Surely, by now, you’ve heard about the new iPhone from Apple and AT&T due out June 29th and you may have even seen one of the new iPhone commercials. By all accounts, the iPhone, will be the biggest thing to happen to the U.S. based mobile market ever and many are speculating that the iPhone could change the face of the mobile industry as we know it.
As with new BlackBerry devices, Verizon won’t be seeing the iPhone anytime soon. Delayed release schedules for new BlackBerrys really haven’t adversely affected Verizon up to this point. I, however, am not so sure that this will be the case with iPhone.
Here are my 5 reasons how I think the iPhone could hurt Verizon.
- High value new subscriber rates could taper off — Verizon, with the exception of new BlackBerry devices, tends to release really cool high end mobile phones that consumers tend to buy expensive minutes and data plans for. No matter what Verizon does the iPhone will be the hot device for some time to come and Verizon will undoubtedly feel all the consumers that opt to get an iPhone that might otherwise have looked at a high end Verizon phone.
- Verizon will loose customers to AT&T — No matter how they try to spin it, dismiss it, and rationalize it, Verizon will loose customers wanting the iPhone to AT&T and it will be more than just a few.
- iTunes is way cheaper than V CAST — Last time I checked most V CAST music downloads cost $1.99, 100% more than iTunes downloads. iTunes also has a bigger catalog of music for you to download and all of you existing iTunes media will work on the iPhone.
- The iPhone will have a pre-paid service option — Verizon’s biggest asset is it’s network. They unquestionably have the best one and it keeps a lot of subscribers from switching even if it means they cannot get the device they want. If, however, the iPhone has a pre-paid service option, it will allow Verizon subscribers like myself that are in love with the network to buy an iPhone without getting hooked into a long term contract. The real dilemma for Verizon comes if subscribers that have pre-paid iPhone plans realize that AT&T’s network really isn’t all that bad.
- The iPhone is made by frigging Apple — Let us not forget what the iPhone is. It is the next generation iPod with a cell phone built in. The key word in that sentence is iPod. Apple sells so many of these buggers that they changed the name of their company from Apple Computer to just Apple to be more reflective of the products they sell. There is no question that the iPod is the number one MP3 player out on the market. What is number two? Number two at best is what waits for Verizon whenever they come out with something to compete with the iPhone.
Interesting thoughts, I have to agree with all that you say, and in fact I would say this this quater will be a significant turnig point for subscribers, as it will be hard for a lot of people to resist the onslought of such an awsome product. I LOVE my blackberry 8800, but man I gotta tell you it will be hard for me to say no to an iPhone. An although Verizon’s network is good, frankly I believe “unquestionably” is a bit of an overstatement, as at one time this may have been true, but frankly my AT&T phone works everywhere my Verizon phone does, I am certain that was not always true, but at this point I certainly can’t justify keeping Verizon service, as I could when my other carrier was Nextel (scary). I have traveled all over the place, and people I can tell you that my ATT phone keeps just about 5 bars everywhere I go. So kudos to them for Catching up with Verizon if thats the case, I just switched to ATT for mobile broadband, and it has worked flawsly all over Los Angeles, just as my Verizon service has, but faster. So I think the network debate is a moot point at this juncture. What are not moot points are the points that our writer so eliquently outlined, as they will hurt Verizon, (with it’s strong subscriber base), probably kill T-mobile, and most likely bury Sprint, who cannot seem to recover from ever decreasing subcribers; who seem to be running to other carriers in packs. I will miss my GPS, I think if I switch, something I use quite often, but I am sure I will ofset it with the one built into my vehicle, so we will see.
most likely bury Sprint, who cannot seem to recover from ever decreasing subscribers; who seem to be running to other carriers in packs.
Don’t count on it. Sprint has the cheapest data rates around and as more people become dependent on these services, they will ask the question. Why should I pay more then double what Sprint charges for data, for the same service. And with Sprint, you can roam on Verizon’s network for free. A lot of Sprint’s churn is from dis-satisfied Nextel customers, not CDMA Sprint users.
I’m in love with my Curve right now, and probably won’t get caught in the iphone storm when it drops! I have a Verizon line as well as at&t, and like someone else stated my at&t line works everywhere my Verizon does, and then some!
I’ll put it this way, there going to get hurt with the iphone release, not killed, but definitely hurt! The Curve has people leaving Verizon, can you imagine what the iphone is going to do when it drops on at&t, a lot of Damage!!!
Let’s not forget 2 things in network coverage. As an AT&T subscriber, their wireless broadband is still not as widespread as Verizon. That makes Verizon more popular for the majority of the country when they need fast access. As for Sprint as the only household name doing WiMax, they have a shot at keeping their broadband customers and adding quite a few more. If the iPhone does “bury” T-Mobile, I could see those T-Mo customers who got used to the free wireless being bundled into their data plans switching to Sprint to keep the wireless love going.
For some perspective from the inside: I am an AT&T sales rep in MA. The amount of interest from this phone since the day it was announced has been ridiculous! I do less selling these days then I do answering questions about the Iphone (with many of these questions coming from other carriers looking to switch regardless of termination fees). Absurdly enough, I already have 2 verizon and 1 T-Mobile sales reps asking what they need to do to get an Iphone for themselves. As long as this phone actually lives up to what it promises you will definatly see plenty jumping ship regardless of phone and data prices. As for Apple going with EDGE over 3G, most have considered this a bad move but honestly, from a phone reception perspective, this was a good move. The 3G hand-off, at least in my area, is still is not good enough to hold a call on a consistent enough basis.
I like my RIM BB’s however this just might get some VERY nervous
http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070611/tc_infoworld/89276&printer=1;_ylt=Anyrao4VmkkuhmJY8yZGq_m73MMF
Apple’s iPhone open to software developers
Robert Mullins
Third-party software developers can create Web 2.0 applications to run on Apple’s forthcoming iPhone, company CEO Steve Jobs said Monday.
Jobs told an enthusiastic audience at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2007 in San Francisco that developers could write applications that work and look like iPhone applications from Apple, including those for making calls, sending e-mail, and other functions.
The iPhone, a combination cell phone, Web browser, and video and music player, goes on sale June 29.
Developers will be able to create applications for the iPhone by using Web 2.0 programming tools such as AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) and taking advantage of the full version of Apple’s Safari Web browser incorporated into the devices. A separate, special software developer kit is not needed, Jobs said.
Verizon has the worst variety of phones out there. Who ever thought that the “flavor” rage would stay around. Their phone specs are so inferior to that of other phone carriers. I, unfortunately still have Verizon for another year until my contract ceases (finally). They have like 9 phones to choose from and most are the “flavors”. Has any company thought about making a phone for the older generation? I mean, come on, the buttons and fonts on these phones are totally ridicioulous. It’s nice to be able to feel the numbers instead of having to roam the keyboard to find them.
I think coverage depends on where you live? I really think Apple handicapped
themselves by signing with one carrier. This may help AT&T but it certainly will not help the iPhone. I am surprised Jobs locked Apple in such a deal?
It will be bad for Apple if a lot of people dump their iPhone because AT&T service is bad in their area. This appears to be the handicap for the iPhone.