Verizon: iPhone or Not to iPhone. That's the Question

On the verge of Apple's World Developers Conference and the expected summer release of a new 4g iPhone, talk has no doubt reached a boiling point in the never-ending battle between big red and big blue. The rumor mill is churning out all sorts of juicy bits of information. First, we've heard that the exclusivity contract with AT&T and Apple has run its course, then we heard that Apple is already working with manufacturers to create a CDMA version of the iPhone.

Network Differences

It's a strange paradigm to see people love their phones so much yet hate the service attached to it. However, I must say that I don't hate AT&T as much as some people do. Of course I don't like the dropped calls and low signal in some areas, but then again, I haven't gotten so attached to my phone that I can't live without it.

One of things I do like is when my service is working great, I can be on the phone and surf the Internet at the same time, which is a feature that only a GSM network can support. This is one vital flaw with Verizon's CDMA network. Plus, Apple would have to build two completely different phones. This would potentially double the amount of devices they would need to build--a plan they might not be willing to adopt.

The other debate up in the air is 4G. CDMA and GSM may be going toward a new global standard called LTE. This would eliminate the need for Apple to create two devices while also allowing them to sell the same device all over the world. The problem is that while Verizon will be debuting its 4G network sometime this year, AT&T won't be bringing us theirs until sometime in 2011. From a strictly business standpoint, it wouldn't make sense for Apple to invest in two devices now. Waiting for AT&T's 4G network is the most viable option.

The Infamous Contract

A lot of people know about the exclusive contract between AT&T and Apple, but few understand why such a contract exists. When the iPhone first came out, Apple was in need of a carrier, but nobody wanted to share the profits with Apple except for AT&T. The other problem was that many people felt that the iPhone wasn't going to be anything special and if it were, it would be more of a luxury device that only few people would want to own.

Apple felt it was best, once they found AT&T interested, to lock up a 5-year contract. This would ensure that Apple would have a nice buffer zone to generate business for the iPhone should it have failed. What they didn't expect is the phone's popularity.

Almost as soon as it came out, everybody wanted it--even people who couldn't get it!

It's unclear as to why everyone thinks that Apple can just walk away from their contract and release an iPhone for Verizon, unless they're right about it possible having been re-negotiated, but I think it's more wishful thinking than anything else.

Does Verizon even want the iPhone?

Some have speculated that Verizon doesn't even want the phone. First, even though they have touted many times how they can handle the phone, but have never seemed to express a public interest in getting it. There's also the fact that Verizon has recently adopted a great partnership with Google and their new Android software. Lastly, Verizon is still not likely to be interested in the revenue sharing policy that Apple is standing by.

In my own opinion, we won't be seeing an iPhone for Verizon anytime soon and even if Verizon will get it in the future, it won't be until Apple can have one device for all networks. If I'm right about this, all you Verizon customers won't be seeing an iPhone until sometime in 2012.