Apple iPhone to Partner with Verizon Q1 2009

[Luminosity]

This is a rumor but a very likely rumor! I would LOVE to see verizon take over the iphone. I cant stand at&t, it NEVER had service, any where id go. Also im locked into my verizon for 2 years. The only reason i wouldnt buy it would be if verzion put there ugly logo on it, or messed with the interface at all.
Rumor: An iPhone for Verizon in 2009 - Apple 2.0

 

[PapaNoHair]

I think that would be great but I am under the impression AT&T has a five year deal and that would take it to 2012.

 

[Murlyn]

Yeah I have heard that AT&T has a contract for a couple more years.. so I doubt they would be going to Verizon anytime soon.. and if they did, it would be several different wireless carriers and they wouldn't leave AT&T. I could be wrong.. but everything I have read, points towards growing, instead of just changing carriers.

 

[Luminosity]

You are correct PapanoHair but just because a company has a contract doesnt mean it always stays in a contract. Apple is thinking about buying out their contract with at&t (which would be the smartest thing to do IMO) and make millions more from verizon customers, and other carriers.

 

[cwa107]

It's not just a question of contract though - there are some significant engineering challenges involved with switching to a CDMA carrier. Not only that, but Verizon's CEO has done nothing but bash the iPhone and taunt Apple, even recently in spite of its success. As much as I'd like to believe it (I'm a Verizon fan, myself), I just think it would hold a lot more water if we were talking about another GSM-based carrier.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

The entire 5-year exclusive contract thing is pure speculation... neither Apple nor AT&T have actually confirmed it. Besides that, it likely would be illegal since carriers are required by US law to allow cell users to unlock their phones for use on other compatible carriers after 2 years.

BTW... just to add fuel to the rumor... my wife has a friend who works for Verizon. She desperately tried to bash our iPhones early on (you wouldn't believe the misinformation Verizon feeds their employees about the iPhone!). Then, outta the blue a few months ago, she said they are supposed to be carrying it in the near future. It's possible she mis-interpreted something, but I can't imagine she outright made that up either.

 

[mr.s4ndm4n]

I would love to see this as well, but the earliest switch that i've heard about is 2010, and there would have to be hardware changes done to the phone or the network one.

Btw, where at in wilmington 'Lifeisabeach'. I stay over in mayfaire.

 

[OSUGuy]

Question is, what happens if I buy a new 3g next week and sign a 2 year contract with AT&T only to have a more reliable and widespread Verizon Network come into the picture in January?

 

[Murlyn]

Then you pay the fee to get out of your contract. And you'll also have to pay the extra for the iPhone to make up for the discount you got for signing a 2 year contract.

 

[OSUGuy]

gross...but as I understand it, there might have to be a new iPhone release with new hardware to accommodate the Verizon network

 

[cwa107]

Question is, what happens if I buy a new 3g next week and sign a 2 year contract with AT&T only to have a more reliable and widespread Verizon Network come into the picture in January?

With all due respect, that's kinda like asking "what if the sky falls tomorrow?". No one would know that but Apple. So, if you really need one right now, buy it - otherwise, wait around and see what happens, if anything.

If what you're looking for is pure, baseless speculation, then I would say that this is very, very unlikely at best for the reasons I've outlined above. Apple has not released a CDMA version of the iPhone anywhere in world. To do so would require a completely different chipset and very likely extensive updates to the software. Seeing as how they've been very successful with AT&T alone thus far, I can't imagine they'd go through that - especially if they have a contract with them until 2010.

If Apple were to bring on another carrier, I'd say it's a much safer bet that it would be T-Mobile.

 

[Dimitri]

You mean Verizon would allow a phone on their network that has...gasp...wi-fi?

 

[osxx]

I thought that Verizon was offered the i-phone first and turned it down because
they would not have enough control over it and why would they do it now with
Apple beating sales of every brand out there with the current providers not to
mention they would have to change the chip sets with the economy the way it
is this sounds like a pipe dream.

 

[cwa107]

I thought that Verizon was offered the i-phone first and turned it down because
they would not have enough control over it and why would they do it now with
Apple beating sales of every brand out there with the current providers not to
mention they would have to change the chip sets with the economy the way it
is this sounds like a pipe dream.

That's right - early in the development cycle, Apple initially approached Verizon about carrying the iPhone. For reasons unknown, Verizon passed on the deal.

 

[Eric559]

You mean Verizon would allow a phone on their network that has...gasp...wi-fi?

They would just disable it, duh.

Oh yeah and GPS too.

 

[MarkY]

Verizon has a bad habit of crippling their phones. Their coverage is great, but I hate their policies.

 

[dabears34]

When I got my new phone at verizon about 6 months ago one of the sales reps said Apple initially came to verizon with the iPhone. He said the reason Verizon didn't want it was they were required to give apple all of their customer information.

 

[Howie J]

I'd love to see the iPhone come to Verizon. Don't mind my Blackberry and the Storm looks cool, but would love an iPhone. I agree that they have to back off on their control freakish ways to be successful with the iPhone. My BB GPS is crippled and I'm not payin' 10 extra bucks a month for VZ Navigator. Maps function works fine.

Here's my Verizon/Apple rumor/speculation/story that I heard about why the original deal didn't go through: VZ wanted to sell the iPhone the same way they treat every other phone (i.e. the more contract you sign up for, the cheaper your phone gets) and Apple wanted to stick to a price point. VZ said, "We'll do what we want with it," and Apple said, "no, you won't. Thanks for playing"

Howie J

 

[osxx]

I bet Verizon has regretted it every business quarter.

 

[natenmaste]

ummmmm

Do we get a article link?????