A fascinating bit of Apple gossip for your Tuesday morning, gossip that piggybacks on the never-going-to-die “iPhone on Verizon Wireless?” rumor. Does an “iPhone lite” interest you? Or perhaps a “media pad that would let users listen to music, view photos, and watch high-definition videos” that makes calls using Wi-Fi?
They interest Verzion Wireless. So says BusinesWeek, at least, citing two people “familiar with the matter.”
It could be that these two devices will wind up on Verizon Wireless sometime in the future, one perhaps as early as this summer. (Let the WWDC rumors commence!) Good ol’ VZW wants some of that iPhone juice; Apple wants AT&T to upgrade its network so iPhone users don’t have to suffer as much as they do now. What better for Apple to put pressure on AT&T than to tell it, “Look, either you do something about your network, or we’ll release the iPhone on Verizon Wireless.” Considering AT&T owes its recent good fortune to the iPhone, you can bet that it will want to prevent any sort of iPhone-Verizon Wireless shenanigans.
Whether or not Apple actually comes to an agreement with fussy, control freak Verizon Wireless, who knows? All I know is that I sure as hell wouldn’t buy an iPhone on AT&T. See, I still use my phones to make calls, and nothing is better than Verizon Wireless in the greater New York area. Sad but true.
Speculation, go!
Photo: Flickr
I’m with you Nicholas. There’s no way I’d jump to AT&T for any phone.
In my area, if you want a solid 3G connection, and you want to make and receive calls, VZW is the place to be.
And here in San Diego county, AT&T is just fine in most places – except my cubicle at work! Doh!
Still, none of them are nearly as good as they say, or could be.
We got better cell connections in the jungles and mountain passes in Colombia 6 hours hard jeep ride from Bogotá than in downtown San Diego gets on any US carrier.
I really wish they would cease their carrier exclusive deals. Sell me the phone, sell me the service but let me choose phone and provider independently, not “if you want the iPhone you have to use AT&T” or “if you want the BB storm you have to use VZW.” Enough already!
@retrevo_robb
If Apple makes the move over to the Verizon Network then I am moving with them. Ever since AT&T merged with Cingular things haven’t been the same. I had Nokia’s with Cingular/Cellular One my whole life and never had issues. I then switched to US Cellular for two years and had without a doubt the best service of my life. I never dropped calls, was always able to make them and could even use it underground. 3G and AT&T just don’t work together in Chicago or anywhere for that matter. Maybe HDSPA+ or LTE will be better, either way, if Verizon gets the iPhone I am paying the early termination fee for both my wife’s and my phones and we are joining that crazy family that will be sure that anyone I call can “hear me now”.
Verizon is great in Chicago. So is US Cellular, but I’d guess the chances of them ever getting the iPhone are nil.
If Verizon gets the iPhone then it will work on US Cellular’s network too. When US Cellular phones are not using their own towers they are using Verizon, they have had a contract situated like this for a while now. That is why US Cellular is the best in the City of Chicago. They may not “work” on US Cellular’s network, but you will be able to hack it so that it will, just like you can now with T-Mobile. Atleast I like to hope this will be the case.
Getting CDMA phones to fully work on other networks can be a bit of a mixed bag, and is often more trouble than it’s worth.
I can’t wrap my head around the “iPhone Lite” rumors. If it can’t use the apps and perform the multimedia functions of the standard iPhone that’s a huge blow to it and if it can then how do slightly altered dimensions get it around an overwhelming similarity to the standard iPhone and breach the exclusivity deal?
Speculation has been that, maybe, the people who are trying to interpret this information may be mistaking LTE for Lite.
Now that would be interesting, mistaking Lite for LTE. In any event, I imagine this will be *the* rumor of the summer, so expect to see more as the days go by.
I agree. It is interesting
This is just the type of thing that a reporter who knows nothing about technology would do.
I am right there with everyone. I want an IPhone but I don’t want to switch carriers. I really hope that they come out with the IPhone for Verizon. I will definetely buy.
I think they should put the iphone on verizon as soon as possible! Verizon is like the most reliable company service ever. It’s not fair to get the great iphone when the phone service sux. That totally ruins the iphones great reputation. Verizon rules!! Who agrees with me?!
AT&T coverage area in NH stinks. I bought the phone because I was told AT&T was expanding their network. NOT TRUE. Nothing has changed in over a year. IPhone drops calls even in major metropolitan areas like Boston. I would not recommend this headache to anyone. Don’t be fooled by AT&T promises.
I wait for a long time for iPhone Lite/Nano. Are iPhone Lite/Nano still can be made ?