Verizon President Offers a Look Inside the Apple-Verizon iPhone Negotiations

[Rodimus Prime]

I hope this pushes other manufactures to start demanding that the career bloatware and custom OS crap gets removed off the smart phones. I can deal with bloatware and carreer OS on the dumb phones but on the smart phones the bloatware should not be allowed.

 

[gopnick]

I am guessing 2012 is when it's released, which is a little long considering LTE phones are going to be available in the coming months.

I don't disagree, but here's one point:

Apple isn't always on the cutting edge in terms of equipment; they concentrate on user experience.

Example: The first iPhones were 2.5G (EDGE) only, though 3G had been out for a long time. I'd owned two 3G smartphones by then. However, the user experience was so vastly superior to anything on the market than many of us "downgraded" one or two hardware specs for an overall upgrade.

The biggest problem with the CDMA iPhone is that it doesn't allow simultaneous voice/data calls. People think that isn't important until they have it for a while--going back is tough.

I'll wait for the LTE version before I switch to Verizon. I'm with AT&T until 2012, if that's what that means.

 

[MstrHrm]

I wonder how that humble pie tastes for VZ? They belittled Apple pretty good when the iPhone was first coming out. I remember hearing dismissive comments directly form VZ employees about things like branding, VZ does not revenue share, and handset manufactures are not allowed to have direct access to "their" customers.....

I love it, I hope Steve and Apple are making a killing off this.

 

[IBradMac]

Now all we got to see is if it works on the Verizon network of the real world, not some special set-up in Cupertino. Truth is, people say that the iPhone sucks on AT&T (and it does), but other phones on the very same at&t network do not. I guess we'll have to wait and see (pass the popcorn, please).

Exactly. And you bring up a fantastic point. How good is the iPhone reception wise? I can't wait..

 

[tripjammer]

I'm still wondering what Apple ceeded. If Verizon is doing the marketing, I guess that's it. I don't believe Apple bent them as far as they did with Cingular at the time. One thing that stood out in the article is that Apple agreed to share info about future iPhones. That tells me they are building an LTE device. If the 4 was in development for 18 months, when did they start developing an LTE device? I am guessing 2012 is when it's released, which is a little long considering LTE phones are going to be available in the coming months.

Yeah work has already started on the LTE Iphone\Ipad....but look for it to be the Iphone 6\Ipad 3 not the Iphone 5\Ipad 2...so Spring 2012 Ipad 3 and summer 2012 for Iphone 6.

ATT network really is faster if you have a good signal and you have an Iphone 4...it will get close to 5MB per sec download on the upgrade network. Verizon 3G CDMA can not get close only about 2 to maybe 3mbs....

I will do another speed test on a android phone to find out...

 

[Thunderhawks]

I'm just excited to be able to use my iPhone around where I live. Southwest Michigan is Verizon country, apparently. I had to put a MicroCell in my home in order to ensure connectivity. I go a mile down the road to the gym or to the restaurant I like and I get "No Service." My wife's Verizon current dumb-phone gets stellar service at the same locations

My wife is already on Verizon. If my wife's shiny new iPhone works as I hope, I'll be joining her the same day or the day after, and AT&T can take their $255 extortion fee. A phone should be able to work as a phone, and I don't go overseas so CDMA is fine for me. Go !

No need to pay any charges for leaving your contract early .

PORT your number citing bad signal etc. Do not get a new number!

When ATT calls you insist that the signal is bad. They know their bad areas.

Takes a few days longer, but $ 255 is a lot of $$$.
Go to a Verizon store they will help you with it!

 

[Rodimus Prime]

No need to pay any charges for leaving your contract early .

PORT your number citing bad signal etc. Do not get a new number!

When ATT calls you insist that the signal is bad. They know their bad areas.

Takes a few days longer, but $ 255 is a lot of $$$.
Go to a Verizon store they will help you with it!

you can bet money AT&T is going to clamp down on people leaving. Break the contract you pay ETF. They are not going to let the normal BS slide.

Also the EFT is you paying the cost of the phone that your contract was supposed to cover over time.

 

[kdarling]

And yet, no comment about verizon laughing apple out of the room when first approached with the iPhone idea and terms.

Because that never happened. That's a child's idea of how negotiations work. In the real world, they simply agreed to disagree.

Now we know from interviews that almost immediately after the iPhone was revealed, both Apple and Verizon realized they each had made a mistake. Apple with their ATT exclusive, and Verizon for not taking a chance on the unknown. So they started talking again.

In the end, Apple won the negotiations, because the iPhone is that good.

Won what? Verizon got a CDMA version without paying royalties. Pretty good deal for them.

Is the Verizon signal in Cupertino so weak that they couldn't develop the phone without the extra tower? Can people not living close the the Apple Headquarter even use the phone without loss of signal?

You do it for testing.

In addition, there was an article years ago about how when the Apple team first started working on the iPhone, there was almost no ATT reception on the campus. So ATT put a tower up there as well.

 

[geenosr]

Santa Claus was in on it

And yet, no comment about verizon laughing apple out of the room when first approached with the iPhone idea and terms.

I guess it took this long for SJ to get over Verizon having Santa Claus laugh at the iPhone and toss it in with all the 'misfit toys'. That much time and a boatload of cash to throw at apple can make up for a lot of stuff.

 

[MarlboroLite]

All the hype on the LTE phones coming out this year is just that, hype.

VZ just began their rollout, they cover a fraction of the population. So many of those people who buy first-gen 4G phones that are bigger, and eat up battery because the chips are not as mature will find themselves actually using good old 3G until they begin to get covered by VZ...will take 2 years to complete. AT&T hasn't even started deploying, and let's not forget there's a big world outside the US--most European carriers also have barely just begun to switch to LTE. What's the point of rushing an LTE iPhone in 6 months when only a select few will be able to use it for another year and a half?

By summer 2012 it will be mature enough to actually be used by most people, and Apple can make a phone that will last more than 3 hours while being connected to 4G.

 

[Bigcase]

Disgruntled long time AT&T Customer. I recently dropped my at&t home phone for magic jack, dropped at&t dsl for cable, now we only have cell phone services with them. My wife's contract ends in June, good bye at&t, mine ends in a year, but will pay early term fees, good bye at&t. Oh and gladly dropping $30.00 per month IPad data fee! Oh yeah did I mention, Good Bye AT&T!!! Even if they charge for the hot spot, it will still be worth it, moving to a competent carrier! Until they tick me off of course! lol

 

[alent1234]

but how did this happen when VZW was making fun of the iphone just a few months ago? wasn't Steve Jobs supposed to pout and tell them no deal?

 

[addicted44]

And yet, no comment about verizon laughing apple out of the room when first approached with the iPhone idea and terms.

Yep...

And they've regretted it ever since.

Verizon was spending a ton more to get an Android user (while simultaneously losing customers to ATT...Its only thanks to the iPhone that ATT has reached Verizon like subscriber numbers).

Even worse, Android customers are far stingier with their spending than iPhone customers are.

 

[Performa]

Will multi-tasking be possible with Verizon or not?

I started seeing reports almost a year ago that Verizon's infrastructure wouldn't support multi-tasking with the iPhone like ATT's does. I use multi-tasking all the time on my ATT account with my iPhone.

You're in the middle of a phone call, and you need to look something up elsewhere on your iPhone (Google maps, or whatever)....so you put the person you're talking to on speakerphone while you pull up your browser or address book or calendar, or whatever. I haven't seen any recent mention on this topic.

Does anyone know for sure what the deal is with this? Will Verizon give you improved phone call reliability at the cost of not being able to multi-task at all? What things will and won't work as far as multi-talking with Verizon?

UPDATE: I just found this article that says no multitasking with Verizon (or international use):
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-verizoniphone-txt,0,7499969.story

Pros and cons (video)
http://www.kdvr.com/videobeta/6e692...a00a70/News/Pros-and-Cons-of-Verizon-s-iPhone

 

[RebootD]

I hope this pushes other manufactures to start demanding that the career bloatware and custom OS crap gets removed off the smart phones. I can deal with bloatware and carreer OS on the dumb phones but on the smart phones the bloatware should not be allowed.

Agreed! My Sprint EVO is loaded with stuff you cannot delete, just taking up space and screen real estate. I hope this becomes the norm!

 

[iPhoneCollector]

The verizon iphone will become a very rare collectable on the upcomming years trust me

 

[Bigcase]

You will not be able to surf and talk, but who cares, if your driving in a car at the time, just use your knees to drive, hop onto your PC with the iphone wifi, with the now free hand of course, and keep rolling! LOOK OUT!

 

[Sonny1]

Today, the U.S. Tomorrow, the world!

If only Verizon switched to GSM rather than Apple diminishing its iPhone to CDMA. Sure, a lot of Americans will move to Verizon, at least enough to make the deal profitable for both companies. But there's more people beyond the U.S.
Next stop, as someone already mentioned, is an iPhone for everyone on every IPS. Everywhere.

 

[dwd3885]

Point being... it's not the phone but your local service and carrier. Also... carriers are different in different areas. AT&T works great for me. Verizon I had more dropped calls with my Samsung phone than I've ever had with my iPhone.

Good news... we have choices now in the US.

exactly. which is why i wish Google's Nexus One model worked. Buy an unlocked phone, use it on ANY carrier.

 

[MacAddict1978]

Is the Verizon signal in Cupertino so weak that they couldn't develop the phone without the extra tower? Can people not living close the the Apple Headquarter even use the phone without loss of signal?

People near by were probably sining their praises are the odd increase in signal strength...

 

[citi]

I started seeing reports almost a year ago that Verizon's infrastructure wouldn't support multi-tasking with the iPhone like ATT's does. I use multi-tasking all the time on my ATT account with my iPhone.

You're in the middle of a phone call, and you need to look something up elsewhere on your iPhone (Google maps, or whatever)....so you put the person you're talking to on speakerphone while you pull up your browser or address book or calendar, or whatever. I haven't seen any recent mention on this topic.

Does anyone know for sure what the deal is with this? Will Verizon give you improved phone call reliability at the cost of not being able to multi-task at all? What things will and won't work as far as multi-talking with Verizon?

UPDATE: I just found this article that says no multitasking with Verizon (or international use):
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-verizoniphone-txt,0,7499969.story

Pros and cons (video)
http://www.kdvr.com/videobeta/6e692...a00a70/News/Pros-and-Cons-of-Verizon-s-iPhone

it's not mulit-tasking - The iphone multi-tasks just find. Simultaneous voice an data it can't do. People keep confusing this term.

 

[brando123b]

I started seeing reports almost a year ago that Verizon's infrastructure wouldn't support multi-tasking with the iPhone like ATT's does. I use multi-tasking all the time on my ATT account with my iPhone.

You're in the middle of a phone call, and you need to look something up elsewhere on your iPhone (Google maps, or whatever)....so you put the person you're talking to on speakerphone while you pull up your browser or address book or calendar, or whatever. I haven't seen any recent mention on this topic.

Does anyone know for sure what the deal is with this? Will Verizon give you improved phone call reliability at the cost of not being able to multi-task at all? What things will and won't work as far as multi-talking with Verizon?

UPDATE: I just found this article that says no multitasking with Verizon (or international use):
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-verizoniphone-txt,0,7499969.story

Pros and cons (video)
http://www.kdvr.com/videobeta/6e692...a00a70/News/Pros-and-Cons-of-Verizon-s-iPhone

There needs to be some clarification surrounding the voice/data issue.

You can:

1.) Talk and open your contacts
2.) Talk and read e-mails that you have in your inbox
3.) Talk and browse through the phone, play games that aren't actively transmitting data
4.) Talk and browse the web if you have a Wi-Fi connection. For some this will be many places, the exception being your car (I'd like to see someone browse, talk and drive)

You can't:

1.) Talk and browse the web over 3G.
2.) Talk and play an online game over 3G

In addition:

1.) If you're streaming Pandora/XM/Sirius and a phone call comes in, the call gets priority. Your stream will stop, and the call will ring. Once you hang up the stream will continue.

2.) If you are synching your e-mail, and a call comes in, you will get the call.

3.) If you're playing an online game, you will still get your call.

Calls take priority over data. You won't have calls going to voice mail all day long. You will find this experience to be a non-issue unless you're obsessed with giving friends directions at the same time as you talk with them. That is all.

 

[ZMacintosh]

You will not be able to surf and talk, but who cares, if your driving in a car at the time, just use your knees to drive, hop onto your PC with the iphone wifi, with the now free hand of course, and keep rolling! LOOK OUT!

Well, i hope you dont plan to be able to Talk and use the iPhone Wifi...as that uses the data from your phone. so that right there is just as unsuccessful as just stopping the call and looking up the info.

If you or anyone else is using the iPhone Wifi/Hot Spot and someone calls, bye-bye hotspot for the time being.

Ahhhh the goold ol' days of dial up are seeming familiar with this. lol

 

[Earendil]

Is the Verizon signal in Cupertino so weak that they couldn't develop the phone without the extra tower? Can people not living close the the Apple Headquarter even use the phone without loss of signal?

I have no idea. However my first impression was that they wanted the option for an optimum signal. It's fairly easy to reduce signal in a lab, it's far harder (impossible) to boost the signal in a lab. It would make sense that Apple would want the option to test the iPhone with everything from 0% to 100% signal strength. That can only be archived is the Apple campus actually gets the maximum possible signal strength.

 

[iBaloney]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

My experience is they are an equal opportunity call dropper.

funny cuz I dropped calls with AT&T and then switched to Verizon, still dropped calls at home and couldn't even receive calls from some people. Switched to Sprint-Perfect. Not one dropped call in 6 months.

Cell carriers are just hit and miss.

+1 on that. 3/5 times verizon would drop my calls. When I switched over to AT&T it decreased drastically with dropped calls rarely ever happening.

Service experience just depends on person to person.