Fortune: Apple to release Verizon iPhone in early 2011

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sranger View Post


    One more thing....





    I do not know of a single person who left AT&T just to get a good Android phone ( the AT&T Droids suck )....




    I switched from ATT iPhone to Sprint Android Evo 4g due to a terrible ATT reception and slow spotty 3g which would constantly switch to EDGE.



    The EVO 4g speeds are phenomenal and no dropped calls. I also love huge LCD screen besides web browser runs in full-screen mode making it even bigger, 8mp camera with autofocus, HDMI out, FM radio, USB mountable drive. Cool pattern-based screen lock. I have not noticed any issues with Pandora audio.
  • Reply 22 of 55
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chaseism View Post


    I know all signs point to this being true, but there is something that just bothers me...



    Why would Apple and Verizon release a CDMA iPhone after the biggest shopping season of the year? Won't both companies lose money on this?



    Think about it... Apple releases the iPhone 4 in Jan or Feb, missing out on people who sandbagged their upgrade until the holiday season. If people are happy with their Droids, then that's a loss from Apple in selling them iPhones. Also, a lot of folks on other networks will be beyond their 30-days and will either have to wait longer for a CDMA iPhone or pay an ETF to switch.



    But the bigger question is about those 30 day exchanges...and correct me if I'm wrong. Verizon purchases the phones at full price from the manufacturers to sell to consumers (I'm sure there is some bulk discount deal, but you get the picture). Verizon takes a hit for every new phone it sales at a cheaper price and how they make it up is the 2-year contract. But the truth is, they are going to get creamed when a good number of those phones are exchanged within 30 days for the iPhone, which they also purchased for full price. Verizon can no longer sale those returned phones as new and loses money because of the exchanges. When I worked for Sprint, they said the company loses about $170 for every handset that is exchanged or returned. Imagine that for thousands that would exchange what they got for Christmas for the iPhone 4.



    It just doesn't seem smart for either parties...





    I have to agree with your analysis, if it is true would bet the reason it is after the holiday season is for a number of reasons, one Verizon is probably have internal system issues adding the phone to the system as an approved device it take VZ forever to implement changes in their systems, most of their IT works is outsourced. Second, I believe VZ has deals in place already with other phone providers for this coming season, for them to back down now will cost them money and the last things they want to do is buy a bunch of droid phones and have them sitting on the shelves over the holiday. Plus they want to lock those people in first before offering a possible alternative.



    Again, I think this will be a bad experience for Apple, VZ and is customers, think about htis, you just sign a 2 yr deal on a droid then VZ intros the iphone and someone wants to switch and you know what VZ answer will be pay the contract cancellation fee or wait 2 yrs.



    Why I think this might not be real is VZ employees who will need to do work to make it happen would be talking all over the place, those people can not keep their mouths shut and Steve has not power over them. Unless the January date is only the official announcement and the summer will be the real date you can buy which would give VZ 6 months to work out the issues.
  • Reply 23 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post


    Man, if this turned out not to be true, all these "reputable news sources" would have egg on their faces.



    Is there such a thing as a reputable news source these days?
  • Reply 24 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macinthe408 View Post


    Prediction: White iPhone is released on Verizon first, providing yet another incentive to switch to Verizon from AT&T.



    Could be some mileage in that. Let's start another rumour
  • Reply 25 of 55
    aplnubaplnub Posts: 2,605member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mercury99 View Post


    I switched from ATT iPhone to Sprint Android Evo 4g due to a terrible ATT reception and slow spotty 3g which would constantly switch to EDGE.



    The EVO 4g speeds are phenomenal and no dropped calls. I also love huge LCD screen besides web browser runs in full-screen mode making it even bigger, 8mp camera with autofocus, HDMI out, FM radio, USB mountable drive. Cool pattern-based screen lock. I have not noticed any issues with Pandora audio.



    But you switched because of AT&T, not for the phone. At least at first according to your own statement.
  • Reply 26 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by aplnub View Post


    But you switched because of AT&T, not for the phone. At least at first according to your own statement.



    Yes because of AT&T service.



    However before I made a decision, I found EVO in most ways equal or better then iPhone which was a secondary supporting factor.
  • Reply 27 of 55
    801801 Posts: 271member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Chaseism View Post


    I know all signs point to this being true, but there is something that just bothers me...



    Why would Apple and Verizon release a CDMA iPhone after the biggest shopping season of the year? Won't both companies lose money on this?



    It just doesn't seem smart for either parties...



    Production capacity.
  • Reply 28 of 55
    I am perfectly happy with AT&T. Yes I still get dropped calls but not as frequently as in the past. Infact, I just received a "network update" email detailing how the company has been proactive over the course of the last year improving their tri state coverage.. Probably in response to the forthcoming Verizon Iphone.



    But Verizon? not for me. Been there and done that. Cant swap sim cards/phones at will. Maybe not a big deal to some but as for myself, it is a luxury I would sorely miss. Lack of simultaneous data and calling an issue too.



    They also have a history of charging their customers erroneously and have just lost a large settlement:



    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/te...scam&st=Search
  • Reply 29 of 55
    for those who plan to switch, make sure you review your bill for mystery fees..



    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...tml?cmpid=yhoo
  • Reply 30 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by daylove22 View Post


    for those who plan to switch, make sure you review your bill for mystery fees..



    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...tml?cmpid=yhoo



    Personally I can't see a CDMA iPhone with Verizon. Maybe for the Chinese market, but who knows. The fact that it will be unable to be used outside the States is one of the major indicators it is just a rumor. Steve is really keen on simplicity and reach and the idea that you would have all these different models around the world that are incompatible strikes me as old world, Microsoft kind of thinking.



    The cynical side of me says the whole Verizon iPhone thing is FUD by Apples competitors on the down low. People will be encouraged to not buy an iPhone until after the holiday season 'because the Verizon iPhone is coming'. Come January and you have lower sales figures for Apple and you start hearing 'the iPhone is dying' and 'oh, angry at Apple there is no Verizon iPhone? Hey, try this Android phone, it is the same thing...'



    It would all be deniable and the results would be accepted by idiot analysts as 'natural market forces'.
  • Reply 31 of 55
    shadashshadash Posts: 470member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lostkiwi View Post


    Personally I can't see a CDMA iPhone with Verizon...The cynical side of me says the whole Verizon iPhone thing is FUD by Apples competitors on the down low. People will be encouraged to not buy an iPhone until after the holiday season 'because the Verizon iPhone is coming'...



    Using your logic, wouldn't this also keep people from buying Droids on Verizon? Don't these rumors also benefit Apple in that way then?
  • Reply 32 of 55
    mgl323mgl323 Posts: 247member
    "Apple to release Verizon iPhone in early 2011"



    Kinda rare for Apple to release a product before a new product (iPhone 5) would be announce a few weeks/few months later. Doesn't Apple stick to it's annual routine?
  • Reply 33 of 55
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lostkiwi View Post


    Personally I can't see a CDMA iPhone with Verizon. Maybe for the Chinese market, but who knows. The fact that it will be unable to be used outside the States is one of the major indicators it is just a rumor. Steve is really keen on simplicity and reach and the idea that you would have all these different models around the world that are incompatible strikes me as old world, Microsoft kind of thinking.



    The cynical side of me says the whole Verizon iPhone thing is FUD by Apples competitors on the down low. People will be encouraged to not buy an iPhone until after the holiday season 'because the Verizon iPhone is coming'. Come January and you have lower sales figures for Apple and you start hearing 'the iPhone is dying' and 'oh, angry at Apple there is no Verizon iPhone? Hey, try this Android phone, it is the same thing...'



    It would all be deniable and the results would be accepted by idiot analysts as 'natural market forces'.



    How many people travel outside the US a lot? 1% of the population? Besides my CDMA phone works fine in Canada. I presume Mexico has CDMA as well. I do not think world-wide compatibility is even on Steve Jobs or Apple's radar at all. That is not the reason. Furthermore the next iPhone may have GSM and CMDA and LTE or some combination thereof. The reason is they are dumbly taking a bunch of $$$$ from AT&T short-term. I can't believe shareholders haven't started to talk to the Board about the bizarre lack of a Verizon iPhone.
  • Reply 34 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mercury99 View Post


    I switched from ATT iPhone to Sprint Android Evo 4g due to a terrible ATT reception and slow spotty 3g which would constantly switch to EDGE.



    The EVO 4g speeds are phenomenal and no dropped calls. I also love huge LCD screen besides web browser runs in full-screen mode making it even bigger, 8mp camera with autofocus, HDMI out, FM radio, USB mountable drive. Cool pattern-based screen lock. I have not noticed any issues with Pandora audio.



    Are you a Mac, PC, or Linux user?
  • Reply 35 of 55
    shadashshadash Posts: 470member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Are you a Mac, PC, or Linux user?



    Why is that relevant?
  • Reply 36 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mgl323 View Post


    "Apple to release Verizon iPhone in early 2011"



    Kinda rare for Apple to release a product before a new product (iPhone 5) would be announce a few weeks/few months later. Doesn't Apple stick to it's annual routine?



    Yep, the same thing I'm thinking too.



    I think Apple is working on next version of iPad or another product that also works with CDMA and all these sources just think it's an iPhone.



    These sources are still too stupid to understand that Apple keeps it simple.
  • Reply 37 of 55
    envirogenvirog Posts: 188member
    I personally don't think Apple would cripple this flagship iDevice by not giving it the ability to make calls worldwide. That wouldn't be in harmony with Apple's customer/user friendly moto
  • Reply 38 of 55
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Off the top of my head...
    1. They won?t be able to begin to meet the needs of a large new carrier with many smartphone users until after the Holiday quarter.

    2. They won?t have it ready until after the Holiday quarter.

    3. They can?t even announce it until after the Holiday quarter due to contractual obligations with AT&T.

    If you look at the world of product releases there are announcements and releases in the months following the Holiday quarter so this wouldn?t be an unusual occurrence by any stretch. Why did Apple announce the original iPhone on January 7th 2007, instead of selling it months earlier?



    My take:

    1) Likely not ready for Q4.



    2) Better to have the revenue in Q1/2011 to offset some of the normal seasonal sales drop off. Current forecast is for about a $4 billion drop CY Q1 2011 over Q4 2010. 8 million VZ phones would add about $4.8 billion to Q1 revenue. I don't believe the VZ sales are baked into analysts estimates, since officially there is no VZ phone.



    3) Apple stores will have there hands full selling other product during the holidays. Only so many people can fit into an Apple Store.



    4) Verizon people need to be trained.
  • Reply 39 of 55
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by EnviroG View Post


    I personally don't think Apple would cripple this flagship iDevice by not giving it the ability to make calls worldwide. That wouldn't be in harmony with Apple's customer/user friendly moto



    Note that in most countries the iPhone is sold it?s been locked to the carrier unless legislation stated otherwise, so the idea that wouldn?t ?cripple this flagship iDevice? hasn?t been true for 4 iterations, even whilst using the most common cellular tech in the world.
  • Reply 40 of 55
    normmnormm Posts: 653member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mgl323 View Post


    "Apple to release Verizon iPhone in early 2011"



    Kinda rare for Apple to release a product before a new product (iPhone 5) would be announce a few weeks/few months later. Doesn't Apple stick to it's annual routine?



    I would look at this as being like the release of the iPhone to a new market -- there's been a continuous rollout to new countries over the months. Verizon is just a new country. And I would expect the iPhone 5 to appear as a 3G product first, since that's the main worldwide standard.
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