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Verizon iPhone Rumored For Early Next Year

Posted by kdawson on from the this-time-fer-sure dept.

Many readers are submitting coverage from around the Net, all based on a Bloomberg piece quoting two anonymous sources who insist that Verizon Wireless will offer a CDMA iPhone in January 2011. No one at Verizon or Apple would confirm, of course, and no one at AT&T would comment. "The iPhone, which has been the sole domain of rival AT&T in the US since June 2007, will give Verizon a boost in its competition for smartphone customers, UBS AG analyst John Hodulik said in an interview. Verizon customers, who numbered 92.8 million at the end of the first quarter, may buy 3 million iPhones a quarter, he estimates. ... 'Apple is going to dramatically increase the number of devices it sells in the US when exclusivity at AT&T ends,' said Hodulik. ... 'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.'"

15 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. As Annie once said... by assemblerex · · Score: 5, Funny

    Tomorrow! Tomorrow!You're always a day away!

  2. Can we shut up about this? by nine-times · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suppose I am an Apple "fanboy" and I like hearing interesting Apple news as much as the next guy, but there is no news here.

    1. Re:Can we shut up about this? by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's news when it happens - or when it's imminent.

      "Next year" is forever in mobile phone world. People change phones every 2 years - next year is "half a generation away".

      'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.'

      'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that the new iPhone has faced.'

    2. Re:Can we shut up about this? by Bobfrankly1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.'

      'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that the new iPhone has faced.'

      The quality issues aren't with the iPhone, they are with the iPhone customers. They're holding the phone wrong, remember?

    3. Re:Can we shut up about this? by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Funny

      I am certainly NOT an Apple fanboy, but it's silly to claim that this isn't news, *assuming* it turns out to be true.

      If a Verizon iPhone actually occurs, or is announced, that will be news.

      That there are reports from anonymous sources that a Verizon iPhone will happen in the near future is not news, its s pretty regular occurrence.

      As an analogy:

      While it would be significant news if Judgement Day occurred, it would not be significant news that there was a man with a hand-lettered sign on a sidewalk in a major city announcing that Judgement Day was imminent.

  3. Steve would never do this... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But it would be unbelievably hilarious to imagine what would happen if Verizon announced that they would be carrying the iPhone and, once all the eager little pre-orderers had plunked down their US Treasury gift cards, revealed the horrible truth: that the ViPhone had had the same ghastly Verizon software makeover as most of the other phones Verizon sells, unbelievably unintuitive red interface, V-Cast music store, and all.

    It would certainly calm fears at AT&T about subscriber loss...

    1. Re:Steve would never do this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Verizon's not doing this to their Android phones, so I see no reason why they'd do it to their iPhone (not that Apple would ever allow that to happen).

  4. Blame Verizon by gig · · Score: 4, Insightful

    > 'It's hard to ignore the quality issues that AT&T has faced.'"

    Even harder to ignore that Verizon's closed network only runs Verizon phones.

    If Verizon is building LTE then that can run iPhone 4G. Can't see a CDMA iPhone at this late stage. It's been end-of-lifed for quite some time. An iPhone 4G launch on Verizon is an event. Verizon and AT&T competing for iPhone users with the same handsets is an event.

  5. different systems by swschrad · · Score: 5, Insightful

    nothing that will work on the ATT network will work on Verizon. different chipsets, different modulation, different cell-skip algorithms.

    so Apple would have to whip up two different phones altogether. they could keep the screen and maybe some of the case parts, but nothing else. they don't do that.

    we are entering a new era, in which the 4G systems are going to be more similar than different. now, it makes sense for Apple to span multiple 4G systems, as you just fork the software left or right at boot, and twiddle some tables. note the rumored verIphone will only work in the 4G realm, which will be 1/5 of the network or so in January, but the whole thing by the 2012/2013 boundary.

    --
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    1. Re:different systems by Lars+T. · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, but its Apple, look at Motorola which pretty much shipped 4 versions of the Razor phone for each of the major carriers, just add some drivers to iOS and divide manufacturing between CDMA and GSM iPhones, for a company as large as Apple, its not too huge of a feat. For a tiny community driven company, yes, for a major hardware vendor like Apple? Its easy.

      Why do something as easy as ship 4 different phones for the 4 major US carriers, when they can do something as complicated as ship one phone that works with at least one provider in just about every place on earth.

      --

      Lars T.

      To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

    2. Re:different systems by dafing · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Ah, but see, what SHOULD have happened is that US carriers should have STUCK with GSM...

      Up until now, all iPhone complaints seemed to be "ITS ONLY ON AT&T!!!!111!!!!!", including reviews for international readers. Here in New Zealand, I can easily use our iPhones, sold unlocked by Vodafone, on THREE carriers. Overseas, the iPhone is sold EXPLICITLY to be used on any network you choose,

      "Buy your iPhone from Apple SIM-free."

      "It works with the carrier of your choice.

      Buy your iPhone from the Apple Online Store and choose your own GSM carrier. You can change carriers at any time."

      "It works internationally.

      Because this iPhone is SIM-free, you can purchase a micro-SIM or SIM card and service from a local carrier at your destination. Or check with your home carrier regarding international roaming charges."

      From the UK iPhone page http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_iphone/family/iphone

      Its practically ORDERING me to beg my UK friends to send me an iPhone 4...

      Yes, the entire world knows the tragedy of the AT&T network, and it seems OBVIOUS that the iPhone deserves to be sold on more than one carrier in the USA, just like pretty much every other country in the world.

      But please, can we actually WAIT until this happens, instead of whispering overheard rumours?

      --
      --- ...or a new slashdot signature. Dear aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all
  6. Re:Verizon FUD? by EkriirkE · · Score: 4, Informative
    Perhaps they are implementing this? http://www.cdg.org/news/press/2009/Aug17_09.asp

    A complementary device enhancement known as simultaneous 1X Voice and EV-DO Data (SVDO) will also become available during the same timeframe and will enable CDMA2000 devices to access EV-DO packet data services while in an active 1X circuit-switch voice call.

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  7. Uh huh. by Snap+E+Tom · · Score: 5, Funny

    And 2011 will finally be the year of Linux on the desktop.

  8. Re:small impact, android will trump by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And for those of us not attempting to take professional photography with our cell phones, and those who don't feel the "magic" of pixel density, and those who want to make video calls while not connected to Wifi, and those who don't have vegetarian-starved thin fingers with which to manipulate a tiny (but immaculately crisp, no doubt) onscreen keyboard, and those who want to use, and wirelessly share, a 7-10 Mbps data connection, all while paying less per month - there's the EVO 4G.

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    Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
  9. Re:Uh, Exclusive Deal (And GSM)? by aristotle-dude · · Score: 4, Informative

    In Japan, NTT Docomo sell iPhone and has been for a while. NTT Docomo uses Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), so there's already CDMA version of the iPhone. Anyone that knows the cell phone industry knows supporting GSM/TDMA and CDMA/WCDMA is required for global rollout. Europe is still dominated by GSM/TDMA, while much of asia uses WCDMA/CDMA for the extra capacity and bandwidth. Don't take my word for it, just ask wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTT_DoCoMo)

    Oh, my goodness. WCDMA is the air interface for HSPA which AT&T calls 3G. WCDMA has nothing to do with the CDMA which Verizon and Sprint use which is called CDMA2000. Other names for 3G are HSPA, UMTS and FOMA. NTT DoCoMo is "NOT" the official iPhone carrier, Softbank is the official iPhone carrier. I roamed on NTT DocCoMo when I was in Tokyo with my iPhone 3GS.

    There is only one type of iPhone which is a GSM (Edge) and HSPA (UMTS) device. CDMA != WCDMA. Do you understand?

    Go look on Wikipedia. WCDMA is linked with HSPA/UMTS/FOMA "NOT" CDMA aka CDMA2000.

    --
    Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.