Remember those three-million CDMA iPhones that are (supposedly) being made in December? They’re not for Verizon. Unless the company is pulling a swerve, it’s forgoing a CDMA iPhone in favor of one that takes advantage of its upcoming high-speed LTE network. Here’s the word from The Apple Blog:
Despite supplier rumors that seemed to indicate we’d see a Verizon iPhone early on in the new year, recent comments by Verizon’s own CEO have put a damper on those hopes. CEO Ivan Seidenberg said at the Goldman Sachs Investor conference that Apple’s device won’t appear on his company’s network until it’s ready for the long-term evolution (LTE) network Verizon is so fervent about.
While this news will surely disappoint users that are anxious for a Verizon iPhone, I think it’s the right move. Verizon’s CDMA network is considered the most reliable in the country, but it’s hardly the fastest. With LTE, the company would have a differentiator that combines blazing speeds and rock-solid reliability.
Do you think it’s the right move for Verizon? Or are you crying that there isn’t a Verizon CDMA iPhone in your future?
i think it's the right move. if they were to release the CDMA version in 1Q 2011 then release the LTE version let's say 6 months later like 3Q it will piss off a lot of Verizon consumers, like at&t did when the iPhone 3G came out.
Verizon pisses ppl off enough on their own.
Those handsets would be for China is my guess.
@smartguy The iPhone 4 already launched in China.
@Ray
Their largest carrier is CDMA though. I can't help but feel that it is good to throw a bone to the govt's biggest wireless company.
It just seems more feasible than going to Sprint. TMo would be more feasible if a new carrier in the US is coming soon.
Then again this could be some dual band Qualcom chip that allows Apple to make just one phone.
@smartguy There's a large CDMA carrier in South Korea too. I was thinking that would be a better fit.
@Ray
Hmm, yeah I can see that. Guess we'll find out soon(ish)
@smartguy One of my analyst friends just called me and said that Apple's negotiations with Verizon are going poorly. He believes that Apple has reached out to T-Mobile as a backup. The idea is that Apple wants to counteract Android's availability on all four majors.
I'd go to TMo instantaneously if that were to happen.
Let's speculate on why those negotiations are going poorly!
-Apple says no to VZ bloatware
-VZ has no control over App Store
-Apple will not allow VZ to have their own store
-Apple does not like tiered pricing since it hurts their digi distribution.
-No revenue sharing of iAds or AppStore
@smartguy My friend said it was because of four of the five issues you mentioned.
@Ray
Which one is excluded?
The fourth one. I think Apple understands that most carriers will eventually move to tiered pricing. The big issue is, allegedly, Vcast stuff.
I'm glad that Jobs will hold his ground on that. I appreciate the fact that iPhone doesn't come with carrier software.
I do find it odd that caps aren't seen as a hindrance to distributors. Or at least they don't say this out loud. I'd have a hard time buying an app or some media with a bucket of bytes. I'd feel that I am paying for it twice in a way.
@smartguy I'm not surprised. Jobs is all about the experience and Verizon's software isn't that good.