Verizon Preparation and Demands for iPhone?

[MacRumors]

After the initial reporting of the production of a Verizon-capable iPhone, The Wall Street Journal has updated their story with some clarification and new details. The original wording of the piece left open the possibility that Apple might be producing a CDMA iPhone 4 for a carrier other than Verizon. The WSJ has since clarified that Verizon is indeed the intended target for the phone.

Apple Inc. is making a version of its iPhone that Verizon Wireless will sell early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to the updated article, Verizon has been meeting with Apple to add capacity and test its networks to prepare for the heavy wireless traffic from new iPhone users. The preparations are an attempt to avoid the public issues AT&T has had in coping with the iPhone's popularity. In particular, certain cities such as San Francisco and New York have had major issues sustaining voice and data calls for many AT&T iPhone customers.

While AT&T has been much maligned for their network issues and policies, Verizon may have its own demands for the iPhone. The WSJ reports that in earlier discussions, Verizon was unwilling to give up its ability to sell music and videos through its proprietary service. Verizon seems to have pursued this path on their Android phones by announcing that they are launching their own V CAST App store that would be separate from Android's official App Store. It's not clear if either Verizon or Apple caved on these demands to facilitate a Verizon iPhone launch. Finally, Verizon is also expected to introduce tiered data plans, following in AT&T's footsteps to remove unlimited data plans from their offerings.

Article Link: Verizon Preparation and Demands for iPhone?

 

[davidwarren]

I think apple would walk away before giving up any ground on iTunes sales.

 

[lifeinhd]

I hope the influx of iPhone users coming go verizon won't make the network any less stable. If it does, there's no point to being on verizon.

 

[0007776]

I don't think that Apple would let verizon have much control, at most they will let verizon have their own V CAST app that would be an optional install for users.

 

[2992]

guys, just don't set your expectations too high as CDMA is a dead-end technology anyways...

Now let's hope LTE iPhone (I propose iPhone 4G will be its name) will come soon enough. I'm expecting to see it next summer, so I'm holding on my obsolete 3G as of now.

 

[Digitalclips]

I think apple would walk away before giving up any ground on iTunes sales.

Agreed and I doubt they would even agree to an iPhone linked to Verizon's media services. I have FiOS but it turns out I have never availed myself of a single offering from Verizon, preferring iTunes music and videos with an ATV and iPhone. My HDR from Verizon has only ever been used for recording off air, nothing else in the years it has sat there.

 

[Samuriajackon]

Verizon should just sell a CDMA type adapter to plug into into the iPhone. Then i wouldn't be thinking about buying a whole new phone...

 

[mojohanna]

Thank GOD. If this is true, I am moving the second my contract is up with AT&terrible network. I live 2.6 miles from a tower and can't get a signal in at least 3 spots in between and have very spotty service at my house.

 

[lkrupp]

Thank GOD. If this is true, I am moving the second my contract is up with AT&terrible network. I live 2.6 miles from a tower and can't get a signal in at least 3 spots in between and have very spotty service at my house.

You and a lot of others will move and you will experience exactly the same problems you have with at&t. Live with it. It's the truth. This article even speculates the same thing.

 

[MacMan67]

I still think it will be a crippled device based on network limitations, CDMA does not allow simultaneous voice and data, so a lot of the functionality of the iPhone won't work, for example, talking to someone and looking stuff up on the maps application. That would all be a non issue if they came out with a LTE700/CDMA850/1900 iphone , as this issue would be resolved... I am surprised that no one is actually speculating that the new device would support LTE as Verizon has plans to roll it out to many markets by year end.

 

[Nordichund]

Thank goodness I live in Europe and don't even have to think about CDMA technology, it won't get you anywhere in this part of the world.

I am looking forward to next generation 4G, 10 times faster than 3g turbo. It is actually available here in the Oslo area, but unfortunately I believe there are no handsets yet that can use it. Though you can connect your laptop to it if you subscribe for about 120 dollars a month.
Now an iPhone or an iPad connected to that would be sensational on the move.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Apple, let Verizon have their app to sell songs for $3 bucks each that don't sync back to your computer. Lets see how successful they are with that.

 

[vpndev]

Verizon logo?

I can't imagine that Apple will have a Verizon logo on the phone, or allow non-approved apps on the iPhone via a Verizon "App Store".

Media sales - maybe. There's not much harm in that and Verizon does have some exclusives that would be available to its customers on iPhone. But this would be in addition to and not in place of whatever Apple is offering.

And I'll bet it won't be called "vPhone"

 

[DudeDad]

My guess is that Apple would like more carriers to sell the iPhone, and that the new iPhones would be released at the same time for all the networks. June/July has been the release date for all new models, so I would assume that Apple would like that release date to be the same across networks. I don't see them releasing the iPhone 5 on ATT in June, and the iPhone 5 on Verizon in September. That being said, it makes no sense for Apple to release a Verizon CDMA iPhone 4 design in January when the ATT iPhone 5 design in June. I also don't see them releasing a different form factor for Verizon in January. Perhaps the new iPhone coming out in 2011 will be an iPhone 4 but on Sprint or T-Mobile, with the Verizon version coming out in June as an iPhone 5 for LTE.

 

[rockosmodurnlif]

Geebus Verizon, just take the damned phone, sell it and make money. It's not that complicated. AT&T does it.

 

[maflynn]

Interesting news. With morbid fascination, I'm following this story.

I jumped from AT&T to verizon last year (Nexus -> Droidx), if VZW does start carrying the iPhone, I'm wondering how many android users would come to the dark side

Geebus Verizon, just take the damned phone, sell it and make money. It's not that complicated. AT&T does it.

AT&T does it because they're apple's lap dog. VZW isn't about the sell the farm just to get the iPhone. AT&T is giving apple a ton of concessions, I don't think VZW has been that willing. Plus apple like the control and they have that with at&t. They'll likely give up some of that control when going with them

 

[St. Germain]

I think apple would walk away before giving up any ground on iTunes sales.

I don't think that Apple would let verizon have much control, at most they will let verizon have their own V CAST app that would be an optional install for users.

Exactly. They'll get their own VCAST app, just like on Android.

 

[Carniphage]

Dear Carriers,

Here's the truth.

We don't like you. And to be honest, we never really did. If the market worked like it was supposed to, we'd dump you and go to someone better.

All we want you to do is connect calls and move bits. That is all.
And please do to do that cheaply. We don't want or need anything else.

No value-added music services. No add-on charges for tethering. Please don't tell us which handsets to use, or try to put your dumb logo on my phone or in my software. It's lame. It's embarrassing.

Please wake up and realise the world has changed. And behaving like *******s is not going make the world change back to how it was before.

love

your users

xxxx

C.

 

[Mattsasa]

yea...
this is the 32nd post on macrumors pointing to a december mass production of Verizon iphones and a january or early 2011 launch.

the 32nd post!!!

 

[Alisstar]

Even if the iPhone goes to Verizon, I'm sticking with AT&T. I've been a customer since 2004 and I have no real reason to switch.

 

[maflynn]

yea...
this is the 32nd post on macrumors pointing to a december mass production of Verizon iphones and a january or early 2011 launch.

the 32nd post!!!

I guess MacRumors should not be posting rumors then

 

[My name is Alex]

Apple? Cave into the demands of another company?? A verizon logo on the iPhone?? Hahahahahahah!!!! This will never ever happen

 

[t0mat0]

US iPhone 4 with CDMA only, Apple plays it right it can renegotiate with an iPhone 5 for the US that does dual GSM CDMA. They could play the iPhone 4 from now till iPhone 5 launch to Sprint instead of Verizon if Verizon didn't want to play ball

 

[Loonytik]

You and a lot of others will move and you will experience exactly the same problems you have with at&t. Live with it. It's the truth. This article even speculates the same thing.

+1

You can't have an influx of millions of phones and data plans and expect the network to not have issues. It just isn't feasible. When the iphone first came out a lot of the sales were to people who didn't have data capable phones, therefore you had massive amounts of people who were using data that weren't before.(I was one of those people and I came from Verizon).

Was AT&T ready? No. Will Verizon be ready? Who knows, but they better get ready.

 

[sk58781111]

So if I switch from ATT in March, and LTE is available in 38 major markets by June, I'm stuck on a 2 year contract with a CDMA-only phone and unable to use LTE until 2013? .

I just don't get it.