“Verizon is preparing a secret weapon for the escalating handset wars,” Scott Moritz reports for TheStreet.com. “Just a month before Apple’s iPhone is due to juice AT&T’s growth, industry watchers say New York-based Verizon has some hand candy of its own to sweeten sales.”
“‘They are working on an answer to the iPhone that is supposed to be pretty good,’ says one telecom expert who is familiar with Verizon’s effort,” Moritz reports.
“Verizon’s anti-iPhone is LG’s Prada. The Prada, or KE 850, was recently introduced in England and is very similar in appearance to the iPhone,” Moritz reports.
Moritz reports, “In reaction to all the iPhone attention AT&T is getting, Verizon COO Denny Strigl told USAToday Tuesday: ‘We do have a very good response in the mill. You’ll see that from us in the late summer.’
Moritz reports, “A Verizon representative played down the notion that the company was banking on the Prada as its answer to the iPhone. ‘We have several music devices coming’ including the LG Prada, ‘but there are others,’ the representative said.”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacVicta” for the heads up.]
“Very similar in appearance…” You gotta love it. If the best Verizon can come up with is the LG Prada and some nebulous, dubious vapor, they’re doomed. This ill-advised, playground-inspired business practice of pretending you have something when you have nothing just before your date with the steamroller always reeks of desperation. Pack the golden parachute carefully, Denny, it sounds like you’re gonna need it.
I will buy two iPhones as soon as it is available.
I will never buy a Prada Phone.
more iPhone “killers” announced …. one from T-Mobile .. believe it or not … wonder if MDN is gonna post it or not ?
MW =”yet” … it hasnt happened “yet”
What is it with Corporate Leaders?
Their answer is something that looks the same?
No wonder we’ve lost our competitive edge.
Everyone thinks it’s only about looks and not the substance.
Competitors are announcing iPhone “killers” before the iPhone is even released. There is fear in the air…
No near-term competitor will come close because:
1. The iPhone touch interface took years to develop.
2. The OS is OS X.
3. It’s an iPod.
Since no one else can offer 1, 2, and 3, Apple has once again put itself in a position of owning a unique product, in a world where everyone else competes on price with me-too products.
I am currently a Verizon customer. That relationship will end this summer, though, when my contract expires. The reason: Verizon doesn’t carry the iPhone. Too bad, because other Verizon is good.
So, it’s goodbye Verizon, hello AT&T.
Note to Verizon: Your claims of “It’s the network” no longer apply. The device you use matters, too. Give Steve a call. Maybe he’ll let you in.
Remember the old Ford Granada commercials: “Looks like a Mercedes…” First of all they didn’t, but more importantly it wasn’t the looks that made a Mercedez a Mercedez and a Ford Granada a Ford Granada.
I’ve said repeatedly that these twits sound like the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. As for the author of the article, he proves himself to be a gullible idiot.
The good thing about reading articles such as this one is that one may safely cast aside as FUD the criticism of fools.
I heard that Verizon and MSoft were going to anounce the
VeriZune very soon
this is the best
Verizon can stem some of the defections if it has its own supersleek iPhone imitation.
you are right, an imitation
is it just me, or do we all feel small and insignificant?
It’s not just you Jim – TIV. My fonts have an inferiority complex too.
Teeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeensty land!
First just cause the iPhone is great does not mean Verizon is a bad company. In most cities Verizon is the best cell phone company. One person I do tech support for is a cell tower tech who goes all around the country fixing them and he says Verizon has the most towers that cover the most area in the major cities hands down. Now with most things YMMV so if you want an iPhone better hope you are in a good Cingular area.
Fake Steve on this news:
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/05/verizons-iphone-killer.html
The Prada looks like iPhone, just like Zune looks like iPod…
Yeah…. sad bulky copy
MW: late. All the other phone companies are little late to the game, Apple already has >200 patents. That’s gonna restrict the innovation (copying) done by others
i’ve used an LG Prada Phone, not good. Unresponsive touch screen, slow, and very poor battery life. Too bad i’ll have to wait even longer for the iPhone as i live in England:-(
This guy is truly a dope. The stockholders ought to bury this guy for passing up the opportunity to work with Apple.
A customer servoce rep at Verizon told me that they passed on Apple’s offer because they wanted to control their own mp3 player capabilities. How stupid is that and this guy is a COO.
“They are working on an answer to the iPhone that is supposed to be pretty good”
In this case, “pretty good” is not going to be enough.
@Apple Employee
You’re right on with your comments. I just left Verizon after 10 years because I am buying iPhone. Their service coverage is excellent. Since switching to AT&T I have experienced dead spots and some dropped calls and I travel in eastern PA, NJ, DE, MD and VA – just enough to be a little annoying. I think that AT&T will fix that over time.
However, the iPhone will work in Europe where Verizon won’t. On our trip to Italy last year I was unable to use Verizon’s service and had to use a Verizon credit card which was loaded with hidden costs that they never disclosed. they tried to charge me over $500 for a series a 1-10 minurte connection and 5 missed connections. I had ti literally fight for a $400 credit. This is one of the reasons that I am glad to have switched. I had to fight with Verizon when I switched carriers a few months ago – they tried all sorts of gimmicks to keep from leaving from billing a $350 early termination fee for my expired contract to sending unauthorized new replacement phones which I refused to accept from Fed Ex – if you accept the package you’re automatically tied in with another 2 year contract. When we refused the package, the Fed Ex driver made a funny but accurate statement. “Verizon are a bunch of Nazi’s”
I am glad that I’m rid of that crappy organization. OK, now I’ll get off of my soap box.
iPhone Bitch!!!
This fall, good buy VW, hello ATT (plus a bonus, since my company was acquired by ATT, I get the discount now!!!, and no, we don’t have VW recycling box)
The GOOD news for Verizon subscribers will be that Verizon will actually let some of the functionality stay in the phone (like bluetooth transfers, etc.) instead of ripping it out so that they can nickel and dime their customers. This will lead to a wave of other carriers also de-crippling their phones.
Thanks, Apple!
Shouldn’t they be saying “and ours will have an in-built radio!”?
Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go with the iPhone in the first place, rather than having to try to figure out how to compete with it?
As I have said befor LG makes crap phones. I’m never getting one again.