Report: Verizon iPhone deal may shut out T-Mobile, Sprint
An analyst says Apple is getting what it wants in a deal to put iPhone onto Verizon's network. But here's one thing Verizon may get in return: A promise to keep iPhone away from T-Mobile or Sprint.
Report: Verizon iPhone deal may shut out T-Mobile, Sprint
Jeff Gelles, Inquirer Business Columnist
A report from Kaufman Bros.' analyst Shaw Wu says Apple "got the terms it wanted from Verizon" in negotiations to introduce a Verizon version of the iPhone, widely expected early next year.
That's according to a report on Fortune magazine's website, which says that even Wu was expecting worse for Apple, "given the strength of Android and higher cost of [Verizon iPhone] components, particularly those associated with CDMA," the cellular technology used by Verizon.
Fortune says "Apple's hand was strengthened by the 14.1 million iPhones sold last quarter," the competitive gains of AT&T as iPhone's exclusive platform, and the trajectory of Google's Android smartphone, which Wu says has started "to lose some of its luster" for Verizon.
But the key to the deal may be that Verizon could get a promise of shared exclusivity for the iPhone rather than having to watch it become more of a commodity.
Fortune says that Wu concludes, "... we are hearing that VZ does not want iPhone, the hottest selling smart phone, available on T-Mobile USA and/or Sprint and may be willing to pay for exclusivity to itself and AT&T."
I'll keep my BlackBerry.— retroguy419- Is it just me or does this story make no sense at all. Are they getting it or not?— rs1982
- They're getting it. I was in a Verizon store this weekend and someone asked one of the techs. He said some kind of Apple phone is coming.— john titor
- The iPhone jumped the shark earlier this year. While it will still sell for a few more years, competition has caught up and passed the iPhone. Additionally it is a kids phone, not one professionals should be bringing to the office. Adults with iPhones demostrat that they also are Facebook, social network loving dolts who have lost their mother-loving rudder.— LGbalsac
Reach Jeff at jgelles@phillynews.com.
