Slashdot Mirror


Verizon Rejected iPhone Deal

SnowDog74 writes "According to an article in USA Today, Verizon Wireless rejected an Apple deal over the iPhone. The article says that Verizon wasn't happy with the strict terms Apple demanded — a Verizon Wireless VP is quoted saying that Apple wanted a cut of monthly revenues and control of the customer relationship. What's perhaps equally interesting, however, is the implication from sources that say Cingular's exclusive 5-year deal with Apple applies within the United States only. If this is true, it undermines some of the criticism Apple has been receiving for their business strategy surrounding the iPhone, given the size of the cell-phone market outside the US."

7 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. interesting? no. by grub · · Score: 5, Insightful


    What's perhaps equally interesting, however, is the implication from sources that say Cingular's exclusive 5-year deal with Apple applies within the United States only.

    duh... perhaps Cingular isn't used outside the US (or very much?) They aren't in .ca, for example.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:interesting? no. by Andy_R · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Exactly. Cingular have no visible presence at all here in Britain either, nobody expected that deal to apply here either.

      --
      A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  2. As a Verizon customer by twbecker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that has no intention of switching to Cingular, iPhone or no, I can believe this. Verizon gives me the best coverage and call quality (which believe it or not is what I value in a cell phone company ;), but they demand total control of their phones and what you put on them in return. Between neutered Bluetooth and very few ways to get anything onto the device short of VCAST, they make Cingular's openness seem pretty tempting. But I've heard too many complaints about Cingular's network to consider switching.

    --
    "The problem with internet quotations is that many are not genuine" -Abraham Lincoln
  3. Apple iPhone by softcoder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well there has already been an announcement from a Canadian cell phone company that they will also be carrying the iPhone. You will note too that Apple chose GSM, the European and worldwide standard, as opposed to CDMA, a primarily NA one, for the phone. Does that tell you anything?

  4. Whats the big deal? by schnoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People act like the iphone is THE gadget that will ruin all other service providers if they don't have it. Considering its hardly even a smartphone because you can't even add software to it, it seems to be very lacking. Its only major benefit over something like a treo is the size and style of the phone. People need to get a grip. Other cell providers will not be going out of business over this.

  5. Re:Five years? by Frogbert · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Americans need to get with the program. I don't know how your phone systems work there, but in the rest of the world all you need to do to change phones is to buy the phone and put your sim card in it. What is going on over there?

  6. Re:Cingular needs all the help it can get... by maxume · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm pretty sure the worst phone company is the one the person you are asking last moved away from, and the best one is whatever they have, unless they think that they all suck.

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.