
Verizon iPhone is coming - sportsTAKES
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735804575536191649347572.html
======
mattparcher
Background:

In early August, John Gruber wrote that: “The wheels are turning on N92, the
CDMA variant of the iPhone 4... It’s right about where you’d think it would be
if it were scheduled to go on sale in January. The CDMA iPhone is no longer a
cold storage, keep-it-alive-just-in-case-we-need-it project.” [1]

He noted that the CDMA iPhone could be headed for China Telecom first - the
competitor to China Unicom, who just launched a GSM iPhone 4 in that country.

He cites anonymous tipsters, as well as:

\- Bloomberg says Verizon iPhone coming in January [2]

\- CEA announces the Verizon CEO as the keynote speaker for CES in January [3]

\- Steve Cheney claims that Apple has placed orders for “millions of units of
Qualcomm CDMA chipsets” for December [4]

\- Digitimes reports that Pegatron Technology will begin mass production in
December of CDMA iPhones for Verizon and China Telecom [5]

[1] <http://daringfireball.net/2010/08/n92>

[2] [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/verizon-wireless-
sa...](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/verizon-wireless-said-to-
start-offering-iphone-ending-at-t-s-exclusivity.html)

[3] <http://cesweb.org/news/080410.asp#4200>

[4] <http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/08/verizon-iphone-january/>

[5] <http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20100809VL202.html>

~~~
noilly
it's happening ;)

------
thaumaturgy
Verizon and Apple blew it on this one IMO. While the iPhone has been wildly
successful by pretty much any metric, there is a not-small market segment that
hasn't picked up an iPhone solely because it is encumbered with AT&T. (I am
one member of that group.)

AT&T gave up its exclusivity deal with Apple for the iPhone back in the spring
of this year. Verizon and other insiders had to have known well in advance
that they were going to. They should have been ready for a release in July, at
the latest.

Instead, Android has made great strides. I'm not a gadget guy when it comes to
my phone; I just want it to work and be easy to use and not frustrate me. So,
I've played with the various releases of Android and have continued to hold
out for an iPhone ... until 2.2. 2.2 is good enough for me, and best of all,
Android appears to be gaining ground on the iPhone, and it isn't being crushed
by Apple's thumb.

It's tough to tell for sure, but if I'm not alone in all this, then when the
iPhone finally does come out for Verizon, it could fall flat on its face. It
just took too damned long and frustrated everyone that has been patient enough
to wait for it for years.

~~~
whalesalad
Android has made great strides in market share, but that's about it. Have you
used a Droid 2? They're loaded with bloatware now... it's like buying a Dell
PC. My buddy keeps asking me, "How can I remove this stupid blockbuster app??"

Keep in mind... Blockbuster just filed for Bankruptcy...
[http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2010/09/blockbuster-
offici...](http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2010/09/blockbuster-officially-
going-bankrupt-for-really-real-this-time.ars)

Android is a joke. I love my Nexus One... but Apple is still delivering the
best mobile experience. AT&T is without a doubt the only downside to the
iPhone. While Apple is strong-arming carriers with insane sales and joyous
fans, Android devices are getting worse and worse to try and make every little
device unique. One has a 5mp camera, one has a 8mp camera, one has two LED's
for flash, the other only has one, blah blah blah they're all the same!

I have been vying for the Android underdog for too long now and I for one am
VERY anxious to see the iPhone on CDMA, because I'll finally be able to get
back to using a terrific platform on a solid network.

~~~
thaumaturgy
> _Android has made great strides in market share, but that's about it._

That's about the whole of the argument, yes. :-)

> _Have you used a Droid 2?_

One of my techs got one a while back; one of my other techs got a Droid X just
a couple of weeks ago. They both seem extremely happy with them. Several of my
clients -- including those that aren't technically savvy -- also have Droid
devices, and seem fairly satisfied with them.

> _They're loaded with bloatware now... it's like buying a Dell PC._

That's a funny example to use, since Dells these days really aren't all that
bad. They certainly are nowhere near as bad as, say, Acer.

> _Android is a joke._

Eh. 32% of the people that bought a smart phone within six months prior to Jan
2010 - Aug 2010 seem to disagree.

> _...but Apple is still delivering the best mobile experience._

Before September of this year, I'd've agreed with you.

Most people don't seem to care much about which device has which camera or how
many LEDs there are for flash or what-have-you; that seems to be more a
software developer complaint.

~~~
tptacek
What percentage of the 32% of people that bought a smart phone in that period
had the _option_ of buying an iPhone on their preferred carrier? How many
people just go to their carrier's retail store and buy the phone they like
best? Until the iPhone came out, that was how I bought my phones!

------
nuclear_eclipse
We've been hearing that the iPhone will be on Verizon "any day now" for the
past three years. I'll believe it when I see it in a Verizon store. They can't
even fill the preorders for white iPhones....

~~~
kgermino
I will say though that historically the WSJ (This writer in Particular) has
been spot-on when reporting Apple rumors.

iPad:
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870340570457501...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703405704575015362653644260.html)

No iPhone 4 Recall:
[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870468260457536...](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704682604575369311876558240.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESecondNews)

Job's Liver Transplant:
<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124546193182433491.html>

And a TechCrunch article mentioning it:
<http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/15/iphone-4-recall/>

It appears that Yukari Iwatani Kane has a connection to Job's inner circle...

~~~
patrickaljord
Except for that $999 iPad.

~~~
mcobrien
Which was almost certainly price anchoring by Apple. If they leak to anyone,
it's the WSJ.

------
tomkarlo
Folks seem to forget that not everyone has the option of switching carriers.
The most obvious example of this are people who get their phone from their
company via a bulk contract with a particular provider, as I used to when
working at a large bank. If your company is only offering you Verizon service,
you're not going to give up an essentially free wireless account on that
carrier to pay $100/mo for an ATT account, even if you would rather have an
iPhone. A lot of folks are also not aware of number portability yet - I still
see notices that folks have changed their numbers because they got a new
carrier - so they may think that buying an iPhone on ATT would mean changing
numbers.

It's also worth noting that overseas, where the iPhone is not tied to ATT,
Apple continues to outpace Android significantly:
[http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1733041/apple-google-
cont...](http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1733041/apple-google-continue-
smartphone-growth-europe)

~~~
dailyrorschach
Do you mind sharing your age range? The reason I ask is, I work for an agency,
and we have blackberry service provided by T-Mobile, which we are free to use
as our personal phone.

However, most people, especially those 35 and under, and our technically
inclined folks, all still carry their own phone. Primarily because they want
the iPhone, or in some cases, want Android.

------
cletus
This isn't happening for the exact same reasons it's never been happening:

1\. Newspapers and bloggers love this story. It generates clicks.

2\. People want an iPhone on other networks. This makes them want to believe
this in spite of the evidence.

3\. CDMA doesn't do simultaneous voice and data. Apple is unlikely to try and
explain such a difference to consumers given their focus on user experience.

4\. CDMA is a dead/dying technology. Jobs summed this up In his D8 interview
(when talking about Flash): Apple picks technologies in their "Spring". CDMA
will be phased out in favor of LTE.

5\. Most of the world uses GSM. The market for CDMA is small. People in the US
forget this because of Verizon.

6\. Apple tests far more products than they release. I'm sure there has been a
CDMA iPhone. That doesn't mean it will be launched as a product.

7\. AT&T had a five year exclusivity deal with the iPhone starting in 2007
according to court documents. While this may have changed it seems unlikely
that AT&T would give this up without getting something huge in return. The
only possibility realistically us that AT&T has failed to meet it's
contractual requirements somehow.

8\. AT&T service apparently sucks in SF and NYC, where most tech journalists
and bloggers are. They are fine in most of the rest of the country. But this
creates a huge sample bias in the press.

If Apple does a CDMA anything it will, in my opinion, be an iPad.

~~~
andreyf
I was dubious, but the last line really clicks. A verizon iPad would be
perfect for Apple. The iPhone 4 was the last true iteration of the iPhone. I
imagine the team has mostly moved into developing the next iPad.

------
jcroberts
If you want device specs for the Verizon Apple iPhone:

[http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=2548&c=verizon...](http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=2548&c=verizon_iphone_4_apple_iphone_3,2)

The database at pdadb.net has specs on a number of "known but unreleased"
devices.

------
seanalltogether
The only thing that matters to me now is the day apple starts selling all
iphones unlocked. I don't want to go through firmware hacks to unlock an
iphone or be forced on to a contract in order to buy it, I just want to be
able to throw in any sim card and just go.

------
listic
Which other countries is US CDMA technology compatible with?

------
eguanlao
... along with Verizon Math: one cent is equal to one dollar.

------
bobx11
Sweet - we've only heard about it for 4 years. O_o

------
geuis
So basically entire report based on stuff some people heard from some other
people. "Apple is also developing a new iPhone model, said people briefed on
the matter"

------
lotusleaf1987
But Verizon doesn't have simultaneous voice/data, so how will this work out?
One of the main selling points (in the iPhone commercials) is that you can
check your email/use Safari while making a call.

~~~
Zev
I'm on Verizon with a data plan (have a Pre). I honestly can't remember the
last time I needed to use voice and data at the same time. I don't think this
is as big of a deal as you're making it out to be.

~~~
pkaler
It's because nerds don't like to talk on the phone. They prefer email and
other asynchronous messaging methods.

Here are cases I've used:

    
    
      1) Take a call while tethered (I think USians on AT&T underestimate this use case)
    
      2) Send an email while on a call a discuss to discuss attachements. (PDF, image mockups, etc)
    
      3) Send an iCal event and juggle schedules to meet
    
      4) Take a call while running with RunKeeper in the background
    
      5) Refer to Twitter DMs while on a call
    
      6) Sync DropBox/iDisk while on a call to talk about documents
    
      7) Look up directions on Google Maps for the caller
    
      8) Look up movies on Flixster and decide which movie to go to.
    
      9) Play games while on hold

~~~
desigooner
Looking up Evernote or Dropbox for account details while talking to Customer
Care Reps for Cable/Gas/anything

------
shareme
Moto suing Apple over WCDMA patents..its about to get very interesting

------
maresca
If the time comes when Apple does release a Verizon iPhone, it won't matter.
Apple has already alienated potential customers by forcing them to switch to
AT&T. Droid's success is an indicator of peoples' unwillingness to switch.
Verizon's customer service can be lacking at times, but not enough that I
would have switched to AT&T.

