Verizon iPhone: Cut, Copy, and Paste iPhone 4 for a new carrier.

Posted by melting on Jan 10, 2011

On the eve of what many expect to be the much anticipated announcement of the official iPhone being sold for use on the Verizon network, I had a few thoughts.

First, the timing is not completely a shock.  AT&T seemed to announce the timing to the world last summer when they said that anybody whose contract was up in December.  This let them get as many current crack iPhone addicts signed up for another years.  Sure this didn’t/doesn’t guarantee the timing, they could just open it up completely, but it seemed like a great indicator to me.  Another move that happened last summer which seemed to show the next phase of getting people hooked in the data pricing.  There was much whining about the unlimited plan going away, but the old customers could keep their plan if they wanted.  The pricing change reduction was to get more people hooked up.  With the monthly data price at half of what it was, 3GS at $99 bucks, and nice and new iPhone 4 at $200, I think that was just the kick in the pants many people needed.

Am I surprised that Verizon would make the announcement?  Not really.  While it seems like a big deal to the AT&T haters, and many in America, it is very likely the same iPhone 4 we already know and love.  This will mean larger distribution for Apple and more importantly for the bottom line, but they aren’t missing out on announcing a new product.  I don’t really know or care if Steve Jobs will be there, but I would certainly not be surprised if there was some sort of Apple representative present.

Timing.  I frankly would have be shocked if this announcement came during CES.  Just seems like a bigger deal than that and anything that can stand alone should.

Importance. This will certainly be an area for growth for Apple, but is important in a larger scale.  If it is it could finally make the market share battle with Android actually be worth talking about.  I am skeptical that debate will be worthwhile for several more years, while the growth and profits are so huge.   As for importance I would like to wait and see if there is any more exclusivity to be had.  Even if it is in the form of getting the new device for 3 or six months.

Final thought.  I would wait to see what happens with the iPad.  People are talking about the iPad 2 coming out soon, I can imagine that is where the two carriers could differentiate themselves.

Apple Stiff Arms the competition with iPhone 3.0

Posted by melting on Jun 15, 2009

With the latest HW set to launch, Apple is also gearing up for it’s latest firmware update for its iPhone and iPod touch users.  This update is just what Apple needs to keep the competition at bay.  There are many new features that are great for usability, should have been in the original software, and help developers make even better apps. 

First, the features that should have been there from the start: cut, copy, and paste.  Since people are thinking the iPhone is the start of truly mobile computing vs. a smartphone, there is no excuse from not having this capability from the beginning.

There are so many features that will truly make this device even more usable and powerful.  The first is the landscape built in apps.  Even though the biggest complaint about the iPhone is the lack of a physical keyboard, it is actually pretty easy to type on in landscape mode.  Apple has realized this and improved all of their apps to take advantage of this ease.  Apple has also added MMS.  While their are many features that make the iPhone a multimedia device, “syncing is so nineties”.  This is at least one more way to share some of that media without syncing. 

Apps will only get better from here with all of the new api’s available to them.  The feature with a likely big impact is the push notifications.  Apps that talk to services can now leave you logged in to their service and push messages to you.  AIM, google talk, yahoo messenger etc., will now be able to let have continuous conversations.  Another feature to have a big impact will be the ability for Apps to talk with custom hardware accessories.  

On a slightly gloomy note there are a few things that won’t be coming for US users.  The coolest feature that won’t be supported by AT&T is tethering.  Tethering was created to allow users to connect to the web on their laptops via their iPhone when out in the wilderness of the world.  

 The upgrade will be free for current iPhone users and $9.95 for iPod touch users.   

Read about the iPhone 3Gs 

iPHone 3Gs: Time to upgrade?

Posted by melting on Jun 14, 2009

Apple this past week has announced their next iteration to the iPhone.  This new phone will be available this week on the 17th of June.  While there are a few new features, which I will cover in a future post, there is at least one Apple’s US service partner has left off.  That feature is UPGRADE.  

This time last year the iPhone 3G came out fixing one of the biggest issues users had to that point, speed.  AT&T had pushed to get their initial rollout of their third generation (3G) service.  So when Apple announced their phone they claimed it was twice the speed for half the price.  That pointed out another feature of that phone a hug subsidy by AT&T.  Apple ditched their model of foregoing the phone subsidy for a share of the monthly payment.  

This perfect set of conditions let AT&T allow upgrades for current iPhone users.  AT&T didn’t have a previous subsidy they had to make up with those users, or in other words, they were already in the black.  This year the upgrade is a much harder and more easily predicted model.  Many users who upgraded last year won’t get the best price this year.  AT&T could very well still be in the red for that customer.  

My conclusion here is, it is very easy to understand why AT&T is not giving the subsidy to current users under contract.  They are at least giving some reduction in price for signing and new two year agreement.  This will likely mean fewer phones  sold right of the bat.  In my thinking if AT&T did honor the subsidy many people would sell their phones, those phones would likely end up in the hands of users who don’t mind being on AT&T just not on contract.  In the long run, while not easy to track I would guess this model would keep current customers happy and let AT&T benefit from being the only providers of iPhones in the US. 

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iPhone 3GS
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