I don’t know if the media pad makes a lot of sense, but nevertheless It’ll be very interesting to see what apple actually launches on June 8th…specially now that palm will try & steel the thunder on June 7th!

Short term, I hope it extends with ATT but on terms friendlier to consumers…see

http://dealarchitect.typepad.com/deal_architect/2009/04/now-that-apple-is-no-longer-the-junior-partner.html

> Verizon Doesn’t Share
The author is correct and there is no reason for Verizon with its 80M subs to start now for the sake of one phone. That is the reason the shot it down the first time. Remember Verizon had first dibs on the iPhone. Verizon has more options than you can imagine. Have you checked their Q1 numbers? And, who cares about an app store… definitely not AT&T since they get their money up front thru a contract, remember. If people use any carriers medium they get a cut, whether its texts or any content. This is a very common practice with makes your point moot.

> Apple Doesn’t Stip Down
The price changed because of subsidies, period. iPhone 3G is a far more advanced device the 2G variety. AT&T started subsidizing the device like they do all the others per a 2 year contract.

> Legal Issues
Have you ever thought why it took so long for Apple to enter the phone market? AT&T are bigger a—holes. If this iPhone-Lite happens there will be many lawsuits, remember Cisco sued Apple and AT&T or the name of the phone.

> Verizon and Wi-Fi VoIP Are Like Oil and Water
Verizon was the first carrier to implement data caps… 5Gb, which could be a small amount if you add a netbook and VoIP to the mix. It doesn’t make sense to go against “normal business practices” to control bandwidth. Wait for the new FCC chair and check out the front row seat of the “Net Neutrality” opponent’s bench.

> Lousy Timing
Margins are the answer to your question about why they will not launch two different iPhones. Confusion in the market place because the Verizon version would be a VoIP flavor that will require a change in user experience.

My thoughts: VoIP has not been completely adopted by telecom any where in this world as of today. The hardcore does not trust it because reliability and quality of service can not be guaranteed in an IP environment; these are facts about IP as it stands today. Some, IT folk, may argue that IP has come a long way but it is not a dedicated channel that can be statically allocated, managed, and provisioned. IP is a “Best Effort” service and protocol, period. That has not and will not change because it goes against the very nature of the history and progression of IP. The only way to supplement these conflicting ideas is bandwidth and with EPON, GPON, and BPON fiber technologies, they are being addressed in the telecom world, but you will pay for it because it is brand spanking new.

Lousy Timing Part I:
Potentially you could have it perfectly backwards. From a financial perspective, Apple would be way more excited about making the announcement that the iPhone is available to 80 million Verizon subscribers. How many more phones will Apple sell when they introduce a new thinner/faster/longer-battery-life iPhone to only AT&T customers? Just the same,at the end of the day, Apple’s fiduciary duty is to its shareholders.

Lousy Timing Part II:
Qualcomm is desperate to sell CDMA technology and Verizon’s subscribers are desperate to buy iPhones. LTE will be very slow to roll out in the US. Wait to make the LTE argument until we get the first trial LTE network in the US. Apple can sell every interested Verizon customer an iPhone with a CDMA radio now and again with an LTE radio a few years from now.

Verizon and WiFi VoIP are Like Oil and Water:
Apple iPhones will be easier to control than Android phones. There is likely a growing sense of urgency for Apple to get phones on other carrier’s networks.The other cell manufacturers are leveraging the exclusivity agreement between Apple and AT&T which is evident by the number of Android-based, iPhone-like phones in the pipeline. Apple does not want to fumble at this stage in the game.

Legal Issues:
Nobody knows the details…

Apple Doesn’t Strip Down:
True, but Businessweek’s assumption is baseless. Nobody knows the details of the exclusivity agreement and how Apple will avoid lawsuits with AT&T. It isn’t appropriate to assume anything about form factor since we don’t know the details of the exclusivity agreement. However, they could surely surprise us.

Verizon Doesn’t Share:
The times have changed. The demand for WiFi enabled phones has skyrocketed. While Verizon will hold onto its closed network as long as it can to protect profitability, at some point it will start losing subscribers as people tire of Verizon’s selection. This will surely happen in the transition by AT&T and Verizon to LTE. It is much safer for Verizon to test business models with a very profitable/controllable Apple iPhone than the Android-based models.

huh.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124093915558664239.html

I don’t think Apple would play in the same “new toy sandbox” with Microsoft. Something is afoul in
one of these reported stories.