Its really happening. The long-awaited Verizon and iPhone team up is happening and it is happening sooner than you think. Yesterday, at a historic 1/11/11, Verizon Wireless has made the announcement that the company will start selling its version of the iPhone 4 on February 10, 2011.
At a “by invitation only” event, despite the earlier implications from Steve Jobs that a Verizon iPhone tandem would never happen, Verizon Wireless has granted the whole america their wish of having their own carrier choice for their iPhone.
Since its launch back in 2007, iPhone has been exclusively tied up with AT&T, much to the chagrin of many users who for one reason or another haven’t wanted an AT&T phone.
“I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been asked and my colleagues have been asked … When will the iPhone work on the Verizon network?” said Apple’s chief operating officer, Tim Cook.
One of the chief complaint is the network coverage. Verizon has a wider domestic network coverage compared to AT&T, particularly for the older “3G” wireless broadband. Verizon covers more areas than AT&T. As reported, Phone service can be spotty in the big cities of the coasts because of the crowding on AT&T’s network.
No words yet on the plan pricing nor on the plan package. What is known as of the moment is that
Verizon’s iPhone version will work only on the carrier’s current “3G” network even though the carrier has fired up a super-fast “4G” network in many cities.
AT&T has fired back emphasizing that the absence of 4G means the Verizon iPhone version will be very limited compared with AT&T. “Verizon’s iPhone will have much lower data speeds than AT&T’s, particularly in areas where AT&T has upgraded its 3G to higher speeds,” notes Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T.
In terms of form and function, the Verizon’s iPhone 4 is much very much similar to its rival’s phone except for one feature: Verizon’s iPhone 4 can act as a portable Wi-Fi “hot spot,” connecting up to five laptops or other devices to Verizon’s 3G network through Wi-Fi. It’s a feature that’s been offered on other smart phones, usually for an added monthly fee.
Despite its wider coverage network, Verizon Wireless, with its 93.2 million subscribers, has been losing out to AT&T in the battle to sign up high-paying smart-phone subscribers. AT&T was the first to tie up an exclusivity contract with Apple iPhone. Verizon, meanwhile, resorted to promoting phones with Google Inc.’s Android operating system as its alternative.
Analysts now expect Verizon Wireless to sell anywhere from 5 million to 13 million iPhones this year. AT&T sold 11.1 million iPhones in the first nine months of 2010.
Pre-orders for existing Verizon customers will start Feb. 3. The price will be $200 or $300 with a two-year contract, about the same as the iPhone through AT&T.
