IPhone coming to Verizon

[Uncle Ted]

Interesting. I defer to you on all things tech, of course, but the crux of the call was the economy within the Android ecosystem (security concerns notwithstanding.)

I just pulled this article, an interview with Peter Vesterbacka, the guy that created Angry Birds. It is a brief and interesting read, but towards the end of the bit, he briefly delves into the focus of my call this morning.

Since I have spent zero time in the Android marketplace and know little of the culture, I am curious about this. If accurate, it seems to spell the end of the Android app market before it even begins. If you can't make money, you will eventually die out, or so it would seem.

http://technmarketing.com/iphone/pet...ia-and-palmhp/

Yes, I haven't spent a lot time looking at the android marketplace but I agree it could have a lot problems with fragmentation which may confuse its users.

[UteStar]

I was thinking the same thing. My contract is up in September, so hopefully by then I'll have an idea of whether AT&T's service will improve enough to justify staying with them. It really is dreadful, though. Verizon's customer service is terrible, but their phone service in my experience was vastly superior.

I am thinking like you and Clark. AT&T has a bunch of problems...but I think they were just overwhelmed by the iphone. They are catching up. Most likely, they will lose quite a few people who go to Verizon. I would not be surprised if Verizon goes thru some issues in 6 months to a year.

I am curious to see if AT&T drops their iphone4 down in price a bit to try and keep people on its network. They have dropped the 3GS, will it also happen to the 4. Competition is good, so I am happy to see Verizon with the iphone.

[falafel]

I am thinking like you and Clark. AT&T has a bunch of problems...but I think they were just overwhelmed by the iphone. They are catching up. Most likely, they will lose quite a few people who go to Verizon. I would not be surprised if Verizon goes thru some issues in 6 months to a year.

I am curious to see if AT&T drops their iphone4 down in price a bit to try and keep people on its network. They have dropped the 3GS, will it also happen to the 4. Competition is good, so I am happy to see Verizon with the iphone.

Will Appler permit a price drop? IIRC, Apple tightly controls the prices of its devices. That's why you never see Best Buy offering huge discounts (or any discounts, really) on Apple products around the holidays. The best they can do is add some gift card or something for free.

I can imagine Apple keeping the iphone price the same at both outlets and letting them duke it out over service/data.

[UteStar]

Will Appler permit a price drop? IIRC, Apple tightly controls the prices of its devices. That's why you never see Best Buy offering huge discounts (or any discounts, really) on Apple products around the holidays. The best they can do is add some gift card or something for free.

I can imagine Apple keeping the iphone price the same at both outlets and letting them duke it out over service/data.

AT&T has dropped the price of last years 3GS model by $100, so I don't know. I am assuming that AT&T can drop the price, but it will come out of their own pocket, if they do. I don't see Apple changing their pricing to 'help' either Verizon or AT&T.

[falafel]

AT&T has dropped the price of last years 3GS model by $100, so I don't know. I am assuming that AT&T can drop the price, but it will come out of their own pocket, if they do. I don't see Apple changing their pricing to 'help' either Verizon or AT&T.

I just assumed Apple was authorizing those price drops to stay competitive in the phone market and to clear older inventory. But who knows.

[Uncle Ted]

I am thinking like you and Clark. AT&T has a bunch of problems...but I think they were just overwhelmed by the iphone. They are catching up. Most likely, they will lose quite a few people who go to Verizon. I would not be surprised if Verizon goes thru some issues in 6 months to a year.

I am curious to see if AT&T drops their iphone4 down in price a bit to try and keep people on its network. They have dropped the 3GS, will it also happen to the 4. Competition is good, so I am happy to see Verizon with the iphone.

Apparently Verizon will be offering unlimited data with its iPhone plans unlike AT&T which now has a limit of 2GB of transfer per month. Hopefully, that will help a bunch of people move off AT&T network and then get AT&T to match verizon's data plan. Of course, AT&T has been kind enough to grandfather me on my unlimited data plan even if I upgrade my iPhone.

In other news the new windows 7 phones like to use 2-5MB/hr of people's limited AT&T data plans while doing nothing.

[Uncle Ted]

Let the spokesman trash talk begin...

“I’m not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane,” Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, said in a company statement. He suggested that Verizon’s version of the iPhone would not be as fast because of the network technology the company uses.

Verizon offered its own jabs in response, pointing out the stress and strain placed on AT&T’s network since 2007, the year the first iPhone was introduced.

“AT&T is known for a lot of things, but network quality is not one of them,” said Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. “Typically companies try to call attention to their strongest suit.”

Mr. Nelson added something that had the ring of a playground taunt: “It must be backwards day at AT&T.”

[Moliere]

Apparently Verizon will be offering unlimited data with its iPhone plans unlike AT&T which now has a limit of 2GB of transfer per month. Hopefully, that will help a bunch of people move off AT&T network and then get AT&T to match verizon's data plan. Of course, AT&T has been kind enough to grandfather me on my unlimited data plan even if I upgrade my iPhone.

In other news the new windows 7 phones like to use 2-5MB/hr of people's limited AT&T data plans while doing nothing.

Is this something available to everyone? I currently have unlimited data as I was grandfathered in but I'll be upgrading within the next year and I want to keep unlimited data.

[woot]

Is this something available to everyone? I currently have unlimited data as I was grandfathered in but I'll be upgrading within the next year and I want to keep unlimited data.

Pretty sure it works for everybody. I kept my dataplan active while overseas just so I wouldn't lose the unlimited plan. It seems that as long as you never cancel it you can upgrade all you want.

That is funny about the AT&T spokesman. I'm no Verizon fan, but the guy is correct.

[Surfah]

It's official. $200 for 16 GB model.

This phone will have hotspot capability though like the Evo. Up to 5 wifi devices can be connected to it.

2 year contracts though. That sucks, especially if Apple sticks to their summer releases. I would wait until then if I were in the market.

Interestingly Verizon signed a multi-year deal to carry it but it's not exclusive. Maybe Sprint getting one? I'd love that.

New antenna design to fix the issue on the ATT iPhones.

No LTE. That was expected but disappointing still.

Like all CDMA phones you can't use data and voice simultaneously.

[Surfah]

Available Feb 3 for VZ customers. Feb 10 for everyone else.

[Surfah]

No plan pricing today. That sucks. That's the only thing I cared about.

I wonder if Sprint will get one and if they're data rates will stay the same.

[Uncle Ted]

I noticed that the price dropped today on the 3GS to $49 (with 2 year AT&T contract). I wonder if AT&T got Apple to do that.

I am pretty sure the 3GS won't be available on Verizon.

[Uncle Ted]

Is this something available to everyone? I currently have unlimited data as I was grandfathered in but I'll be upgrading within the next year and I want to keep unlimited data.

I am pretty sure it is available to everyone that is on the old plan. Of course, you need to pay the extra $5/mo for unlimited. Recall they discounted the data plan when it went to being metered.

[MartyFunkhouser]

Next time I upgrade, I will strongly consider whatever iPhone is out at the time. I don't see why anyone would rush to buy the iPhone 4 right now. Apple is likely to stick to their yearly release cycle and the iPhone 5 is probably coming out in June. Either wait it out for the June 2011 release of the iPhone 5 or buy the iPhone 4 when its price drops to $99.99 when the iPhone 5 comes out.