Rumors are still flying back and forth; nobody knows what is going to happen. Apple has been in continued talks with Verizon Wireless about potentially bringing the carrier onboard to the iPhone platform. If this were to happen, it would break the exclusivity between Apple and AT&T, offering iPhone users the ability to choose their wireless carrier. There are so many reasons why a partnership between Apple and Verizon would be both, a good and bad idea for the two companies. This has left many analysts scratching their heads until Apple's next press release on January 27th of 2010.
To start, both companies would stand to gain more customers. When you interview current Verizon customers, many of them will tell you that they would gladly switch to the iPhone if they could still use Verizon's network. On the other hand, when you ask iPhone customers if they would switch from AT&T to Verizon while keeping their iPhone, they would embrace the possibility with open arms. It appears as though two great products and services could be brought together with the marriage of Apple and Verizon, offering one of the best smartphone and mobile carrier combinations the world has known.
But there are still plenty of kinks to work out. One of them is the conflict of interest between Apple's App Store and Verizon's VCast App Store. If Verizon's service were to become available on the iPhone, the company would most assuredly want to offer their own VCast App Store to customers instead of sending more business Apple's way. Such a deal would be great for Apple, but it would make Verizon lose out on one of its revenue streams. In many ways, Apple and Verizon are similar companies; both are vying for the same market share. They may work harmoniously in some respects, but they often find themselves competing for customers in others.
Another stumbling block to a summer partnership is the fact that Verizon will be unable to support a fully functional 4G network until about one or two years from now. AT&T, on the other hand, already has plans underway to support the new iPhone 4G. This doesn't bar Apple and Verizon from working out some kind of deal and slowly integrating Verizon into the iPhone framework beginning this summer, but it does make negotiations much less sweet.
To top this all, there are rumors that Apple has already purchased the components for mass production of a UMTS/CMDA hybrid iPhone from a Taiwanese handset supply chain. If this is true, then some kind of partnership between Apple and Verizon most definitely seems likely as the iPhone shifts from being a one carrier device to handling multiple carriers. The exclusivity contract between AT&T and Apple is set to expire this summer. The order for these parts couldn't be at a more opportune time. The new multiple carrier compatible iPhone will help Apple to gain even more dominance over the smartphone market.
Many people believe a partnership between Apple and Verizon is only a matter time. In that case, the real question is whether that partnership will take place this summer or some other time. Apple is still negotiating prices with the Verizon, so the answer to that question is very much up in the air. We can only wait in anticipation before Apple's next press event when the company is expected to reveal their new tablet machine and hopefully a few extra juicy details about the iPhone 4G. We are looking forward to what's in store for us and to what new heights Apple is planning to take the iPhone to.
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