Thoughts On Verizon & iPhone

[iPadPublisher]

A good friend of mine is a business reporter for a national publication. I don't want to get him in trouble, so he'll remain nameless... but... he had some interesting things to say about Apple and Verizon.

His most interesting point in a conversation last night was that while everyone seems to think the iPhone/Verizon relationship is eminent, sources inside Apple say "not necessarily so." The main reason, is that as Verizon spends more and more energy promoting Droid phones, the appeal for Apple fades. Basically people are beginning to question why Verizon would spend millions promoting Droid phones and then turn around and do the same with iPhones, as it would seem spending millions promoting iPhones is contradictory to the effort to build the Droid platform.

My reaction: who knows anymore!! Your thoughts?

 

[Wicked1]

I wish they would so more ppl leave AT&T and the network would get better also Verizon Fanboys can stop posting here

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Correct. Verizon does not want the iPhone under Apple's current terms. Verizon is quite happy w/ the Droid b/c they get an iPhone-like phone & can still dictate the features of the phones, which would not be possible w/ the iPhone.

So many people think it's Apple that is holding back. It's not. It's Verizon. Always has been.

 

[S1njin]

Correct. Verizon does not want the iPhone under Apple's current terms. Verizon is quite happy w/ the Droid b/c they get an iPhone-like phone & can still dictate the features of the phones, which would not be possible w/ the iPhone.

So many people think it's Apple that is holding back. It's not. It's Verizon. Always has been.

How does Verizon dictate the features of the Droid phones? They are open source - you can do pretty much whatever you want to them. I see them as having even LESS control w/ Droid phones than w/ Apple phones.

 

[S1njin]

Back to topic:

I hope somebody else gets the iPhone. I just signed up, so it'd be nice to lose some people so my service gets better by default.

 

[TruckdriverSean]

How does Verizon dictate the features of the Droid phones? They are open source - you can do pretty much whatever you want to them. I see them as having even LESS control w/ Droid phones than w/ Apple phones.

Verizon has a long history of influencing/dictating/crippling subsidized hardware to fit it's own sales needs. From the old days of disabling/disallowing Bluetooth/wifi/GPS in favor of it's own paid options (Vz navigator anyone?) to getting current handsets with a less-than current OS version, Verizon's history of control rivals that of hardware manufacturers like, oh I don't know, maybe... Well, you know who.

Some say Vz got better with Android. And yet if you listen to the boards, it sure seems like a lot of folks have to use work-arounds to get their OS updates, as Verizon may/may not ever get aroud to pushing it out. (not that Vz is alone here, AT&T's has crippled handsets too)

Remember, "open source" is almost always going to be quite a bit more "open" to the manufacturer and/or carrier partner than it will ever be to the end user. It just gets especially worse if the manufacturer lets the carrier have the dominant position.

(remember the rumor of how Apple went to Verizon first and got turned down? Me thinks the rumor is only half true. )

Sean

 

[raremage]

How does Verizon dictate the features of the Droid phones? They are open source - you can do pretty much whatever you want to them. I see them as having even LESS control w/ Droid phones than w/ Apple phones.

They may have less control over what people do with the phones after they are purchased, but they have complete control (or nearly so) over what they include / highlight / market.

Apple, on the other hand, would not allow such control.

 

[Wicked1]

I will stick with my Apple i4 on AT&T only because it is a great phone with a good network (works well for me anyway) and it is not loaded with that stupid Verizon splash screen and has more features for less.

I had a Verizon Storm and it had that stupid splash screen and some friends bought the Tour, oh wait yes, Verizon had WiFi disabled only to come out with the Bold 9650 and wait it is the Tour with WiFi, more memory and it still has that stupid splash screen on boot up and shutdown.

Verizon and AT&T are the same for reception and performance is better on AT&T's 3G for me, so I will stay where I am. The other think I hate with Verizon is you buy the latest and greatest, then in 3 months, the price drops, then 3 months later it is phased out, only to realize you still have another 14-16 months left on your subsidized contract before you can upgrade

I like the fact Apple only comes out with a phone once a year, makes the playing field a little more square and the OS updates are way better then that of RIM, however I do realize Android is moving along, I just do not think they will ever be in the same playing field as the "Whole Apple iPhone Experience" and I mean EVER

 

[Tara Luvs Apple]

I can agree with that becuase it does not make sense for Verizon to have two major phones. Besides the iPhone, there is nothing that comes close on AT&T.

However, I do wish that it would happen already, so people would drop it and stop posting threads about it (not you). It seems that everything little thing is an indication of a Verizon iPhone (i.e. facetime and working with carriers, no white iPhone available, and 64GB).

 

[rmwhite]

How does Verizon dictate the features of the Droid phones? They are open source - you can do pretty much whatever you want to them. I see them as having even LESS control w/ Droid phones than w/ Apple phones.

Take the EVO for example:

It's a beautiful device (save its first-gen issues) and it's not on VZW, but it makes a good comparison.

It comes with sprint nascar and tethering disabled, and won't get the latest version of android until both HTC and Sprint have had their fingers in it for hardware and software customization, respectively. The only way to fix many of these issues is to "root" the phone, at which point the android environment is on par with iOS in terms of openness (root = jailbreak).

I'm not sure

a) Verizon is willing to part with their VZW branded moneymakers and pick up a non-VZW branded phone which will essentially shoot their current marketing ploy in the face.

b) Apple is ready to allow branding on the phone (never, ever will they be ready) and dilute their iOS to satisfy the carrier. Similarly, creating a CDMA phone for that single dinosaur of a network only for the USA might not just make "cents."

People are willing to defect to pick up the iPhone, and it seems those who stick to VZW because they HATE AT&T are in the vocal minority. Many are stuck in their contracts, or don't care enough to research/pick/choose a phone.

Just my $.02.

 

[S1njin]

FWIW, I had a Moto Droid for a week - bought it as a iPhone wannabe only b/c of 'The Network'.

I sent it back a week later. Network or no, it was no iPhone.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

People are willing to defect to pick up the iPhone, and it seems those who stick to VZW because they HATE AT&T are in the vocal minority.

Please. How long has the iPhone platform been out? Plenty of time for contracts to have come and gone and be resigned or just left open ended month to month. I think you are underestimating the number of people that do not want to change carriers.

For a lot of people, AT&T would be unworkable. All carriers have holes in their coverage. The only way to cover everyone, is to sell your device on all carriers.

 

[Applejuiced]

Correct. Verizon does not want the iPhone under Apple's current terms. Verizon is quite happy w/ the Droid b/c they get an iPhone-like phone & can still dictate the features of the phones, which would not be possible w/ the iPhone.

So many people think it's Apple that is holding back. It's not. It's Verizon. Always has been.

Yeah right.
Verizon keeps saying they're open for talks with Apple.
Apple is just ignoring them.
Verizon is dieing to have the iphone on their network and they said many times that they would be able to handle the load.
Its the other way around.
Jobs is stubborn and wont give them the time or place.....

 

[iPadPublisher]

Back to topic:

I hope somebody else gets the iPhone. I just signed up, so it'd be nice to lose some people so my service gets better by default.

That's been my thought. Let a few hundred thousand people flock to somewhere else and relieve some network stress at AT&T.