As most know the internet has been buzzing all weekend with talk of a VZ bound iPhone. The Boy Genius Report even went as far as to speculate on the launch date being Feb 3, 2011. This lines up with the Apple employee vacation black out, would definitely explain the shortage of iPhone 4 stock at ATT stores, and as much as any ATT employee would want to believe other wise, they knew as well as the rest of the world that it was only a matter of time.
I spent the weekend pondering the buzz around the internet, and finally decided it was time to put my thoughts down and maybe garner some discussion on the topic.
All hating of exclusivity aside, Verizon had the opportunity for the iPhone originally and turned it down. ATT was the company that jumped on the iPhone when offered, and as Apple’s partner launched the game changing technology in June 2007. November of the same year Android released, but it wasn’t until 2 years later that the Motorola “Droid” hit shelves. Since that point VZ and it’s sales people have been selling Android as hard and fast as they possibly can. This was a great move on Verizon’s part and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the marketing behind it was genius. The entire Droid campaign gave you the impression that VZ was the only carrier with Android, and trust me it worked, I still encounter people that think it’s exclusive. Android is a gorgeous operating system for phones, and if you haven’t yet seen it you can read my thoughts on the iPhone Android war here
While watching CES, I saw big red announce around ten devices, and I saw ATT announce 20+. Both had large (keep your pants on folks I’m talking screen size here) Android devices such as the HTC Inspire (ATT), and the HTC Thunderbolt (VZ). Verizon spent a fair amount of time touting LTE and ATT showed off and discussed HSPA+. ATT seems to have a large slew of devices on the docket this year not just an iPhone. Watching the Verizon presentation at CES gave me the impression that all of their eggs are sitting in the Apple basket, and they aren’t concerned with a ton of other technology at this point. This is strictly opinion, but it seems a little more risky to do that when it’s no longer an exclusive piece of tech.
The second thought that has been rolling through my head this month is simply that VZ has been selling against the iPhone for 4 years now. Their sales people have talk tracks demonizing the device, and now they’re possibly in a position to sell it. We know it will move fast, we know that VZ enthusiasts will want to upgrade to it, is that gonna make their sales staff look like hypocrites?
Anywho, this is all speculation until Tuesdays press conference happens, until then I’d love to know what everyone thinks about it, you’re free to put up your anti-carrier slander as well, but I’d rather just discuss intelligently.