Verizon iPhone in January, claims Bloomberg
By Nilay Patel 
posted June 29th 2010 3:30PM
posted June 29th 2010 3:30PM
Of course, we have to wonder if it's the smartest move to announce the hotly-anticipated Verizon iPhone right after the holiday buying season, and we can't imagine all those iPhone 4 buyers who were just enticed into signing new two-year AT&T contracts are going to be happy to discover they could have waited and escaped the Blue, but we'll have to wait and see -- Apple just told us that they "don't comment on rumors and speculation" when we pinged them and asked for comment. Fingers crossed, we suppose.
I hope so, but somehow I doubt it.
Apple likes to stick with those that stuck with them from the beginning.
I hope im wrong, but we all have heard rumors like these before and still nothing...
@cornelp The question is, would they still support at&t? Cause AT&T has it's advantages (talk and web, gsm) don't care about having their branding all over the phone), but I would buy it up immediately and ask my parents to pay for data :) which they wouldn't so I won't get it
@cornelp
This would be great news if true...
Well, I guess I better start my training on how to "Properly Hold it"
@That guy 2
Thats the one thing I like about AT&T. You can talk and surf at the same time GSM.
My GF Sprint, she cant do that. She has to get off the phone to surf or do anything else.
@cornelp Frankly, I think Apple is dying to get another carrier on board. Whether this January iPhone thing is true, is questionable, but it will happen eventually for sure.
@cornelp With 4G, you can talk and web at the same time.
Who thinks this thread break 300 comments?
@cornelp
Apple has a CONTRACT with AT&T. It has nothing to do with "liking" them. Why would Apple want to limit themselves to one carrier? How does that serve Apple's needs? The iPhone is available on multiple carriers in every country except the US. It's painfully obvious that being limited to AT&T is not by Apple's choice.
@cornelp
Sounds not like Apple to introduce one of their biggest sellers AFTER christmas. That's just bad marketing. I don't believe it.
@bob1000
I hope you are correct sir, and im wrong, believe me.
But Apple wont let it go that easily. Apple is not dying to go to another carrier.
Reason: Apple likes to keep their devices scares (spelling). If EVERY carrier had it and every user had/has it, then it will no longer be a "SPECIAL" phone as they put it.
Just my 2 cents...
@cornelp
people have been claiming this
im starting to think if this is becoming a baby unicorn
@Jack
Really, Apple was FORCED into the deal? It's IS Apple's choice. Had they wanted to, they could have only done a 2,3,4 year exclusivity deal, but they did 5 years as reported on this very site and as verified by the court documents ALSO reported on this very site. Why does Engadget NEVER mention of refer to these past stories when creating yet another iphone to verizon article.
@cornelp honestly.... i can count on one finger (notice i didnt say hand) if that, the ammount of times I ever talked on the phone while on the web, it's pretty rude and I always get the "why the fuck am I on speaker, take me off I can hear myself talk" response the minute I put someone on speaker.
@cornelp you can talk & surf the web on Verizons network too its nothing new I barley ever do it so idk why its such a big deal but whatever.
@Jack
I agree with you in some way, but remember, Apple is very Loyal to their (cant remember the exact wording here).
Apple approached Verizon at first, and they laughed in Apple's face when they first saw the iPhone.
Now, why would Apple want to go with someone that laughed in their face at first?
Apple is VERY back-stabbing (maybe wrong word here) type company. If you did something wrong to them, they love to just laugh at you later when they do become HUGE, and Apple is BIG now...
@Christianojedavzw
I didn't know Bloomberg trolled Engadget. :P
@Christianojedavzw
Hmmm, I didnt know that. I always thought that you could not do that due to their networks not being GSM.
My mistake there. Never mind that feature then lol...
@cornelp IPhone being special?? Haha I don't think so. You could say that about macs, maybe even iPads, but iPhones and iPod/touch are just too common now a days.
Just my 2 cents...
"we can't imagine all those iPhone 4 buyers who were just enticed into signing new two-year AT&T contracts are going to be happy to discover they could have waited and escaped the Blue"
Thank you, Captain Obvious...but if those out there who are REALLY desperate to drop AT&T weren't savvy enough to see through the 'generous' offer AT&T made for everyone to upgrade early and recognize it as a ploy to keep people from jumping to Verizon as soon as the iPhone turned red, I think they deserve to be stuck in dropped-call purgatory a few more months...
@cornelp
I hope NOT. I'm enjoying my droid incredible on a network that isn't clogged yet. Stay on the blue team and leave us red guys out of it.
@Jack where do you think the contract came from? how is it not apple's choice to have a contract with at&t?
@R2D2 I never knew you where so merciless, droid. I like it. I hereby welcome you to the Darkside.
@cornelp
why would anyone want the iphone 4 on verizon when a new one will come out 5 months after the iphone 4 gets relaunched?
no thank you.
@Jack
The iPhone is on Multiple GSM carriers worldwide. So if anyone is to get the iPhone other then AT&T, its going to be T-Mobile, Not Verizon.
@okok only Apple Fanboys bought i
There's been rumors since the first iPhone to answer your rhetorical question :)
@Lord Vader
Don't forget, I was bailing your butt out while you were still only a 4 foot tall cliche'.
Now, if only I remembered where I put those sweet leg rockets I used to have...
@cornelp I do agree with you. I also see some other roadblocks.
I just don't see Apple doing a CDMA phone. You can not use them overseas unless you make them a "world" phone with both CDMA and GSM. I have to question if Apple would every do that since it is so un apple like to have two different radios in one phone.
Second AT&T has made it very clear that the iPhone is their star phone. Verizon has spent a lot of money pushing Droid and Droid does.
I do not think Verizon will drop Droid for the iPhone after spending all that time and money building the Droid brand name.
@cornelp
I doubt the truth on this one. Remember the iPad? It was nearly a Verizon gadget and AT&T's name never surfaced. Well, guess what, its AT&T after all.
Why would Verizon carry the iPhone 4 in January when the phone is already more than half its product life by then (hello iPhone 5 or 4G in June). If this is a new phone, it breaks its own life cycle to the detriment of the millions of existing iPhone 4 owners. Apple's not going to do that. Remember when Apple was forced to refund money in 2007 when it reduced the price of iPhone 2G a few months later. It's not going to repeat that costly mistake.
Another thing, the phone is exclusive to AT&T for another 2 years or so (5-year exclusivity).
I am going to bet this is one of those stories again just to psychologically prevent people from buying the iPhone and therefore signed on to AT&T for another 2 years knowing that there is hope for an iPhone with a different carrier.
Droid people should be suing Verizon and Motorola now or ask for refund knowing that their phone is now obsolete in context with the Droid X/2. I think Verizon and Motorola purposely introduced that phone very abruptly even though the Droid has not even been on the market that long just to prevent people from caving in to their iPhone lust.
What if the contract was simply revised so that At&t only got a (large) exclusivity period for each launch?
@cornelp Haha they changed the picture, but anyways I didn't know other phones had the ability to use other parts of the phone while on a call? But if exclusivity ends 2012 and vzw lte lauches 2012 then it adds up, but also verizon mobile remote is coming soon to iPhone so it could launch with vzw iPhone? (no) but why would they launch in january? Screws up there yearly launch schedule, iPhones and iPod touches are generally a year apart, so idiots expecting a new iPad this year are stupid, enadget included, anyways, verizon wants the iPhone, as they said, but also strongly support android and advertised against the iPhone, and it seems like the advertise every phone like it's just a normal phone instead of having it seem like an amazing smartphone, instead of saying DUDE IT'S YHE IPHONE WE GOT IT FINALLY! they'd say now you can buy 1 iPhone and get another free, it has cool features like FaceTime and an iPod built in, bye
@cornelp I see the ads for the talk and surf at the same time...but I have never had even the urge to do that. I don't understand the importance of it.
@ Mr. Patel
I personally know a high Apple exec. who is traveling to China in the 2nd week of July to help finalize CDMA chip production designs for a new V-phone (per my source). I can't say 'January' is incorrect, but my source says a launch of a V-phone will likely be in the fall-Q4 sometime.
PS. When does apply usually announce new iTouch updates? (Sep)
PSS. Shy would apple launch a new phone after the holidays anyway? That doesn't make sense.
PSS. Don't shoot the messenger, just passing along info directly from the horses mouth.
@Lord Vader *were* so merciless my lord.
@cornelp
There is a good chance it will come out. Hopefully Verizon has implemented some good LTE neworks (with backward compatibilities) in order the iphone 4 to work. Could very well be a GSM/CDMA hybrid phone.
@Kanga
We're on the Green team BTW.
@ViperVin with UMTS 3G you can already do that!
@cornelp :
The iPhone already isn't special nor scarce (nor would they WANT it to be scarce, as more users means more App sales, duh). Already, "everyone" seems to have one. It's not special, never was.
@cornelp
You can on 4G (where available), bud. :)
@cornelp
That's not backstabbing. Definitely the wrong word for that :P
This is HIGHLY unlikely apples contract with att isn"t up until sometime in 2012... maybe even later than that. GOOGLE it!
@SeeKo Apple can release stuff anytime they want and the Shapple in the Press will hype it to hell and the sheeple will follow...
@cornelp I think the chances are that because Apple is now the big gorilla in the room that they will start spreading their phone around. They are an goods producer. They need to spread their goods around to as many markets as they can.
One reason I've not gotten one is because it's on AT&T and they know that many feel that way.
@TWiz
How was it Apple's choice? The other carriers turned them down, AT&T was the only place left they could do it at all. AT&T demanded a 5 year contract, that wasn't Apple's idea. So unless your idea of "choice" is "release it on AT&T or don't release it at all", you're wrong.
@ViperVin But who really thinks it will be for Verizon's LTE service, if that system hasn't finished being built?
@cornelp
bullshit. steve jobs is gonna talk about how he single-handedly miraculously boosted cell tower reception and data speeds overnight.
@ViperVin *Available in very limited areas. Check your Sprint store for more details. Void where prohibited*
@cornelp
No. It is not in Apple's BEST INTEREST to stay on one carrier, and it never was. Apple can make a lot more money if the iPhone is on multiple carriers. Suggesting that Apple actually WANTS to be on only one carrier is completely ridiculous.
@cornelp
In all your years of owning a cell phone, how many times did you talk and surf the web at the same time?
@SeeKo
I'm sure it's more for contractual reasons as opposed to marketing reasons. I'm sure Apple would want to sell it as soon as possible.
@cornelp
This is the only time that a Verizon iPhone is possible because by the end of 2010, Verizon will have their LTE network up and going so I can definitely see Apple making an announcement. If Verizon doesn't getting after getting their LTE network up.... then damn. The US is screwed.