Verizon To Start Selling iPhone Next Month
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) -- Verizon Wireless made the long-awaited announcement Tuesday that it will start selling a version of the iPhone 4 on Feb. 10, giving U.S. iPhone buyers a choice of carriers for the first time.
Since its 2007 debut, Apple Inc.'s phone has been sold exclusively for AT&T's network in the U.S.
Verizon Communications Inc.'s chief operating officer, Lowell McAdam, made the announcement in New York, joined by Apple COO Tim Cook, who called it "the beginning of a great relationship between Verizon and Apple."
Pre-orders will start Feb. 3.
The price will be $200 or $300 with a two-year contract, depending on the model, about the same as the iPhone through AT&T.
It will be sold through Verizon, Apple and other stores nationwide, as well as over the Internet.
Apple issued its press release at 11:11 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2011, or 1/11/11.
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson reports.
Carl Howe of the Yankee Group says AT&T and Verizon phones will start with the same 3G network, but there will be some clear differences. Howe says AT&T will have some advantages.
"One thing you can't do on Verizon's network is use your phone use the data part of your phone, browse the web, as the same time you make a phone call. You can do that on AT&T network. That's a big difference between the two carriers."
Another big difference is if you travel overseas. Howe says, "If I go to Europe and bring my Verizon iPhone, it's not going to work. I need a different phone in Europe. AT&T's iPhone works fine in Europe. If you travel a lot you may want to think about using AT&T."
One of the big complaints with AT&T has been the data was overloading the network and causing phone problems in cities like San Francisco and New York. Howe says Verizon has assured everyone its service will be great for making phone calls, but he believes too early to say for sure.
"We're predicting 16.5 million iPhones will be sold on Verizon this year. Just because it works for the next few months, doesn't mean it will be great in December."
Verizon's iPhone version will work only on the carrier's current "3G" network even though the carrier has fired up a faster "4G" network in many cities.
That super-fast wireless data network is available only to plug-in laptop modems for now, but Verizon will have smart phones for it this summer.
Verizon did not reveal its service pricing plans on Tuesday. Howe says, "We found out the iPhone is going to cost the same on Verizon as it does AT&T, but we dint' know the service details are. So we don't know exactly how much you'll pay each month for the Verizon iPhone."
Howe says Verizon has already slipped in a free perk with Verizon you will be able to use your iPhone as a WiFi hot spot for your lap top at no extra charge.
Is AT&T in trouble? No way says Howe. "I think this just makes the pie bigger. Our estimates are AT&T might lose 2-million subscribers in 2011. They already have 20-million iPhone subscribers. It's 10 percent. It won't be a big hit on AT&T."
AT&T activated 11.1 million iPhones in the first nine months of 2010. Analysts now expect Verizon to snag some users from AT&T, but the impact will likely be muted because most iPhone users have two-year contracts, and many are on family and employer plans.
Shares in Verizon Communications fell 84 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $35.08 in morning trading Tuesday. Apple shares lost 14 cents to $342.32.
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson and AP Technology Writers Peter Svensson and Barbara Ortutay contributed to this report.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
