“The widely reported (and mostly believed) timetable for the end of AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity contract is mid-2010, which is when Apple is most likely to roll out a new iPhone model,” Maxcer writes.
“By adding Verizon, Apple could easily gain a massive boost in market share. Case closed,” Maxcer writes. “However, selling more iPhones doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a good thing. The case isn’t closed. Carrier choice is good for consumers, but is it good for Apple? Not necessarily…”
“I don’t think Apple feels the need to be on Verizon. The iPhone is already supremely popular, there are plenty of halo effect sales for the Mac, the App Store is going gangbusters, and there’s plenty of world markets left to conquer,” Maxcer writes. “I’ve been watching this space for a while now, and what I haven’t been able to find yet is an argument that says Apple absolutely needs Verizon in 2010 in order to retain profitable iPhone success.”
Full article here.
“and what I haven’t been able to find yet is an argument that says Apple absolutely needs Verizon in 2010 in order to retain profitable iPhone success.”
BINGO.
Just a thought,
en
“Live and Let Die”
With all the money that Apple has why not invest big time in the AT&T;network. I want the best and fastest coverage there can be.
For that matter, they don’t need anyone else besides AT&T.
All those saying “Bring it to Verizon and watch it fly off the shelves” imply that iPhone is currently somehow collecting dust on the shelves of AT&T. Well, it isn’t. The inventory is as tight as it could possibly be, with frequent out-of-stock situations in many locations throughout US.
Only when iPhone begins lagging behind some other device, or when the inventory begins growing, will Apple be in a situation to begin exploration of other carriers in the US. This is DEFINITELY not going to happen in 2010.
Apple needs to open up the iPhone to another carrier in the US, but it does not have to be Verizon. I’m sure Sprint or T-Mobile will offer lucrative contracts and AT&T;would not feel so threatened.
Verizon’s recent ads seem to make it pretty clear that they aren’t getting the iPhone anytime soon.
I think it’d be extremely interesting if the iPhone were to become available to everyone except Verizon starting mid-2010. Verizon would quickly become “the island of misfit smartphone wannabes”.
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Apple needs cooperative partnerships who are willing to build on the user experience. I can’t imagine what Apple would have done if AT&T had turned them away.
Personally, I think they might have acquired the rights to an MNVO and turned it into a subsidiary, just as they did with Claris.
Is there a satellite in Apple’s future? One that would work exclusively with the new data center in NC to provide content to its customers? Would that negate the need for the intertubes and the gatekeepers?
The competition will take a long time, if ever, to develop a product fully competitive with the capabilities of the iPhone. Just think how long it will take to develop a competing OS that is equal Mac OS X.
Actually, it would be in AT&T;’s best interests to let Verizon have the iPhone. If it crippled the Verizon network as much as it has AT&T;’s, then AT&T;might actually get a boost in consumer confidence (relatively speaking).
Verizon only gets iPhone after it goes G4, and even then not certain…
You Girly men will continue to buy iPhones and so will Girly Girls. But manly men will get Droids. Looks like is already happening, AAPL is tanking again today. I got it from Arnold.
The problem with going to Verizon is having a different type of iPhone to work on their network. No problem at Verizon and AT&T;stores which would only stock their version, but that would mean the Apple store would be selling both. What happens on launch day when your Apple store sells out of the Verizon model, but still has plenty AT&T;models? A lot of bad blood towards Apple.
I don’t see Apple doing this until they can sell one phone that can work on either network. Then after you choose your iPhone, you can choose which carrier and which plan you want to go with.
T-mobile would get the iPhone because they are GSM signal. No new hardware or software writing would need to be done and would be nice to force at&t;to down the prices a bit.
It’s hard to believe that Apple would not negotiate their contract with AT&T;. Yes they might play a little hard ball about when they would do that, forcing AT&T;’s hand by forcing them to spread the 3G around more vastly and upgrade their network to capacity of users for a better experience.
Just don’t get all hyped up about analyst on apple, but this is true, Apple doesn’t need Verizon AT ALL. They’ve made a huge success and AT&T;gave them the springboard to jump and make a world wide splash with just trust in innovation.
I like the circle of trust Steve Jobs is working in. Apple – Disney – AT&T;. The Innovator, Entertainment provider, Dumb pipe distributor. If you haven’t seen how close Disney and AT&T;work go to the parks, especially EPCOT.
Verizon needs a new CEO, management, and board of directors.
It is bad business to not make friends in the business world.
@Hug h. B
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Anyone named Hug is Girly.
Verizon customers should have the right to have an iPhone if they want one.
Apple may not need Verizon but Verizon customers need iPhones.
Piss on Verizon. CDMA is nothing put a pile of crap. The world is running GSM based networks.
Yes they do so the fine people of ND can finally get an iPhone!
@Predrag
All those saying “Bring it to Verizon and watch it fly off the shelves”
Perhaps, but not solely for the reason you’ve stated. It’s a given Apple customers will pay a premium, and Apple will continue to make money off those who will buy anything Apple, no matter what.
Just as it is with the Macintosh, Apple was never in competition with Dell, HP, IBM, or even Microsoft, Apple is in competition with itself, and is only as good as its last product. They have a captive audience of loyal consumers who have kept the company alive through even the thinnest of periods.
PC people are always storming in here laughing about some new Apple tech that has been passe in the PC world for years. Unfortunately, what they perceive in us as first-rights bragging is really just cheering because it is new! Its new to Apple and to us. Many of us Apple folk don’t follow PC, or techno-trends, and when Apple finally brings that tech to us, its new and in many cases cause for celebration.
Something changed at Apple with the return of Jobs. He stopped burning bridges, being revengeful, and has made every attempt to embrace the PC community, as evidenced by the number of Apple products that are now available to Windows users.
Apple has begun to think globally, trying to broaden its vertical market. You said it yourself, as long as Apple keeps doing what it’s doing, they’ll be just fine, living off its faithful customer base.
Now, the last time I checked, the cost to re-configure the iPhone to accommodate CDMA was about eleven-cents per unit. That’s pennies invested for a handsome return, however, by the time Apple ramps up production to support CDMA, it will have been replaced by latest technology.
Even if the iPhone experience wasn’t exactly the same on Verizon or Sprint compared to AT&T; no selective mail editing, multi-threading, etc., that is all the more reason for those carriers to upgrade their services to better compete, and for Apple to offer them the iPhone. Without the incentive to upgrade their network, how is Apple going to change the world, if they don’t keep improving the iPhone experience?
As long as there is a carrier out there who doesn’t have an iPhone, shouldn’t that compel Apple to want to sell them one, even if it means using the iPhone in its current configuration as leverage to get Verizon to move towards a global standard?
I wonder if Verizon is even considering do those things AT&T has done to its network to accommodate the iPhone’s feature-set?
I have said all along, the iPhone will find its way onto all the carriers eventually. Maybe not next year, but once the iPhone has gained world-wide popularity, the carriers are going to ask themselves what do WE have to do to get our hands on that phone.
@Grrrilla
you are exactly right.
With Verizon – you won’t be able to use iTunes as they will lock it out so you can use their shit. They will cripple the Bluetooth as well.
Because of GSM Sprint can’t be on the list of possible providers. T-Mobile is the only other carrier, And even with that, Apple would have to tweak their radio band to include T-mobile’s 1700 band, but that’s relatively minor compared to adding the old and obsolete CDMA chip. Let’s hope AT&T;and T-mobile expand the 3G networks to work in places like New York and San Francisco, where most of the complaints come from.
Apple will open it up to T-mobile before Verizon. I think Steve Jobs has already told Verizon to go piss off, this is why they are making nasty Droid commercials. Verizon told Steve to go piss of when he came to them with the iPhone idea and Steve-O will have his revenge. Just ask Michael Dell what it is like to be in Mr. Job’s cross hairs.
Verizon has become the biggest case of denial in corporate history.
Yo! V?
Suck it up, grow a pair then run a series of commercial saying;
“We effed up. Apple had a game changer, iPhone was visionary, and we blew it bigger than camel nutz.”
I guarantee you, if they did so, they’d prevent further loss of face and might even slow the tide of defections from their pathetically lame 1980’s tech network.
Reminder to pundit investors: Apple is not in it for the market share.