A daily digest of IT news, curated from blogs, forums and news sites around the web each morning. We highlight the key commentary and demystify the real story.
Verizon Wireless iPhone news: Apple release date 'confirmed'; 4 or 5?
CDMA or LTE iPhone on Verizon is all-but-confirmed; release date is end-January, say secret sources. But Apple and Verizon Wireless aren't saying a word.
Once again, the rumor-mill brings us Verizon Wireless iPhone news. Now it seems almost certain that the Verizon iPhone release date is confirmed. But is it a 3G CDMA iPhone 4 or a 4G LTE iPhone 5, we wonder? In IT Blogwatch, bloggers can't wait until tomorrow's supposedly pomaceous Verizon media event.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention Why is there so little good code?..
(VZ) (AAPL) (T)
With news this hot, we rely on Nancy Gohring to fry an egg on it:
Verizon is inviting journalists to an event [tomorrow] ... at which Lowell McAdam, Verizon's president and COO, will speak. ... A person familiar with the matter ... says Verizon will announce the availability of the iPhone on its network.
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Rumors about a Verizon iPhone have popped up regularly almost since the initial launch of the iPhone. ... In December, Verizon began rolling out high-speed LTE (Long-Term Evolution) wireless technology. ... It's not clear whether [the] announcement next week would involve an LTE-compatible iPhone.
Can Yukai Iwatani Kane and Spencer E. Ante up the ante?
Verizon Wireless, the country's largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month. ... AT&T has struggled to overcome complaints about network quality ever since it started exclusively selling the iPhone in the U.S. in 2007.
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AT&T has acknowledged it underestimated the stress the iPhone would put on its network. The carrier boosted spending this year ... but still struggles with the perception its network is weak. ... AT&T says its network is faster and has advantages like allowing users to browse the Web while talking on the phone.
Jay Yarow finds it good to talk:
AT&T PR boss Larry Solomon reached out with a statement: "The iPhone is built for speed, but that's not what you get with a CDMA phone. I'm not sure iPhone users are ready for life in the slow lane."
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Besides the fact that Solomon is confirming that Verizon is getting the iPhone, he's also fired the first shot in the coming war for iPhone owners.
But AT&T execs must be quaking in their boots, right? Ben Parr thinks not:
While the Verizon iPhone will have a negative impact on AT&T, its not going to break AT&Ts back. ... The switching costs are simply too high. ... AT&T made a smart business decision last year: they bumped up the iPhones early termination fee.
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When the iPhone 5 rolls out sometime this summer, both networks will pull out all the stops. ... AT&T is stocking up on some powerful phones to complement the iPhone. Motorola debuted the ATRIX 4G ... the best phone to debut at CES, and it is exclusive to AT&T.
And Alex Salkever says it's great for Apple:
The iPhone is highly profitable for Apple -- not quite as profitable as its computers but more so than any other product in its lineup. ... Additional iPhone users will feed into Apple's fast-growing revenues from its highly popular App Store for the iPhone.
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It's pure profit, for the most part, since the incremental cost of operating the App Store is relatively low at this point. ... All told, it's a win-win-win for Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Meanwhile, Mark "Sumocat" Sumimoto thinks wishful:
One point up for contention is whether it will run on the newly launched 4G LTE network. I dont know why. Verizons CEO already practically said it would. ... Seidenberg told investors Verizon had to earn the iPhone and that 4G might push Apple to see the light. ... The rapid launch of Verizons LTE puts the statement in a new light. Verizon just launched LTE and theyre about to announce they have the iPhone. Cant say thats a coincidence.
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The new network will allow simultaneous voice and data. Why is that a big deal? Because the iPhone currently allows users access the Internet while on a call, something that 3G CDMA does not.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
