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Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

Summary: Reports that the iPhone will come to Verizon in January answers the question that's been looming for years - but now that Bloomberg has answered that question, five new (and probably more) questions have surfaced.

Sam Diaz

By Sam Diaz for Between the Lines |

For years, it's been one of the biggest questions in consumer tech: When will Verizon get the iPhone? And now that Bloomberg has answered that question - and we await confirmation from Apple and Verizon - consider the new questions to ponder on the heels of this latest according-to-sources report.

What might happen to AT&T's sales and subscriber numbers? Clearly, there have been people who weren't willing to switch to AT&T, so those are customers that AT&T wasn't going to get anyway. But there were also a fair amount of customers who switched solely to get their hands on an iPhone. Will AT&T suffer from a mass exodus of unhappy customers?

What would this do to AT&T's network quality? The worst thing that could happen to AT&T's network has already happened. Apple sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 devices in its first few days on the market, creating yet more strain on the network. If all iPhone sales stopped today and users even started to defect, one might think that the AT&T service would get better. Maybe?

What would this do to Apple's sales of the iPhone? A few months ago, Larry Dignan wrote that news of a Verizon iPhone would freeze all smartphone upgrades. If that's true, I suspect that would include iPhone upgrades, as well. So, maybe it's a good thing Apple beefed up sales of the iPhone 4 before news of a Verizon deal got out. AT&T will surely continue to sell iPhones between now and January, but they're also sure to lose sales as some potential customers hunker down and wait to get the phone they want on a better network.

What could this mean for Android adoption? That's a bit of a wild card now because Google has had some time to really make Android sparkle, while HTC and Motorola have pulled off some amazing designs for phones running Android. Consumers - myself included - have become fans of Android. But is Android strong enough to stay competitive on a Verizon store shelf next to the iPhone?

Can Verizon's phone really manage the demands of iPhone users or will it buckle the way that AT&T's did? If Bloomberg is right with its story, we'll know the answer to that question this time next year.

Topics: CXO, Hardware, Mobility, Smartphones, Verizon

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  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    If it still requires you to be tied down to a desktop with iTunes installed (which I've never had), it won't be a huge deal. By January, Android will have 5-10 even better phones out.

    iTunes is really the biggest thing holding iPhone back in my opinion. iTunes/Quicktime install is malware. Just google "bonjour service problem" and see how many issues it causes on PC's.
    Droid101
    Reply Vote

    • Um yeah I agree with the possible exception of well

      @Droid101
      EVERYTHING you said:P First point iPhone as a product is doing amazingly well with but one provider AT&T. Logically adding another will only increase sales. Does not AT&T sell Android phones? Still sales went through the roof for the iPhone 4 see the correlation to selling on Verizon as well?

      Second I'm glad there is Android for competition only serves to make iPhone better.

      Lastly I would say don't know of your issues with iTunes from what you've stated you've not actually used it. I find iTunes a GREAT product it made the iPod and it does just as well for the iPhone and iPad. As for Quicktime I get a lot of use out of it..... Not as impressed with it as I am with iTunes but still it's good. Yeah if I search the web I can bring up any number of articles about any software/OS/Product you care to name that spins said product negatively and I can find articles about the same product that spin it positively... Your point?

      Pagan jim
      James Quinn
      Reply Vote

    • itunes meme

      @Droid101
      please stop the bs about itunes. it works great for organising, acquiring and synchronising your media and data from a computer. something android can't do. but how could you know when - as you said - you never used itunes? only fud by an apple hater?
      banned from zdnet
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

      This is actually in reply to the people who previously replied.

      AT&T does sell one Android phone, but it's functionality is crippled compared to other Android devices on other networks.

      iTunes is great if you don't already have your music stored in any way and want to use it to organize it. If you've already set up media storage, iTunes still wants to make you do everything its way. Also, iTunes doesn't recognize FLAC file formats, which are becoming more and more common.

      As for the Windows services iTunes and QuickTime install, they are, for the most part, loaded unnecessarily. If they are required for operation of the program, they load at the time the software is launched. Instead, Apple has them load when the computer is started, which wastes resources. And yes, some people have had issues with them over the course of iTunes' and QuickTime's history. I know that the Mac implementations of these products is quite good, but the Windows counterparts aren't coded quite as well.
      dragontiger
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

      @Droid101 "iTunes/Quicktime install is malware"
      You think this is malware! Everything from Google is truly malware. It is Google who records everything you do on their services, filters your gmails, builds a profile on you for their commercial use . . . until they get hacked.

      When I think of malware, I cannot imagine anything worse.
      jorjitop
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    Used to want an iPhone badly....now I have a Droid Incredible and I love it. Not worth going to iPhone now with all the problems allowing apps in the store and the other bugs and flaws it has. Apple waited to long and now Anrroid is firmly entrenched.
    terryzx
    Reply Vote

    • Well for you maybe.....

      @terryzx
      Also yes Android exists and is selling but "entrenched"? What does that mean to you? Did you and others fear that iPhone and or Apple was going to un-trench Android? I don't think that is what Apple planned. Apple would not cry any if Android died I'll grant you but I don't think Apple nor (speaking for myself) I was planning or counting on that. Interesting...

      Pagan jim
      James Quinn
      Reply Vote

    • drivel

      @terryzx
      just repeating the mindless, fact less drivel of the apple haters? "problems allowing apps"? you gotta be kidding. more than 250.000 are available. what are you missing in the app store? problems and flaws? what exactly? not having a desktop synchronisation tool, being forced to use google services, horrible battery life, fragmentation, bad quality of apps in the market? these flaws? oh wait, that was android.
      banned from zdnet
      Reply Vote

    • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

      @terryzx
      Haaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Woo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Haaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Woo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Haaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Woo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

      Better now.
      Stinkfoot
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

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  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    I think iPhone on Verizon would have a larger impact then people *here* think it would. Regardless of how you want to look at it, Android targets 2 major types of consumers; "Geeks" and those who want an iPhone but don't want to switch to AT&T. I know of at least 3 people that got Android phones simply because they were "close enough" to an iPhone while staying on Verizon. I also know about 4 other people whose contracts are up with Verizon at the moment and ask me daily when the iPhone is coming to Verizon.<br><br>There may be a few people here who say that iPhone wouldn't do well because of its "walled garden" and its strange app store policies. The fact is, no normal users cares. As long as the phone has the apps they want they will buy it. There are 1.7 million and counting reasons that prove this fact.<br><br>I'm not going to go right out and say that Android is doomed, but I sense the market share might shift away as peoples contracts come due on Verizon and are able to upgrade their phones. Assuming the iPhone really does land in Verizon's network.
    tk_77
    Reply Vote

    • This is the obvious fact that Android users (geek type) overlook.

      @tk_77

      The anticipation for iPhone on Verizon is palatable. I know dozens of people who would buy iPhone on Verizon (current iPhone users switching from AT&T and Verizon customers switching to iPhone). At least a half dozen friends I know bought Android because it's on Verizon and is "close enough" to iPhone. Only one bought Android because he's a big Linux nerd and really likes his Droid in and of itself. The disparity of preference is obvious (but I suppose you need friends to know what your friends think).
      RationalGuy
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    Read a staggering statistic the other day : 53% of VZW subscribers are interested in purchasing an iPhone option on the carrier. Last I knew, they had roughly 50 million subscribers. That's a LOT of iPhones.
    stevek79
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    There are 87 million subscribers on the AT&T network and only about 6 million of them are iPhone users, the loss of some or all of them would hardly be 'devastating' and frankly the network would probably be better off without them.

    For all the talk about how the iPhone supposedly 'made AT&T successful' remember that AT&T became the largest carrier in the United States in 3rd quarter 2003, 4 years BEFORE the iPhone...a mark Verizon did not beat until after it bought Alltel

    I was an AT&T customer for years before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye, and all I can say is if iPhone users want to leave good riddance....Verizon deserves nothing better.

    I want the iPhone to be on Verizon because what does misery love? Company!

    Let's spread the iPhone misery far and wide!
    Doctor Demento
    Reply Vote

    • I was an AT&T customer before I bought an iPhone

      @Doctor Demento

      The service sucked then (I was using voice only, no data plan), and it still sucks now.

      You can't discount AT&T's success with the iPhone since its has moved the market itself so much. You have no idea what would have happened if iPhone debuted on Verizon instead of AT&T, so it's ridiculous to try to divorce the two.

      Similarly, to AT&T's credit, they gave Apple (pretty much) carte blanche when it came to applications and data services, and just let Apple make a great iPhone experience. AT&T gave Apple the space to create iPhone's success in, so it is a two-way street.

      The thing with Verizon now, is that they built their own Android sub-brand (Droid) which leverages multiple handset makers and takes the lions share of the Android market. It's brilliant marketing and will put Verizon in a better bargaining position when the inevitable iPhone deal really happens.
      RationalGuy
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

    Will Verizon accept second hand product? IPhone4 will be six months old before it launches on Verizon. Will Apple make something big like this without something really new, like IPhone 4G? And who the hell are Verizon and AT&T. I live i Europe and I can't see them :D
    s.freeman
    Reply Vote

    • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

      No the iPhone which runs on the 4G LTE network will be a new device so it wont be second hand.

      I think Apple is using the iPhone 4 as a stepping stone to the true 4G device.

      PS: Verizon is partly owned by Vodafone so you can somewhat see them in Europe!
      otaddy
      Reply Vote

      • RE: Five new questions that stem from Bloomberg's Verizon-iPhone report

        @otaddy
        It's still way too early for a 4G iPhone. You can expect that in 2012 or 2013, when coverage is at least reasonable.
        abugida
        Reply Vote

  • You missed a question

    Will Verizon customers blame Verizon or Apple when their phone can't take a call if they're checking email.
    frgough
    Reply Vote

    • not the big deal apple made it out to be

      Funny how this only became an issue after Apple brought it up. But for most people it is only a minor problem.

      If it were the big deal apple makes it out to be, Verizon and Sprint would have issues selling Android phones and last I checked those are selling fine.

      I wonder if Apple would have mentioned this if Verizon was the exclusive provider of iPhones?
      otaddy
      Reply Vote
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