The ongoing is Verizon getting the iPhone thread (1 Viewer)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100923/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_verizon_iphone

No loss for me. I'm pleased with the network improvements AT&T has made. Far better service than when the first iPhone was released in 2007.

It appears that the Droid line is Verizon's iPhone. And due to the open nature of Android, Verizon can make deals with Microsoft to have Bing their default search engine or Amazon be their MP3 provider, or Blockbuster as their movie rental software. In short, they can mine their smartphones for additional revenue like the OEM manufacturers install all manner of bloatware on PC'S for a fee. Apple would never allow this. Take into consideration the number of Android activations a month, and there's little need for Verizon to take on the iPhone right now. Verizon's entire business model is to charge the highest prices in the industry for premium service, and they have a lot of brand loyalty. They would lose some of this advantage if a sudden influx of iPhones slowed down their networks. The iPhone will probably come to Verizon after their LTE network gains penetration. But for now, it doesn't look like a CDMA iPhone is coming in the near future.

 

In short, they can mine their smartphones for additional revenue like the OEM manufacturers install all manner of bloatware on PC'S for a fee.

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and it looks like there doing it. Look at this:

 

From today's Washington Post -

 

 

A "Google phone" hand-cuffed to Microsoft's Bing search engine sounds like a bad joke. But it's a real product, one for whichVerizon Wireless charges $199.99.

This device, Samsung's Fascinate, is the latest - and the worst - example of an ugly trend among smartphones running Google's Android operating system.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/25/AR2010092503456.html?hpid=sec-tech

I'll be glad when January gets here and we can get a good gauge on the quality of the various rumor sites and sources. This will separate the men from the boys I also look forward to it not panning out and the rumormongers all do their six-month reset and we get the iPhone-on-Verizon-in-June rumors started up.

I think Verizon's comments are part of the power struggle between V and A on the iPhone terms. This is pretty important, I think, for the mobile industry, because it's a proxy battle for ongoing skirmish between who has the power: Carriers or Manufacturers. It was locked down to Carriers until the iPhone came out. Apple cracked the model open for Manufacturers to have some power. Google attempted to further open it up with the Nexus One. But Google has inadvertently, but seriously, returned the center of power to the Carriers with Android.


If Verizon gets an iPhone with big Verizon logos on the case and crapware installed, then it's finally and truly done: Carriers rule the mobile world and you can forget about that ever changing. If Apple can get a Verizon iPhone on their terms, there's some hope of ongoing competition for mobile devices from outside the carrier oligarchy.

Quote (Re Bing on Droid & Bloatware):

Originally Posted by Michael Harris

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A lot of companies have been turning Android against Google lately, between Bing only Android phones in the US and Baidu only Android phones in China, and now Facebook's phone based on Android source, this can't be what Google was hoping for. Other carriers are getting wind of this, and soon, Google will be paying everyone for the privilege of running Google search on those Android phones that haven't been switched to Bing already.


Meanwhile in an iPhone only (no Android) universe, Google had 100% of the iPhone based web searches, not to mention no competition from Apple in mobile advertising and a seat on Apple's board. And bonus, the mobile carriers were on their way to becoming dumb pipes -- a trend Android is reversing


Tell me again how Google is better off now than it would have been without Android? And what are the chances that Google makes new Android versions a very low priority in the future? I'll certainly bet that the licensing conditions, etc. for Chrome OS are being seriously rethought right now.

It's not clear to me how Google profits from Android. My crude understanding is:


* Google owns AdMob, the advertising company used on Android apps.

* Google sells location-based services used by Android.

* Most Android phones use Google for search, which drives Google search traffic

* It's a long play: the more people using mobile web devices, the more will be using Google services in one way or another.

Originally Posted by DaveF

It's not clear to me how Google profits from Android. My crude understanding is:


* Google owns AdMob, the advertising company used on Android apps.

* Google sells location-based services used by Android.

* Most Android phones use Google for search, which drives Google search traffic

* It's a long play: the more people using mobile web devices, the more will be using Google services in one way or another.

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Apparently though Google still(!) makes more from each iPhone sold than they do from Android phones. I agree that it is a long play, but my point is that it is a long play that is being turned against Google.

Really the main argument for Android that I can think of is that by fragmenting the phone market it keeps Apple from becoming too powerful, even if that means less money for Google in the foreseeable future. Trouble is, money does matter, and Google's profits have stagnated while Apple's are rocketing. Now admittedly I don't know how much of that is due to cash, resources and corporate focus being squandered on Android, but it can't be helping.

Here we go again!


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703735804575536191649347572.html?mod=e2tw

The Washington Post's tech reporter just "loves" writing iPhone coming to Verizon stories.


http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/10/things_i_know_about_the_verizo.html?hpid=topnews


My favorite part:

* I would also find it inconceivable for Apple to let Verizon give an iPhone the usual Verizon treatment -- prominent Verizon branding, a suite of non-removable Verizon apps, maybe even a separate app store -- much less the outright disfigurement of somebody else's software I saw in its new Samsung Fascinate.

* If you want to hold on to an antique phone in the hope that Verizon will pull an iPhone out of its hat sometime early next year, you might as well go ahead now. But I reserve the right to point and laugh at you if your optimism proves unwarranted. I might not even wait to mock you: Sitting around and hoping for a Verizon iPhone to descend from the skies, year after year, starts to resemble cargo-cult behavior. Seriously, aren't you tired of carrying around your Windows Mobile 6 device or your Palm Treo already?

* I believe I speak for every tech reporter in America when I write this: Very few things would make me happier than not to have to answer "when is the iPhone coming to Verizon" questions anymore. Seriously -- I hate this story. So, please, companies involved: Make it go away, one way or another.

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Nice link.


I'm going with my alternate theory: Apple will launch the GSM phone and T-Mobile and the rumored CDMA phone Sprint this January. They'll then have access to about two-thirds of the US cell market, giving them improved negotating strength against Verizon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveF Nice link.


I'm going with my alternate theory: Apple will launch the GSM phone and T-Mobile and the rumored CDMA phone Sprint this January. They'll then have access to about two-thirds of the US cell market, giving them improved negotating strength against Verizon.

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Dave, as you know I'm in total agreement that what you say makes the most sense.


However, the WSJ, which changed its story overnight from saying Apple is making a Verizon compatible CDMA iPhone to saying that the new CDMA iPhone WILL be on Verizon early next year and, oh, by the way, these are some details on what the Apple - Verizon negotiations were like, would be with massive egg on their face if it didn't transpire. Yukari Kane, who co-wrote the story, has been well sourced in the past and has had major scoops before, so right now I believe.

FWIW I have zero interest in a Verizon, CDMA only iPhone, but if a bunch of NYC based iPhone customers move to Verizon, maybe AT&T's network will improve.

I'm listening This Week In Google podcast and they note that the WSJ is Apple's leak-avenue of choice, and the timing of the article coincides with the Google TV announcement and a bunch of new Android phones. So it could well be an intentional leak from Apple about a Verizon iPhone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveF

I'm listening This Week In Google podcast and they note that the WSJ is Apple's leak-avenue of choice, and the timing of the article coincides with the Google TV announcement and a bunch of new Android phones. So it could well be an intentional leak from Apple about a Verizon iPhone.

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I'm arguing against (in this case). Apple wouldn't want to damage its holiday quarter sales on AT&T. One reason I might be wrong -- Apple knowing that worldwide iPhone 4 demand is so overwhelming that they will never catch up to demand no matter what.

Second argument against deliberate Apple leak -- like Phil Schiller picking up the phone -- WSJ affiliated Kara Swisher vehemently denied it it in the TechCrunch comments yesterday, saying she knows Yukari Kane and her stories are not based on deliberate leaks.

And now the NYT confirms the rumor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/technology/09phone.html?_r=2

The latest on Verizon and the iPhone


My thoughts are that Apple is not going

to make a 4G phone available to Verizon

until after they offer it to AT&T next Summer.

The ultimate screwjob would be if Verizon gets the current iPhone4... in white

Did I miss something? Why should the iPhone "in white" be a big deal?


Anyway, I dropped by a Verizon store today to get a closer look at their current offerings and found out that they just rolled out their new (2-tier) data plans to be a little more like AT&T it seems. So now, they have a minimalist 150MB data plan for $15/month (plus $15 per additional 150MB), not just the one-size-fits-all $30 plan. Presumably, you can just bump up to the higher plan if you do find yourself exceeding the lower plan all that much at any point -- maybe switch when you start exceeding 300MB/month. Was thinking I'd finally just get something for my wife w/ this lower plan (plus company discount), but if the iPhone is really coming all that soon, it's probably worth my while waiting for that instead. Also, since the 4G network launch is coming soon, probably makes sense to see what new/better 4G Android phones will be available as well.


BTW, I played around a little bit w/ the Android phones there, and although they look nice, I'm not really sold on them being all that user-friendly. Maybe part of the problem is just how Verizon preloads them, and perhaps, the demos also aren't maintained all that well to impress, eg. I had trouble getting connected to the web on a couple of them and was not impressed w/ the browser's (default?) (over-)zoom level on the Droid X.


While at the Verizon store, I also finally got to checking out the iPad in person, which is about as nice as I expected although I do wonder about the weight being a potential drawback. And although one may be inclined to upgrade one's smartphone every 2 years and thus reduce the non-replaceable battery issue, that probably won't apply to the iPad. Still, their new iPad + contract-free MiFi plan seems pretty decent and not too far off from AT&T's 3G offering -- I wonder if the iPad MiFi device+plan can be used by other WiFi devices or is locked to the iPad you buy w/ it since it seems like a much better deal than Verizon's standard MiFi deal. Too bad they don't have the Samsung Galaxy Tab yet. I did also notice they now heavily subsidize some 3G-capable netbooks -- maybe that's been the case for a long while and I just never paid attention before.


_Man_

The MiFi can be used by other devices. I like Verizon's pricing, I just don't like the loss of the GPS functionality that you only get with the 3G model.

What real practical GPS functionality do you actually lose? I assume you wouldn't really use it to replace a normal driving navigation GPS, correct?


Outside of driving nav, I honestly don't see what's the big deal about having GPS capability. Well, I guess it could be useful for location ID-ing photos/videos shot by the built-in camera, if one's into that sorta thing, but despite being a "serious" amateur photog, I don't really see that being all that useful unless one often shoots in exotic and/or far-out locations and want/need an easy, accurate way to ID those locations -- to me, that's either a professional level need (for which you wouldn't use the iPad anyway) or some sort of OCD thing.


And if you don't really need very accurate location via GPS, but could use something that gets "close enough", maybe the MiFi device can provide enough location info to get "close enough" for something like Google Maps, etc. Maybe some apps that rely on such info (eg. star gazing type app) can already do that or can eventually be enhanced to do that. Certainly, they should be able to guesstimate location reasonably well based on fixed WiFi hotspots (near as I can tell) though I don't know how doable that will be w/ a MiFi device.


_Man_