It's a little silly just how hush-hush this whole
iPhone-AT&T exclusivity agreement has been, but now it sounds like it just might be next century before any of you CDMA loyalists are able to indulge in the App Store. According to a fresh report in
The Wall Street Journal, people "familiar with the matter" have suggested that AT&T is feverishly working to extend its exclusive agreement to carry the iPhone in America until 2011. Last we heard, the deal was stretched out
through 2010, and considering just how many new subscribers are flocking over solely for this phone, can you really blame the guy for wanting another dozen months of bliss? Not surprisingly, an Apple spokeswoman had more to say about her personal life than on these rumors, but if you were really banking on snapping up a Verizon-branded iPhone at the end of next year, you should probably ask someone to blast you with a giant fire hose of reality.
[Via
HotHardware]
posted Apr 15th 2009 11:39AM
yea well my upgrade is here, i'm waiting a few months for the newer iPhone 3.0G. Dont care cuz At&t aint letting this puppy get away from them. So, I guess I'll be getting the Pre and the 3.0G iPhone at the same time. Cant wait for that comparison showdown!!
Good for Android.
There will be Android CDMA goodness by next year. Looks like all major US carriers will have an Android phone with an Android Market to fulfill the wants/needs of their customers looking to upgrade from dumbphones to featurephones/smartphones..
Don't let it happen Apple! There are so many customers stuck with other carriers who would love to pick up an iPhone. Go sign the petition to show apple why it shouldn't be chained down to one carrier.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/i-would-buy-a-verizon-iphone
CDMA loyalists can still get an iPod touch and be just fine surfing the app store most of the time.
Would Apple really try to bring a CDMA version of their handset to market just for Verizon? Something tells me they're fine with a single (GSM) model.
No your right Apple would never want to tap the largest customer base in the United States. It just doesn't make very good business sense.
70 mill compaired to 130 mill (VZW and Sprint combined) Why would you not want your product reaching 200 million instead of 70 million state side? Oversaturation is the only thing I can think of.
You're right..."in the United States." The Verizon customer base pales in comparison to the worldwide GSM customer base, which is over 3.5 billion (yes, billion). Besides, there are plenty of Americans jumping to AT&T for the iPhone, notwithstanding some hold-outs who either love their current carrier (or more likely their current monthly price) or who hate AT&T for one reason or another.
I'm not saying that Apple won't consider making a CDMA version of the iPhone, but as long as AT&T keeps bumping out their exclusivity agreement then they're contractually obligated NOT to. In fact, if AT&T is successful in pushing their exclusivity to 2011, even people signing up for Verizon contracts this afternoon won't be locked in by the time that exclusivity expires.
And don't forget that Apple has proven to be amazingly stubborn--some might say Sony-like--about hardware configurations in the past. If they don't want to use CDMA chipsets, they won't. They did it before with 3G chips and continue to do it with mini DisplayPort and Firewire on their computer products.
I find all of those to be a far more compelling arguments than arguing for a user base that is pretty insignificant in the global scheme of things!
Apple canned Firewire on their latest 2009 Macs.
You're right that they tend to be stubborn...but not necessarily forever.
I want the iPhone and really like the VZ network but wouldnt want the iPhone after VZ got done raping it.
Exactly. Would they strip the Wifi and App Store?
Ignorant comment.
What exactly would VZW rape from it? I don't know if you noticed, but until the latest software update for the iPhone, it was already crippled enough by apple with no MMS, very limeted BT (like no A2DP), amongst others.
There is no feature on the current 3.0 software iPhone that VZW would possibly remove.
Please save the retard comments for another topic.
Verizon is notorious for disabling GPS for 3rd party apps and prefers no wifi (see all Verizon BB's)
I don't understand why Apple limited iphone availability to a single carrier. Sure, I know the price of the phone was subsidized, but for long-term market dominance, it seems incredibly foolish.
They would have an enormous market share right now if they were available on all carriers. If there is any company that has realized the virtues of being the first widely adopted operating system, its Apple. They've been playing catch up to MS for years.
You would be surprised how many people are interested in buying an iPhone, but refuse to use AT&T. I am one of those people. I was stuck with AT&T for 2 years, and it won't ever happen again. Not even for the iPhone.
Agreed. I have been using a jailbroken iPhone on tMobile for a year now and I love it. Had AT&T once, and the stuff they pulled was just unbelievable. The final straw was standing on the corner of State & Wacker Drive in Chicago and my phone says "no service"... AT&T will never get a cent of my money ever again. And I'll just keep jailbreaking iPhones for as long as I have to.
And one more thing, I know of about 10-15 friends who are all in the same boat, they simply will not do business with AT&T, but would go buy an iPhone in a heartbeat if it was available on other carriers.
Apple... dont do it. Your stockholders will thank you.
I love my iPod touch and would love to get a iPhone but, won't pay the high monthly fee that at&t charges for the plan. It is far more expensive then my Sprint Family Talk/Message/Data plan. I get 1500 anytime minutes shared between 2 phones (Instinct and Blackberry Curve), unlimited night and weekend minutes at 7:00pm for both phones, free Sprint to Sprint for both phones, unlimited text/picture/video messaging on both phones, and unlimited data on both phones all for $130/month. When at&t can offer all that for a price close to that, then I'll think about making the switch.
Until then, bring on the Palm Pre.
Everyone must be forget'n that VZW had first crack at being the exclusive carrier for the iPhone. Apple would have made a CDMA iPhone but VZW didnt want all that came with the deal. On top of that take away some features that VZW loves to do, you wouldnt have a true iPhone experience. Want the phone, go to the carrier.
Actually the entire iPhone/Verizon deal was pushed through by a financial analyst in the media looking to create a story and market value for Apple in negotiations with AT&T. This story got out of hand extremely fast.
In a business since, AT&T may not have the best network, but it did have the largest customer base in America as well as GSM which means the device would simply have to be re branded to be sold Worldwide. Having a CDMA iPhone and only having the US as a major market or having the overhead of both a CDMA version and GSM for World consumption would have been a net lose.
I with you on the Touch and Pre idea Nate. It kinda sucks having two devices in my pocket but saves the battery on both and get the best of both worlds. Since I have wifi and home and work I can text and call on my touch any ways without a monthly fee.
Inside exclusive from my VZW Rochester Contact Center Supervisor boyfriend -> Verizon is looking to have the IPhone this year or early next year. Save those pennies!
How could verizon have the phone this year when ATT has it locked up till 2010 for sure (i.e. regardless of what happens with the 2011 extension)? Someone is blowing smoke at you sir.
I agree, I'd buy an iphone in a heartbeat, but no way am I going to use AT&T's service. I used to work for them and I know they suck from the inside.
Now if they brought the iphone to sprint, I would hand over my cash right away.
WirelessAmy, you might want to get a new boyfriend because VZW isn't getting the iPHONE this year or next year because AT&T has an exclusive. If he is going to give you a rumor at least make it a believable one. Did he also tell you he was out with the "boys" Friday night?
Sorry this was meant to be a reply to Bob
How come VZW hasn't disabled wifi on the Omnia, 6800, 6700, I760 etc?
How come GPS isn't disabled on my Storm?
Fact is, on a phone like the iPhone, VZW wouldn't remove a single thing.
Well with Verizon playing inside baseball with all their carriers and their OS you are lucky that you got those features on your devices. Blackberry Storm was one of the only phones that came with GPS unlocked, not needed to add a package at anytime.
Don't get started on bandwidth usage, Verizon takes care with their network as seen being the first carrier to charge overages on their aircard users. Improves the likelihood of network reliability. We can see on AT&T that the iPhone in general is a data hog and with huge amounts of users, this is only compounded.
Verizon may as well trim down many features due to their needs and wants. AT&T didn't really care about anything and we can see the results.
T-Mobile already has the iPhone in Europe and I would love to see them offer it stateside.
It would not be difficult for Apple to manufactuer Quad band or 5 band HSPA chipsets anymore than it would to add a 1xRTT/EV radio. Every other manufacturer can do it and so can Apple.
In my opinion, the iPhone as beautiful and elegant as it is..... is starting to get a little long in the tooth. By next year, unless they have a mind blowing fresh design, it'll become another overplayed RAZR.
The RAZR had a great 3 year run before we all got tired of it.
It might be advantageous of Apple is able to market it across multiple carriers here in the US and try to sell as "many," units as possible before it's too late.
Let the carriers compete on data pricing since that is their problem. For being a GSM device, the iPhone unfortunately has become help prisoner to the AT&T network and not everyone wants to or is willing to go back to that.
I left AT&T for T-Mobile here in Los Angeles and haven't looked back. I can make calls without constant garbling and drops.
Give me an iPhone with the AWS 3G band. T-Mobile is really pushing for a massive 3G rollout by years end.
apple dont need to make a CDMA version for this phone. By then i think we will be at 4G and all carrier will be switch to LTE. As long as iphone have 4G pretty much everyone can use it under the 4G network.
I used to work as an independent contractor for all major carriers. I've done network work for sprint, t-mobile, at&t, and verizon. I have to say, at least in the metro NYC area, at&t spent by far the most money on their network. Dual banding, troubleshooting, etc. All I can say is that almost every t-mobile site I've been to has had VISIBLE problems (kinked cables, poor or no weather-sealing) and we walk past it to work on comparably insignificant problems with at&t sites. Before working in wireless I had t-mobile, now that I have seen how poor their infrastructure is, I switched when my contract was up.
I just don't understand why so many people are hating at&t.
I'm not surprised. AT&T and Apple are made for each other. AT&T pretty much leaves Apple alone in their design of the hardware and the software. AT&T meanwhile, reaps the benefits of increased subscriptions, some pilfered from other carriers, and fat monthly fees. Verizon would have never taken this kind of relatively hands off approach to Apple's design. They would have wanted control over the design of the Music store (iTunes) and the App store, and they would have butchered it. They would have also killed wifi, They'd also have a big, fat V smeared across the front of the phone to remind everyone that sees it that you use Verizon service and they should too.
If someone wants a iPhone then go buy one.. I had Verizon for years and i switched and ATT coverage is just as good if not better then i had with Verizon! What makes me laugh reading all these posts about how expensive ATT is for the iPhone.. Even if Verizon had this phone in there line up don't you think the monthly prices are going to be the same? there is no way Verizon inset going to give anything away! Also.. Lets not all forget what company turned the iPhone down when they had first dibs on it! I say good for ATT they took a chance and it paid off!
i dont care any more
i just can't wait to get my hands on my iphonekiller (PALM PRE)
THAT IS WAY BETTER THAN THE IPHONE
thats exactly what they said about the Blackberry Storm...
The Pre has yet to prove itself, absolutely true, but I can see a bead of sweat along the iPhone's non-removable back casing.
What happened to all 5-year agreement talk anyway? I thought they had a 5 year agreement starting in 2007 when the iPhone was released that was supposed to last until 2012? Is that not the case anymore?
If AT&T's exclusivity is only through 2011 (if they get the extension), why would people have to wait another 89 years until the next century to get the iPhone through another carrier? That is, of course, unless you meant, "next decade."
I work in a hospital with a dr who is a tester. He currently carries 2 WM phones, Omnia HD & and a unmarked HTC. The rumor he is hearing is he is supposed to test a CDMA Iphone within the 2 months. Apparently there may be a loophole in units moved for AT&T. AT&T has to meet a certain quota on "new", not refurbed Iphones. According to my source, VZW is trying to use that to get a possible 4G Iphone to launch LTE.
Here's what I'm thinking: VZW has an "open network" thing that they announced, but so far there have only been niche devices, not really phones that have been presented and passed the almighty VZW testing process. What if, mind you this is pure speculation, what if Apple makes their CDMA iPhone happen, and makes it available via the apple store? Verizon keeps customers (albeit these customers are paying full price for the devices) and doesn't have to be responsible for servicing the iPhone because they don't sell it. Verizon wins because data ARPU goes up, and they don't have to worry about replacing anything on the iPhones that come in for servicing. Apple wins because they have a CDMA iPhone that could presumably be adapted for Sprint, MetroPCS and US Cellular. AT&T would be the only carrier to subsidize it, but I think it would reduce churn on the CDMA guys' side because ATT iPhone = $200, "Open" iPhone $400, but hey, no ETF or act fees to worry about, and it wouldnt touch your VZW contract. win/win/win
One huge problem with the CDMA iPHONE idea, AT&T made significant changes and concessions to Apple to get the iPHONE. Verizon refused to do the same thing. Verizon didn't directly reject the iPHONE, they rejected the Apple business model.
So, what has changed that would cause either Verizon or Apple to adjust they view? Apple is selling as many iPHONES as they could make (although that has changed and shipments have greatly slowed) and it making a killing on fees.
Verizon still is number 1 in the US and has a bunch of compelling devices coming out that will drive data usage. The iPHONE has sold well, but not enough to change carrier's business models or dominate the industry (for example the Nokia 5800 has exceeded Apple's run rate).
I think we all can agree that each carrier has markets in which they are better than the others. Maybe T-Mobile has spent money in LA. They haven't in Detroit. But Detroit was one of AT&T's first GSM markets. I ran a Verizon phone side by side with AT&T here, and got rid of Verizon. My family in Cleveland? Verizon's better. And what's all the griping about the monthly cost of an iPhone? Sorry, but the iPhone plan is less expensive than most of the unlimited data plans. My AT&T bill went down when I switched from a Blackberry to an iPhone.
Where are they getting this information. Its a 5 year exlusive contract with iphone and ATT. Its not three or 4 years. look up the agreement. Theres a reason why apple chose GSM, sry verizon, should of signed the T's and C's
I used to be with verizon, they're alright, good coverage, but most of there phones are too restricted, and the CDMA was annoying when changing phones and getting new phones. My contract was up with Verizon and I went to AT&T to get the iPhone 3G, I love apple products and had to get this. I dont know why people are hating on AT&T, but i been with them for almost a year now with my iPhone. Customer service has really taken care of me, I get good 3G coverage and overall coverage. AND.. with the 3G sim card, you can do data AND voice at the same time!!!! Apple is smart for making a GSM iPhone because its global and there profiting!! And GSM is the way to go. Gotta be global.
If iPhone came to Verizon... well we all would know that it will cripple the iPhone with all the verizon software... dont want that!
I think AT&T is a good company and good GSM coverage. Apple is smart to stick with them.
One more thing... CDMA is limited, and its locked. GSM is global and unlockable.
CDMA iPhone means the phone will be restricted and NO multi data and voice.
I don't get why people think Verizon would change anything about the iPhone. Seeing as how stupid they were the first time to pass it up to At&t, it would be a boneheaded move to change anything seeing as how big the success of the iPhone was. If Verizon crippled it, it would most likely drive off customers. The iPhone is something I would personally LOVE to have if it was the same as it is now and if it was available on Verizon (My current carrier). Verizon would be stupid NOT to accept the deal (if they are really talkin' about it with Apple) as seeing how many potential customers it would bring to their already large network. Verizon just needs to accept the fact that Apple would be controlling, but in the long run, it would more then likely be worth it. They CAN make a fortune off of it. They just need to go along with whatever deal Apple is suggesting. I sure do hope it comes to Verizon!!!
This is my personal opinion, but feel free to comment.