

John Gruber on iPhone coming to Verizon - FraaJad
http://daringfireball.net/2010/08/n92

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mattgratt
OK this is just foolishness.

Most people don't know anything about Verizon's phone testing process.

It is, by far, the best in the business. Verizon does not ship non-functional
products.

However, clearing the typical telco operator handset testing process (network
testing, stress testing, etc) takes 3-6 months.

Verizon takes 18 months. They are the most thorough in the business. This is
well known in that community.

They (V&A) have a CDMA iPhone. It's in a Verizon lab somewhere. No one knows
if it's passing handset testing (it may not be), or if the deal is fouled up
on the sales/bd front.

I suspect Apple and Verizon cannot agree to contract terms, largely around
branding on the phone.

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nanairo
Wait, what? Are you saying that Verizon is given a final version of a mobile
18 months before it is sold? And what does the phone manufacturer do in the
meantime?

And wouldn't that mean that on Verizon you would get the same phone that is
sold on AT&T (or around the world) one year later? Or is the manufacturer
supposed to wait one year after AT&T has approved it but Verizon hasn't, and
cannot even sell it to AT&T?

Sorry, you seem to know what you are talking about, could you explain your
point a bit better? Thanks.

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mattgratt
1) Yes. Verizon gets them earlier than most, so I assume they get early builds
that use more of the core network features - most of the testing done is
network testing, E911 compliance, etc. They're not making sure 'Angry Birds'
works.

There are direct relationships between the spend on QA and testing early in
the process to the spend on customer support later.

2) Different large carriers typically get different phone variants. See, for
instance, the Samsung Galaxy. In many cases, because of the CDMA/GSM issue,
Verizon gets a wholly different phone than AT&T.

Each carrier has a different strategy and is looking for different things.
Many carriers even have specific product managers for each carrier, ensuring
the phone is in line w/ their unique requirements.

Because of their size and clout, Verizon gets theirs earlier than most (I
think - not sure on this).

Exclusivity arrangements are negotiated between the OEM and the carrier.
Generally you're working with lots of different SKUs that are relatively
similar.

The iPhone turns most of this on its ear, in both a) there's one, and b) Apple
is not good at working with other companies, because only one person at
Apple's opinion matters. Verizon is also famously difficult to work with and
used to dictating terms to partners, generally around making all of the mobile
content 'V-Cast' this or that, and putting their logo on everything.

As you can see, there are conflicts. I imagine they've been working on them.

Oh, and as a side note, since I've moved out of San Francisco, I have had 0
problems with my iPhone.

Is that a helpful response?

~~~
nanairo
Understood...

It was still not very convincing for the time length though. We are not
talking of Verizon getting a phone a few months earlier but a full year.

At that point most chips are not even out yet, nor is the Android OS, etc...
18 months before release seems WAY too long.

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siculars
There is no way the iPhone will not come to Verizon... at some point. Couple
this report with the recent SEC filing from ATT and you can see something a
little clearer through all the fog.

Personally I've decided to hold off on the iPhone 4 and will instead pick up
the new iTouch when it drops this fall. Maybe when I have carrier choice I'll
reconsider an iPhone.

