NYT: Verizon iPhone coming early next year
The New York Times is reporting that Apple and Verizon will begin selling a version of the iPhone 4 early next year, echoing earlier reports from The Wall Street Journal and Wall Street analysts.
An anonymous source "in direct contact with Apple" told the Times this week that Apple is readying a version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon's network for an early 2011 release.
The long-rumored Verizon iPhone "could significantly alter the dynamics of the smartphone market in the United States," wrote author Miguel Helft. Though Google's Android mobile OS now outsells the iPhone, Helft notes that a deal between Apple and Verizon "could quickly tilt the marketplace back in Apple's favor."
According to the report, numerous surveys show that "many owners" of Android handsets would switch to an iPhone if it was offered on Verizon's network. The Verizon iPhone "is going to have a fairly disruptive impact when it lands," the paper quoted Needham & Company analyst Charles Wolf as saying.
The report references The Wall Street Journal's Wednesday story as part of "the flurry of reports" predicting a Verizon iPhone. Rumors of a Verizon iPhone have persisted for over a year, coming to a head this week with coverage by both the Times and the Journal.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are both widely respected publications, but as recently as this summer, their Apple sources have been off the mark. On the eve of the "Antennagate" press conference in July, Helft authored a Times report, citing a source with "direct knowledge" of the iPhone 4 antenna problem. The source asserted that the iPhone antenna problem was a software issue that could "presumably be fixed with a software update."
Also prior to the iPhone 4 antenna press conference, the Journal's sources claimed that Apple engineers had known of the problem for almost a year. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs denied those claims at the press conference, saying the company had only learned of the problem 22 days earlier.
An anonymous source "in direct contact with Apple" told the Times this week that Apple is readying a version of the iPhone 4 for Verizon's network for an early 2011 release.
The long-rumored Verizon iPhone "could significantly alter the dynamics of the smartphone market in the United States," wrote author Miguel Helft. Though Google's Android mobile OS now outsells the iPhone, Helft notes that a deal between Apple and Verizon "could quickly tilt the marketplace back in Apple's favor."
According to the report, numerous surveys show that "many owners" of Android handsets would switch to an iPhone if it was offered on Verizon's network. The Verizon iPhone "is going to have a fairly disruptive impact when it lands," the paper quoted Needham & Company analyst Charles Wolf as saying.
The report references The Wall Street Journal's Wednesday story as part of "the flurry of reports" predicting a Verizon iPhone. Rumors of a Verizon iPhone have persisted for over a year, coming to a head this week with coverage by both the Times and the Journal.
The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are both widely respected publications, but as recently as this summer, their Apple sources have been off the mark. On the eve of the "Antennagate" press conference in July, Helft authored a Times report, citing a source with "direct knowledge" of the iPhone 4 antenna problem. The source asserted that the iPhone antenna problem was a software issue that could "presumably be fixed with a software update."
Also prior to the iPhone 4 antenna press conference, the Journal's sources claimed that Apple engineers had known of the problem for almost a year. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs denied those claims at the press conference, saying the company had only learned of the problem 22 days earlier.
Comments
Here we go again with the Verizon iPhone...
Agreed. I find the rumors hard to believe due to the lack of details about what hardware is being used or even how they are addressing the whole 5 year contract that was revealed during one of the early lawsuits.
But hey, keep up the rumors. Cause they are just going to send the stock way up and I can make bank on selling a few shares.
Here we go again with the Verizon iPhone...
Agreed. I find the rumors hard to believe due to the lack of details about what hardware is being used or even how they are addressing the whole 5 year contract that was revealed during one of the early lawsuits.
But hey, keep up the rumors. Cause they are just going to send the stock way up and I can make bank on selling a few shares.
I understand your reservations after 3 years of this rumour essential "crying wolf? but I think there is enough circumstantial evidence, at least for me, to finally think that this is finally going to happen.
Sounds to me like Apple has purposeful leaks in order to have people wait instead of buying Android phone for christmas.
Sounds to me like Verizon wants people to wait and not buy an at&t iPhone.
I understand your reservations after 3 years of this rumour essential "crying wolf? but I think there is enough circumstantial evidence, at least for me, to finally think that this is finally going to happen.
I've seen it on the CNN crawl, MSNBC and a host of other usually credible sources that lead me to the same conclusion. Things are going to get interesting with this and windows phone 7 entering the fray.
Agreed. I find the rumors hard to believe due to the lack of details about what hardware is being used or even how they are addressing the whole 5 year contract that was revealed during one of the early lawsuits.
Widely reported that the CDMA iPhone is just like the current iPhone 4 except for swapping the cellular radios. Not sure how much more specific they can be on the hardware without finding one in a bar.
The 5 year contract applied to the original iPhone. Terms were significantly changed with the 3G. We don't know for sure, but it has been widely assumed that one thing that changed was the 5-year deal. Either way, Apple could afford to buy its way out of the contract.
Finally, why do the Verizon iPhone rumors piss people off? If you have an iPhone and are happy with it on AT&T, who gives a damn if Apple decides to release it for more people in the US to enjoy?
I've seen it on the CNN crawl, MSNBC and a host of other usually credible sources that lead me to the same conclusion. Things are going to get interesting with this and windows phone 7 entering the fray.
Well then, it must be true! (or they're just reporting that the NYT said . . . )
Ever heard of an echo chamber?
. . . why do the Verizon iPhone rumors piss people off?
The rumors don't "piss people off" (I see nobody's posts sounding "pissed off.")
It's the repeating of the rumors as fact that causes a bit of irritation.
I think a Verizon iphone will hurt RIM more than anyone else. I think more people are dissatisfied with their BB's than Android or maybe even AT&T.
The rumors don't "piss people off" (I see nobody's posts sounding "pissed off.")
It's the repeating of the rumors as fact that causes a bit of irritation.
I don't remember people getting irritated about the slew of iPad rumors last year.
The rumors don't "piss people off" (I see nobody's posts sounding "pissed off.")
It's the repeating of the rumors as fact that causes a bit of irritation.
I don't think that's entirely true. I've been lurking here for a while now and this particular topic seems to bring out more animosity than any other topic here. Just this week there were five pages of posts over the Wall Street Journal story.
I don't understand it myself. If Verizon wants to be on the iPhone, isn't that a good thing?
I don't remember people getting irritated about the slew of iPad rumors last year.
One year of rumors. It's been FOUR years of rumors for a Verizon iPhone. Always citing "sources close to the matter." always popping up JUST when the last round of rumors faded.
This round broke because of an article in the WSJ. Which would sound credible except for the fact that they also broke the last round, and the guy who broke that story was the same one who said Verizon was a launch partner for the ipad, and yet people and news sites still posted his iphone rumor around the internet like it was a holy grail.
And after a report goes out ALL these news sites, including one's you think would know better like MSNBC just repost the rumor without fact checking they just say "Bloomberg said it, so it's true. Ignore the fact that he said the SAME THING just a few months ago."
That pattern of break/repeat/break has been going on for FOUR YEARS. There is nothing in these new rumors to make them any more credible than the first rumors were in 2007, but every few weeks, like clockwork, someone makes them, and everyone gets all excited, and every year nothing happens.
Could it be coming this time? maybe. But until we see hardware, documentations and most importantly some PR from Cupertino, there is no reason to think this is anything more than the next wave of sensationalist journalism, just another method of getting page views and readers. People will ALWAYS say a Verizon Iphone is coming because it is the quickest way to get consumers attention, and you can be wrong every single time and people will continue believing you.
Originally Posted by bro.nathan
Here we go again with the Verizon iPhone...
Originally Posted by charlituna
Agreed. I find the rumors hard to believe due to the lack of details about what hardware is being used or even how they are addressing the whole 5 year contract that was revealed during one of the early lawsuits. But hey, keep up the rumors. Cause they are just going to send the stock way up and I can make bank on selling a few shares.
I understand your reservations after 3 years of this rumour essential "crying wolf? but I think there is enough circumstantial evidence, at least for me, to finally think that this is finally going to happen.
I agree that the circumstantial evidence is beginning to accumulate. Strangely enough, the clincher for me is Motorola's sudden launching of a lawsuit against Apple in the last few days, a sure sign I believe that Cupertino is finally moving into Droid territory in a meaningful way, prompting what I see as a pre-emptive strike-back to protect their recently-revived fortunes.
Do they have to? No. There sales are just fine, HOWEVER, there are a whoooole lotta folks that do their cell phone business with Verizon that are already part of the Apple eco-system. Their just wanting and waiting.
One other thought for the road. The rumors you're getting now just aren't coming from one or two sources. You're getting rumors from all parts of the process. Rumors about Qualcomm making chips, manufactures that make parts for the phone, and several big and trusted media outlets. I think we will most likely see the iPhone drop next year on Verizon and there is going there is going to be a frenzy. As a matter of fact, I think we are going to see the phone bow to all cell phone providers next year. The wait is on!