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Verizon iPhone Release Confirmed, Fortune Reports: Inside The Verizon-Apple Deal

32 points by roder 16y ago

tgriesser 16y ago
The article doesn't say much as to the concessions on either side to push this deal though... I wonder if Verizon will have more control of the handset than AT&T did and be able to pre-load it with all of their 'V' branded software.
- illumin8 16y ago
  I doubt it - Steve never budged on this with AT&T and he's spent 3 years not budging on it with Verizon. My guess is that Verizon saw the $$ AT&T has been making hand over fist and decided they couldn't miss out on the market.
  - misterbwong 16y ago
    This. Though a Verizon Wireless logo on the back of the iphone isn't out of the realm of possibility. Verizon is probably seeing this as an opportunity to gain a whole slew of new customers AND as a way of siphoning users from AT&T, simultaneously hurting their rival and boosting their subscriber count. The cost to the user (in terms of hassle, $$, etc) of changing carriers is high, but the iPhone's "halo" status and the horrible reputation of AT&T's network will cause a lot of people to follow it over. I know I probably will.
    - protomyth 16y ago
      "a Verizon Wireless logo on the back of the iphone isn't out of the realm of possibility" I get the feeling that a carrier can be displayed on the screen, but no way in heck do they get a sticker.
tolmasky 16y ago
Can someone explain what the international story would be like with a Verizon phone (and thus CDMA)? Would it work in Canada? Would I need a completely different phone if I traveled anywhere else?
- noilly 16y ago
  from Verizon (CDMA coverage) * Bermuda * Canada * Dominican Republic * Guam * Israel * Mexico * Northern Mariana Islands * South Korea http://support.vzw.com/faqs/International%20Services%20and%20Roaming/faq_international_cdma_roaming.html http://support.vzw.com/faqs/International%20Services%20and%2...
  - barredo 16y ago
    Not sure if Verizon has any roaming plans with, but India, China & Japan also have mobile carriers using CDMA
- guelo 16y ago
  There's a chance that Apple will build the phone with both radios.
  - stevederico 16y ago
    Most CDMA carriers offer "world" edition phones with a secondary gsm antenna and sim slot for use overseas. I believe the verizon iPhone will include these "world" attributes.
    - dkokelley 16y ago
      From the article: Unfortunately for globe trotters, the first version of the phone likely won't be built to work outside the U.S. -- it probably won't carry a special chip that can turn it into a "world phone." However, it may have some of the features on the iPad distributed in Verizon's stores, like live TV for customers of the FiOS cable service. This is what I've been hearing from the rumors anyways, so no big surprise. The interesting thing to watch for will be whether the next gen (iPhone 5th generation) for Verizon will use CDMA + GSM for international, or if Verizon will have a 4G network up in time to make it unnecessary.
paul9290 16y ago
This is the article you want to read http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/29/verizon_iphone_seidenberg/ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/29/verizon_iphone_seiden...
joblessjunkie 16y ago
And this headline does not link to Fortune because...?
- FluidDjango 16y ago
  Because this one did: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846909 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846909
ericb 16y ago
Is it true that CDMA can't do voice and data at the same time? If I switch, no more browsing while I'm on hold?
- gamble 16y ago
  Yes, just like the original EDGE iPhone.
- bbatsell 16y ago
  Yes; however, Verizon has been testing Voice over Revision A, which would route voice packets over the data channel and thus allow both voice and regular data packets to coexist. According to various articles from a few months ago, the roll-out will be in 1Q2011.
sosuke 16y ago
Does this mean I'm close to being able to buy one for Sprint? I get stuck with all the leftover phones. (^_^)
joshzayin 16y ago
This never made sense to me. These rumors claim that a Verizon iPhone will be released in early 2011. However, the iPhone's release cycle indicates that the next hardware update's due in June. New hardware would be necessary for a Verizon iPhone (so it could work with CDMA), but if they were releasing new hardware, they'd likely have to fix the antenna issues. If they did that, they'd then have two different hardware models on release cycles phase shifted by a few months from each other, and would have different hardware for different carriers--a sort of fragmentation that would massively complicate purchase of iPhones from Apple Stores. I just can't see Apple releasing a Verizon iPhone before June, or even releasing two separate pieces of hardware. It seems far more likely to me that they'd integrate CDMA and GSM into one phone, to avoid fragmentation and complication of the user experience.

32 points by roder 16y ago

The article doesn't say much as to the concessions on either side to push this deal though... I wonder if Verizon will have more control of the handset than AT&T did and be able to pre-load it with all of their 'V' branded software.

illumin8 16y ago
I doubt it - Steve never budged on this with AT&T and he's spent 3 years not budging on it with Verizon. My guess is that Verizon saw the $$ AT&T has been making hand over fist and decided they couldn't miss out on the market.
- misterbwong 16y ago
  This. Though a Verizon Wireless logo on the back of the iphone isn't out of the realm of possibility. Verizon is probably seeing this as an opportunity to gain a whole slew of new customers AND as a way of siphoning users from AT&T, simultaneously hurting their rival and boosting their subscriber count. The cost to the user (in terms of hassle, $$, etc) of changing carriers is high, but the iPhone's "halo" status and the horrible reputation of AT&T's network will cause a lot of people to follow it over. I know I probably will.
  - protomyth 16y ago
    "a Verizon Wireless logo on the back of the iphone isn't out of the realm of possibility" I get the feeling that a carrier can be displayed on the screen, but no way in heck do they get a sticker.

tolmasky 16y ago

Can someone explain what the international story would be like with a Verizon phone (and thus CDMA)? Would it work in Canada? Would I need a completely different phone if I traveled anywhere else?

noilly 16y ago
from Verizon (CDMA coverage) * Bermuda * Canada * Dominican Republic * Guam * Israel * Mexico * Northern Mariana Islands * South Korea http://support.vzw.com/faqs/International%20Services%20and%20Roaming/faq_international_cdma_roaming.html http://support.vzw.com/faqs/International%20Services%20and%2...
- barredo 16y ago
  Not sure if Verizon has any roaming plans with, but India, China & Japan also have mobile carriers using CDMA
guelo 16y ago
There's a chance that Apple will build the phone with both radios.
- stevederico 16y ago
  Most CDMA carriers offer "world" edition phones with a secondary gsm antenna and sim slot for use overseas. I believe the verizon iPhone will include these "world" attributes.
  - dkokelley 16y ago
    From the article: Unfortunately for globe trotters, the first version of the phone likely won't be built to work outside the U.S. -- it probably won't carry a special chip that can turn it into a "world phone." However, it may have some of the features on the iPad distributed in Verizon's stores, like live TV for customers of the FiOS cable service. This is what I've been hearing from the rumors anyways, so no big surprise. The interesting thing to watch for will be whether the next gen (iPhone 5th generation) for Verizon will use CDMA + GSM for international, or if Verizon will have a 4G network up in time to make it unnecessary.

paul9290 16y ago

This is the article you want to read http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/29/verizon_iphone_seidenberg/ http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/29/verizon_iphone_seiden...

joblessjunkie 16y ago

And this headline does not link to Fortune because...?

FluidDjango 16y ago
Because this one did: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846909 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1846909

ericb 16y ago

Is it true that CDMA can't do voice and data at the same time? If I switch, no more browsing while I'm on hold?

gamble 16y ago
Yes, just like the original EDGE iPhone.
bbatsell 16y ago
Yes; however, Verizon has been testing Voice over Revision A, which would route voice packets over the data channel and thus allow both voice and regular data packets to coexist. According to various articles from a few months ago, the roll-out will be in 1Q2011.

sosuke 16y ago

Does this mean I'm close to being able to buy one for Sprint? I get stuck with all the leftover phones. (^_^)

joshzayin 16y ago

This never made sense to me. These rumors claim that a Verizon iPhone will be released in early 2011. However, the iPhone's release cycle indicates that the next hardware update's due in June. New hardware would be necessary for a Verizon iPhone (so it could work with CDMA), but if they were releasing new hardware, they'd likely have to fix the antenna issues. If they did that, they'd then have two different hardware models on release cycles phase shifted by a few months from each other, and would have different hardware for different carriers--a sort of fragmentation that would massively complicate purchase of iPhones from Apple Stores. I just can't see Apple releasing a Verizon iPhone before June, or even releasing two separate pieces of hardware. It seems far more likely to me that they'd integrate CDMA and GSM into one phone, to avoid fragmentation and complication of the user experience.