T has exclusivity for now, and perhaps for another 6-12 months. Long enough for me to go AT&T rather than wait.
Verizon & iPhone
Even if VZW switches to GSM / LTE it'll never happen.
This is the biggest farce, rumor, BS, LIE going.
Thing is VZW's network being both voice and data BLOWS, literally BLOWS AT&T's pathetic attempt of a Voice and Data Network away.
AT&T has so much to learn and the people behind the company have allot to learn, from piss poor CS, to having to ship in a dead device for a refurbishment device.
Since "AT&T" is the largest than why not step up to the plate and reduce prices?
Even if VZW switches to GSM / LTE it'll never happen.
This is the biggest farce, rumor, BS, LIE going.
Thing is VZW's network being both voice and data BLOWS, literally BLOWS AT&T's pathetic attempt of a Voice and Data Network away.
AT&T has so much to learn and the people behind the company have allot to learn, from piss poor CS, to having to ship in a dead device for a refurbishment device.
Since "AT&T" is the largest than why not step up to the plate and reduce prices?
in 2010 it won't matter
Based on what I have read, come 2010 it won't really matter that ATT is the only provider in the US. At that time, ATT, t-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon (everyone except Sprint) are going LTE (4G).
So my prediction is at that time, Apple will open it up to any provider that can provide visual voicemail and the other provider only services AT has now.
Based on what I have read, come 2010 it won't really matter that ATT is the only provider in the US. At that time, ATT, t-Mobile, Alltel, and Verizon (everyone except Sprint) are going LTE (4G).
So my prediction is at that time, Apple will open it up to any provider that can provide visual voicemail and the other provider only services AT has now.
The first articles were not even based on inside rumors. They were based on a remark that Verizon's CEO made while making fun of the iPhone being stuck on ATT's network.
Recently USAToday claimed from "insider info" that the exclusivity agreement was only for two years, and has been extended until 2010. Sounds possible. Also possible that no one else wants to deal with Apple, and thus the "exclusivity" is by default.
We might see it sooner. Motorola and Verizon are doing LTE trials now.
While we're at myths, one is that Verizon is "going GSM". LTE has nothing technically in common with either CDMA or GSM. It's a new technical standard for everyone, just as 3G was a radical change for GSM to the CDMA side of things. LTE actually has more in common with WiMAX.
And finally, Verizon LTE phones will be made to fall back on CDMA when LTE isn't available. (They've already demo'd failing a video stream to EVDO and back.) ATT's LTE phones will fail back to GSM 3G and EDGE. So until LTE is EVERYWHERE, the phones aren't interchangeable.
For where you are I bet it is. For myself and many areas around the nation it's the other way around.
Yes. We will. I am sure there will be a lot of posts that will have false information and iPhone fanboy/girl ranting about how AT&T is SO wonderful and so forth.
Unless Verizon's doing stuff behind the scenes, the attitudes of their upper management seems to be a "We don't need the iPhone" type. And that hasn't quite changed.
Probably the same reason they hobble half the features on the phones they do manage to carry....
In other words, you have a heavy emotional investment in the possibility of a CDMA iPhone, and your comments are likely colored accordingly. Thank you for this disclaimer.
Yes they are, and yet they lack a lot of features of the current iPhone: the memory, the screen, the accelerometer, the WiFi, the external speaker, the separate DSPs for video and audio playback, for example. All of these things take up critical space in a space-challenged form factor. If there was room to spare, we'd have a 32GB iPhone already. We might even have a CDMA world edition iPhone. But, we don't.
Can you make an iPhone for CDMA and GSM/UMTS/HSPA? Absolutely... but it won't have the same level of features in the same package. Not with the current technology. In 18 months? Maybe.
Yeah, you do, actually. A LOT more. Not all 60 million customers are going to get iPhones. And at this point, Verizon has spent quite a lot of time turning on its propaganda machine on why you don't need an iPhone. that would be pretty tough to suddenly reverse course.
I'm not so sure that if the reports were incorrect, Apple would let them stand. AT&T might have a motive to keep a lack of exlcusivity secret, but Apple wouldn't.
Since Steve Jobs was CEO, that's since when.
I'm not discounting that there may eventually be a Verizon iPhone. But I don't think it'll be next year. And even in 2010, don't expect it to be the same iPhone as on AT&T. There WILL be changes, and they probably won't be good ones. And the ideologies of the two companies (VZW and Apple) will clash significantly because their corporate cultures each dictate that they know better. When you have two self proclaimed know-it-alls at the negotiating table, the results are never pretty.
Don't expect any possible marriage of the two to be an fuzzy, friendly one.
The only other countries that use CDMA are Canada, a few Caribbean and Japan. Not all that many. GSM is WORLDWIDE.
Poverty is worldwide too. The reason GSM is global is because it costs about half as much as CDMA to deploy. (At least until you get into 3G, which is CDMA.)
The question is, how many of the people included in those countries can afford to spend the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars (i.e. not free) on a smartphone... and how widespread 3G is.
I agree, or run the risk of becoming another RAZR. Look at what happened to Motorola on that, every network in existence milked it for what it was worth, now you could practically get it in a cracker jack box. Besides Verizon did this to themselves, if I'm not mistaken I believe they were approached first with the iPhone concept but couldn't come to an agreement because every phone they sell has to have their UI and proprietary garbage on it. Hmmm... Apple is very similar to Verizon in many ways, very brand conscious, draconian at times...
There's also the whole "welcome to last year syndrome." Verizon has been doing to the iPhone what Sprint did to the RAZR, almost verbatim. Even shortly after the Nextel merger, Sprint was biased against Motorola being on their CDMA network, and when the RAZR came out and was a smash hit, Sprint went through great lengths to justify not having it. They even basically commissioned Samsung to make a copycat model, and spent two years trying to hype how their version was so much better. Only it wasn't, and everyone knew it, except maybe Sprint.
Two years later, after the ship was long beginning to sink, Sprint finally caved and the RAZR came out on that network, and sold it for $149 with contract while everyone else was giving it away. And everyone yawned.
Sound familiar?
I have a strategy that would allow Apple to get around the existing "exclusive" deal with AT&T. Here's how...
Apple purchases a controlling stake in Palm from Elevation Partners and then licenses the current iPhone design to Palm for use through Verizon and other non-AT&T carriers.
Yes, pretty much what is going one with the iPhone 3G.
The device was a hit when it was first launched, now after the first year, and a second minor update with big price increase, people are beginning to realize that it's just an over priced over hyped phone that breaks easier than a Mac Book.
I think the iPhone has hit that Razr status already since it's being hacked and jacked all over the world. Most people that still buy it are either former users, Apple users that have .Mac/Mobile Me which makes the iPhone a good choice if you want to pay $150+ a month, and people that fall into the hype.
Are you an engineer? Do you have ANY clue what you are talking about? No. Probably not. The cell radio used has NOTHING AT ALL to do with the other features of the iPhone. And getting it to fit won't be an issue, also, how do you know what the possible Verizon version will look like? The report never said it was the ATT iPhone coming to Verizon.
I agree, or run the risk of becoming another RAZR. Look at what happened to Motorola on that, every network in existence milked it for what it was worth, now you could practically get it in a cracker jack box. Besides Verizon did this to themselves, if I'm not mistaken I believe they were approached first with the iPhone concept but couldn't come to an agreement because every phone they sell has to have their UI and proprietary garbage on it. Hmmm... Apple is very similar to Verizon in many ways, very brand conscious, draconian at times...
That's because Motorola allowed the carriers to do whatever they wanted to with it. They let Verizon cripple the bluetooth and slap their logo all over the GUI. Motorola also let other carriers put massive discounts on it. Apple knows better, they would never let a carrier offer it for less w/o their consent and would certainlt not allow them to use a different GUI.
Why would Apple bother creating a custom iPhone just for the Verizon network? If Verizon's network is that proprietary, I doubt they'll ever be able to sell iPhones.
It's not exactly propriety, about 2/3rds of the U.S. cell phone market is CMDA and in many places the CMDA network has much better coverage than GSM. If there wasn't an exclusive agreement with AT&T would would probably see a CMDA variant of the iPhone.
WRONG! Go do your research then come back here and post again.
I will concede that GSM has many more subscribers, but CDMA is in MANY more countries than you listed and MANY countries do NOT have GSM.
Stop spreading false information please.