And here we call up the Revelation was n’t due until 2012 . If the report spreading around the Web faster than teenage newsmonger are to be conceive , then a Verizon press league slated for Tuesday morning will announce the reaching of the first U.S. iPhone not bound to AT&T. And , at this breaker point , the metrical ton of corroborating source makes this long - circulated rumour seem more potential to finally happen than not .
The myth of the Verizon iPhone has a recollective and tortuous history that dates back to original framework of Apple ’s gadget , and in the last several age it ’s been one of the most frequently - ask questions I ’ve fielded in both my personal and professional capacities . ( IfThe Beatles appearing on iTuneswere any indication , I expect my blood - pressure level to go down consequently once a Verizon iPhone is announced — at least until people fill the void by demanding to have it off when Apple is get to make Macs with 3D display or iPhones with remote Pop - Tart delivery . )
Macworld will featurelive coverage of Tuesday ’s Verizon press eventbeginning at 8 a.m. PT
So , should Verizon and Apple ’s family relationship consummate in an iPhone , what form of effect can we expect on the peregrine phone market ? Given how long and strongly a Verizon iPhone has been anticipate , it seems hard to reason that itwon’tbe a major seismic shift . Heck , the two companies have been the subject of more watercooler rustle than any brace since Ross and Rachel . ( I would distinguish Kid to take their parent about that one , but that just makes me find one-time . )
In expectation of Verizon ’s announcement on Tuesday , permit ’s take a look at the route thus far and see what ’s around the bend for Apple , Verizon , AT&T , and consumer .
The ghost of Verizon iPhones past
Tuesday ’s expect declaration wo n’t be the first time Verizon has cross path with the iPhone . When Steve Jobs was rat around the original version of the French telephone , he go up Verizon — who turned him down . At the etymon of the problem were issues of — surprisal — money and control .
Apple wanted a gash of monthly endorser fee and the power to dictate the footing of sales event and maintain a direct relationship with customers . presumptively , Verizon balked at such high demands from a first - time handset manufacturing business bringing a totally unproved gadget to market . Those reverse out to be conceding that Cingular ( later accept up by AT&T ) was only too glad to give up , in commutation for an single lock on the twist for an unspecified telephone number of years .
Verizon , for its part , has tried to remain stoic in the face of thosecalling its decision one of the biggest technology gaucherie of the preceding stern - century . But you could almost hear its abdomen sinking as the iPhone go on to become a ethnical phenomenon , Apple racked up jillion of sale , and — most important from Verizon ’s perspective — AT&T welcome new endorser by the bushel , each contract a hefty two - year declaration .
The first major rumor of Apple and Verizon striking a deal fall in April 2009 , more than two years after the iPhone ’s unveiling . Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg told theWall Street Journalthat he did n’t think the iPhone would come to his electronic web until Verizon began to roll out its 4 G web ( which , we ’ll note , officially launch lately last yr ) . Later that same month , USA Todayreported that the two company were in “ high - level ” talks , though that report lacked any major inside information about a would - be deal .
Not long after that , Idebated the meritoriousness of a Verizon deal , face off against a formidable opponent ( who , I must add together , is uncannily handsome and levelheaded ) . At the time , there were plenty of argument both for and against a muckle between AT&T and Verizon — though I think most of us were then presume that Apple would have to foot one carrier or the other . Of naturally , Apple has said as far back as 2008 that it ’s not “ married ” to undivided deals and in plenty of nation around the earth , the ship’s company has made pot with more than one newsboy , include major markets like the UK , Germany , and France . In fact , the U.S. , with its single immune carrier deal , has almost become the exception to the way Apple runs its iPhone business .
While Verizon rumors have surfaced seeminglyevery few monthsover the last few years , it was this past summer that the evidence get becoming too knockout to ignore . For example , when Apple announced the iPhone 4 in June , AT&T said that it would extend its humble pricing to any customer who would be eligible for an upgrade before the goal of 2010 — as long as they signal a new two - year contract . That was a leaving from the release of former versions of the phone , where AT&T rig tiered prices calculate on the current state of a customer ’s declaration and other factor .
At the time it was a mystify move . Certainly , lowering prices was meant to encourage customers to purchase a new earpiece , and thus renew their contract , lock them in for another two year . But why sacrifice the redundant money that could be wrung out of them for French telephone upgrades ? After all , it was n’t as if would - be U.S. iPhone owner had any place else to turn for iPhone avail — even if survey around the same time suggested that customersdesperately wanted to go elsewhere .
The rumour only intensified in October when Verizon announced thatit had hit a deal with Apple to betray iPads from its retail stores , bundled with MiFi wireless hotspots . Clearly , the two companies had struck a deal for some level of cooperation — but how far would it extend ? As the twelvemonth wrap up , one psychoanalyst suggested that such a mass might almost be more essential for Verizon . Still , there were obstruction to overcome before a Verizon iPhone could come to fruition .
Technology is fundamental
Make no mistake : the high hurdles in between consumers and a Verizon iPhone are those of business , not of engineering .
While Apple executive have publicly speak out against CDMA , the technology that underlies Verizon phones , there ’s no technological reason Applecouldn’tmake a CDMA phone if it wanted to . In fact , there have been suspicions for some clip that Apple has long had a mould epitome of a CDMA iPhone , in the same agency that the company secretly maintained an Intel - version of Mac OS X for years before it made the changeover in public . Those theories were bolstered last year when , during a imperativeness conference about iPhone 4 antenna event , Steve Jobs commented that the caller ’s campus had its own Verizon cell website . A month laterDaring Fireball ’s John Gruber wrotethat “ the wheels are turning on N92 , the CDMA variant of the iPhone 4 . ”
The likely intellect behind Apple ’s selection of GSM - establish technologies , beyond the practicalities of its stack with AT&T , was that it ’s used far more generally around the worldly concern . CDMA , by comparison , is used mainly in North America and a handful of other land . This allowed Apple to ramp up a single telephone that they could apace roll out to many international markets .
It also allowed Apple to sell just one model of speech sound : there was no need to throw jargony terms like CDMA , UMTS , HSDPA , and EVDO at customers , or ask them questions beyond what electrical capacity phone they wanted and — at times — if they want a black or white phone ( which , granted , hasn’texactlybeena big care lately ) . In fact , it long seemed to me that this would be the major sticking breaker point of Apple going to multiple carriers in the U.S.—such a move would make a wrench in the company ’s vaunted simplicity and flowing product matrix .
But I suppose Apple has decided that most consumers these sidereal day can at least handle differentiate between carrier wave . And , as most of the major U.S. carriers seem to be gravitating towardthe LTE standardfor their 4 gramme networks , a CDMA - based iPhone is really only a stopgap cadence . So one iPhone to rule them all may still be in the flank .
That said , potential Verizon iPhone customer may have to compete with one restriction : CDMA - based technologies do n’t support the ability to at the same time maintain voiceanddata connections . So if you ’re strain to take care up film prison term while your important other ’s on the personal line of credit , you ’ll have to attend up and call them back .
So, why now?
With yr upon years of hearsay yielding nary a undivided real Verizon iPhone , the head on your mind might be “ Why now ? ”
There ’s a confluence of factors at body of work here , but the most relevant of them would be the likely expiration of the exclusivity mountain between Apple and AT&T. At the time of the original iPhone ’s launch , the gossip was that the two companies had struck a five - year deal , which would seem to have put the engagement of Apple ’s freedom in 2012 ( right in line with that Mayan apocalypse ) .
While iPhone gross sales were n’t about to bug out dropping — after all , where there ’s a young iPhone , there are alwayssomepeople who will feel obligated to exchange their yr - old interlingual rendition — there ’s no head that Apple would like to spread out its client base .
And while I ’m sure Apple would have been happy to hold back for LTE to have reached maturity , the fact that the 4 K internet is in the process of being rolled out means that the roadmap for future iPhones is at least in place .
Chronicle of a death foretold?
Ah , AT&T. We knew you well — wait , AT&T ’s not dead ?
Not by a foresightful slam . While many have peg the founding of a Verizon iPhone as a death knell for AT&T , there are plenty of other factors at dramatic play here that undertake that Apple ’s cooperator of the last four years is n’t done yet .
It ’s lawful that , for the most part , the cellphone earphone carrier securities industry is a zero - amount game — that is to say , most people have cell phone contracts for just one toter . There are probably a few masses who have contract with multiple provider , whether it be for work and home use or for the parent of that teenager who justhadto have an iPhone , but for the most part it ’s one someone per carrier .
AT&T certainly has a bad rap with iPhone owners : you do n’t have to count any further thanthe most recent Consumer Reports rankingto see that . And it ’s not all undeserved : the company lagged on providing pic message and tethering to iPhone proprietor , drop its limitless data programme , and has had plenty of high - profile problems with clogged networks and piteous operation .
Of course , this is n’t to say that Verizon will mechanically pounce in and be the perfect meshing that iPhone owners have always wanted . Most cell earphone carrier seem to be rate on par with politician : people ’s opinions of their performance and effectiveness vary wildly , but most agree that they could all stand up to be a bit better .
Not to mention that there are stack of common people who are contented with their AT&T service . Macworld’sown fearless leader , Jason Snell , reside in an area where there ’s no Verizon insurance coverage , but he gets full bars on AT&T — and I ’m certain he ’s not alone .
And keep in mind that for Apple , which carrier you choose does n’t count much to its bottom line : every iPhone sales agreement is money in the banking concern for Cupertino .
For its part , AT&T is n’t get Verizon ’s arrival lying down . AT&T ’s Larry Solmondelivered a zinger to Business Insiderabout the relative performance of the two connection , say “ The iPhone is built for swiftness , but that ’s not what you get with a CDMA speech sound . I ’m not certain iPhone exploiter are ready for life in the slow lane . ”
And if you think that ’s the last we ’ll be listen of AT&T and Verizon trim at each other , then , well , are n’t you justdarling . For my part , I hope the companies will stuff the rhetoric in favor of tangible competition that benefits the consumer in the variant of better feature , lower damage , and fewer confinement .
Then again , perhapsI’mthe uninitiated one .
