Verizon is pretty clever. They'll probably just create an iPhone Plan that is 50 cents more a month and over 2 years you've paid for the privilege of not having

Verizon is pretty clever. They'll probably just create an iPhone Plan that is 50 cents more a month and over 2 years you've paid for the privilege of not having bloatware forced on you. I don't think they would dare charge more than AT&T for the hardware itself since consumers are so fixated on the sticker price and easily misled on the longer term costs of the contract they're signing. I always figured the incredibly pricey cases & accessories are a big factor here too. If you show up, buy an iPhone, and walk out with a $30-$40 case they've probably made more money off you than VZW bloat would have.