“If Apple added another carrier to the roster in the US, it would hurt their relationship with ATT. While it’s not likely that the two companies really love each other, the iPhone has become increasingly important to ATT, who will be incented to extend their exclusive with Apple as long as they can. That means more money in Apple’s pocket. It’s not likely that Verizon would be as generous,” GLG writes.
GLG writes, “It’s not likely that the iPhone will appear on the Verizon network in the next few years, if ever.”
Full article here.
Daniel Eran Dilger writes for RoughlyDrafted, “Two and a half years later, Apple’s standout success with its single US provider and its global strategy via one mobile technology makes any mention of jumping ship to Verizon a very poorly thought out fantasy. Fortunately for the iPhone, the strategy not only worked (Apple’s couple of percentage points of market share were recently estimated to be gobbling up 32% of the entire industry’s profits in the first half of 2009, and that was before the blockbuster iPhone 3GS launch) but also scorched the earth behind it, preventing anyone else from really being able to copy it.”
“Android is now trying to cover all the bases in the same old model of Windows Mobile, resulting in a fractured platform that consumers won’t even be able to readily identify. Palm is proving that carrier exclusivity alone isn’t a silver bullet,” Dilger writes. “And RIM’s Storm is proving that cloning the iPhone’s form factor doesn’t result in wild success when the majority of its user base really just wants a basic PDA/texting phone.”
“Meanwhile, Apple has outrun a series of Android attempts, sucked the wind from the Pre’s sails, and is catching up to America’s most popular smartphone from Canada while only using one provider to achieve those sales in the US,” Dilger writes. “It’s no surprise Verizon is interested in getting the iPhone, it’s just still a bit of a puzzle why pundits think this would do Apple any good.”
Full article here.
