Going, Going, Gone?

[Michael Knutson]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/06/att-iphone-apple-exclusivity-earnings/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Reader ' target='_blank'>http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/06/att-iphone-apple-exclusivity-earnings/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)&utm_content=Google+Reader </a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"SEC filings say the darndest things. In a Friday 10-Q filing, AT&amp;T assured investors that the termination of any handset exclusivity agreement (especially that itsy bitsy deal with Apple) will not have a "material negative impact" on earnings."</em></p><p><em>"The iPhone might be coming to Verizon in January? Can it be true? The rumor that never dies has popped up again thanks to some vague language in a filing to the SEC, and yet another rumor that Apple is producing Verizon-compatible chipsets for the iPhone."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1281370676.usr17748.jpeg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p><em>image credit: PCWorld</em></p><p>Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe Not. When AT&amp;T states publicly to the SEC and to Shareholders that losing their US exclusivity will not have a negative impact on earnings, one has to begin to believe a bit more that the iPhone is indeed headed to Verizon. Or not. Verizon is keeping quiet, naturally, as they don't want to "Osborne" their existing product line. For any of you following this saga, would you switch if you had the opportunity?</p>

[cjhpe]

I have been considering this lots lately b/c I am a BB storm 1 user. I have been very happy with my Storm and the BB experience but have been very seriously considering giving something else a try...Android or Apple is my question. My biggest issue is battery life... I have two batteries for my BB so one is at home charging while I am out and about using the other. I can usually go 36-48 hours on a single charge but grab the other battery and swap them and I am good to go. My Berry is almost never attached to a charger but rather attached to me. To me that is the purpose of a portable cell phone. I would have to give up this luxury with the iPhone. All the other pros and cons to me for most issues on Android/BB/iphone seem to come back to personal preferences and what you are willing to overlook or live with. The swapping of the battery is one I am trying to come to terms with but I am not sure I can overlook for the iphone....

To me however unless the iPhone comes to Verizon it is a no brainer to me b/c I was on ATT for about 2 years after using Sprint for a while and it was the worst experience ever...dropped calls, poor reception, and on and on, along with poor customer service. I have experienced none of that with Verizon(4+yrs) or for that matter with Sprint when I was with them... So to me ATT is not an option!!!

[mpaquette]

I would not switch to Verizon. In fact, I just switched from Verizon to AT&T because Verizon went down the toilet where I live as soon as they completed the Alltel integration. Dropped calls, sloooowwww data speeds and virtually no signal at home. 6 months ago, dropped calls were rare, data speeds were fine and I had a very strong signal at home.

[The Yaz]

I've been an AT&T customer since 2004 (Cingular) and have been satisfied with the product in terms of voice and texting with a family plan. My wife moved her line last year off AT&T because her company offered to pay a fixed allowance towards her phone and a data plan and Sprint's Everything package fit the allowance, saving us the cost of that line from our budget.

I'm sure that AT&T is losing the exclusivity w/ the iPhone (what with AT&T accelerating my renewal discount from 12/28 this year to 8/28), but I still doubt Verizon or Sprint will be getting it. My vote is that T-Mobile will be the incremental vendor adding the iPhone.

It makes more sense for AT&T and Apple. T-Mobile uses GSM and their 3G/4G would only require an additional bandwith to the phone's antenna. As a competitor to AT&T, its small enough that current customers would not neccesarily jump to T-Mobile, but Apple would still gain more customers who would purchase additoinal phones.

I think once the market settled on a T-Mobile version iPhone (12-18 months later) Apple would finally relent and incur the infrastructure cost of adding a CDMA version of their phone product which could be sold by Verizon and/or Sprint. By then the next generation data technology (LTE/WiMax) should be mature enough to make them practical to include in the iPhone.

Steve :cool: