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Cellphones Businesses Communications Apple

Why AT&T Wants To Keep the iPhone Away From Verizon 237

Posted by Soulskill from the all-about-the-benjamins dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Saul Hansell of the NY Times has an interesting post analyzing AT&T's earnings report and highlighting the enormous stakes involved in the renewal of its exclusive contract to distribute Apple's iPhone in the United States. Hansell does some rough calculations: 'If the average iPhone customer brings in $90 a month, or $1,080 a year in revenue, and the operating profit margin stays constant at 26 percent, that means an iPhone customer represents at least $561 in operating profit over a two-year contract,' says Hansell. 'Put another way, if the company gets 2.5 million new customers a year because of its iPhone exclusivity, the deal represents at least $700 million a year in operating profits — profits that it could lose if Verizon sold the iPhone, too.' With those sort of numbers, AT&T has every reason to make Apple an offer it can't refuse to keep its exclusive deal for another few years. Of course, the incentives for Verizon are presumably the mirror image, so expect Verizon to come to Cupertino, checkbook in hand, to see what sort of deal they can make. 'The benefit of somewhat more iPhone sales from wide distribution is likely to be swamped by a huge bid from AT&T to keep exclusivity, and an equally high bid from Verizon to win some (or maybe even all) of the business for itself.'"
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Why AT&T Wants To Keep the iPhone Away From Verizon More

Why AT&T Wants To Keep the iPhone Away From Verizon

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  • Apple (Score:4, Informative)

    by ucblockhead ( 63650 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:25PM (#27713571) Homepage Journal

    What this means is that after the bidding war that will ensue when Apple's contract with AT&T runs out, Apple will end up getting the bulk of the profits.

    • Re:Apple (Score:4, Interesting)

      by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:50PM (#27714373)
      Another effect is that Apple's competitors in the smartphone market will throw more money at dethroning them (either by improving their products or dumping money into advertising). But of course, success always breeds competition (well, at least ideally). In the end this should benefit us all by resulting in better smartphone services without 100% profit margins, but perhaps not since the psychology of fads is that only 1 thing can be "it."

  • Yeah God Forbid They Actually Have to COMPETE (Score:5, Funny)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:27PM (#27713583) Homepage Journal
    They might actually have to deliver that iPhone you see in the commercials. I'd love to trade with THAT iPhone but if they used mine in the commercials the commercial would have to end before it brought Slashdot up on the edge network...
    • Last year called, they want their criticism back. Ever hear of 3G?

      • Re:Yeah God Forbid They Actually Have to COMPETE (Score:4, Insightful)

        by cpt_drewbie ( 1479889 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:09PM (#27713973)
        Ever used AT&T's 3G network on an iPhone? Most of the time you probably would assume it's running over EDGE.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by maharb ( 1534501 )
          That is not the experience I have seen. In fact lots of people I know refuse to go through the hassle of switching over to wifi when available because they are perfectly happy with the 3G speeds. Maybe certain areas are different but I have never experienced what you are describing.

        • Re:Yeah God Forbid They Actually Have to COMPETE (Score:5, Informative)

          by peragrin ( 659227 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:20PM (#27714081)

          last year called they want their criticism back.

          when i first got the 3G network performance was bad. Over the last six month AT&T has brought it almost to the point where the iphone processor is the limiting factor. With rendering times almost equal between 3G and wi-fi.

          What really gets me though is verizon can never have the iphone. Ever. It would have to be made exclusively for verizon customers. As Verizon uses phone technology that is incompatible with the majority of the world. GSM may not be the best solution, however it does have the largest user base. When will people understand this?

          • Re:Yeah God Forbid They Actually Have to COMPETE (Score:5, Informative)

            by Otterley ( 29945 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:31PM (#27714185)

            The article claims that both AT&T and Verizon will be moving to LTE in the future. If this ever comes to pass, and Apple releases an LTE-compatible iPhone, the technology roadblock should vanish.

            • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

              by schnell ( 163007 )

              If this ever comes to pass, and Apple releases an LTE-compatible iPhone, the technology roadblock should vanish.

              Not necessarily. Cellular carriers don't flip a switch and make their network technologies change - it happens market by market, tower by tower. Until Verizon upgrades 100% of their nationwide network to LTE - which even optimistically takes several years and costs tens of billions of dollars - then large parts of their network will continue to be CDMA, which is incompatible with the GSM-based iPhone. So even if Verizon could get access to a future LTE-based iPhone, it wouldn't work on large parts of their

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by rakslice ( 90330 )

                Tens of billions? That's like $100k/tower. The equipment is expensive, but is it _that_ expensive?

                • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

                  by schnell ( 163007 )

                  The equipment is expensive, but is it _that_ expensive?

                  Yeah, it is. With 4G you are dealing with dramatically larger capacity so your whole infrastructure needs an overhaul.

                  So of course you start with the equipment in each tower (which is pretty expensive). You also have to upgrade the backhaul circuits attached to each and every one of those thousands of towers from copper T1s or microwave to fiber/Metro Ethernet etc. to handle the much larger throughputs that LTE supports. On top of that, throw in all the heavy-duty routers, management and QoS gear for the co

            • LTE alone is nothing. The point of LTE is that it provides next gen data bearer with voice & sms handover to (GSM) 2G/3G. You will never see the same coverage for LTE, and there's no point in providing it if you can't steer voice to 3G/2G. They could do that for CDMA also, but likely not as soon an easily.

          • Doesn't seem to worry RIM - they make scads of CDMA devices. President Obama's 8830 is a CDMA device (with a secondary SIM card), after all.

          • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

            by rxan ( 1424721 )

            What really gets me though is verizon can never have the iphone. Ever. It would have to be made exclusively for verizon customers. As Verizon uses phone technology that is incompatible with the majority of the world.

            I would say that Apple, not Verizon, is the major reason that Verizon still won't get the iPhone for awhile.

            Apple has a history of only wanting to support one option for its customers, for unknown reasons. Most likely because they can reduce testing and development strain while still having a high quality product. I think Apple would only want to make one version of the iPhone because it's just easier.

            Not to say that Apple couldn't do it. They just won't. Just like we've seen them leave out simple featu

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by JazzLad ( 935151 )
            Only partially correct, VZW is CDMA, as is Sprint PCS, Cricket & (IIRC) MetroPCS. True, CDMA is primarily a US technology, Japan uses it & I'm too lazy to look , but there are other countries that do too. I work for a CDMA carrier, but my posts do not necessarily reflect opinions of my employer, blah blah :)

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by rnelsonee ( 98732 )

            People know Verizon uses CDMA. What you don't realize is that the applications, or any host-level networking protocol, doesn't care what technology it uses. Converting GSM to CDMA involves plopping a new chip in, and rewriting the data link and networking wrappers used by the OS. Properly written APIs won't even be aware of what technology is used. Blackberry has GSM and CDMA versions of phones, so it's already being done.

            And it's not like Apple hates CDMA. They went to Verizon before they went to Appl

            • it's not like Apple hates CDMA. They went to Verizon before they went to Apple, and Verizon walked away

              I think you hit on the real reason Apple won't sell iPhones to Verizon right there. Steve Jobs doesn't appreciate being snubbed and has a well-known penchant for holding long grudges about things like that.

              And lest anyone think I'm an Apple-hater, I own three Macs and two iPhones (along with PCs running XP and Ubuntu).

            • It is a huge hassle to develop two versions of the phone. Blackberry does this to ensure complete market penetration, and to ensure that agencies don't have to move to a different phone because of contractual agreements with a telco. Apple does not need that. Apple is pushed to consumers, and is trendy enough that people with switch carriers if they really want to use one.

            • Verizon's switching to GSM [boingboing.net] and CDMA is dying, so I kinda doubt Apple would waste any time on a CDMA iPhone at this point.

          • Both Sprint and Verizon use CDMA. Also, their networks are top-notch. I've been on Sprint for a few years now and their coverage is amazing. I'd love for the iPhone to come to Sprint.

            So if Apple developed a CDMA iPhone, they'd gain compatibility with TWO big carriers. The additional sales they'd get from current Sprint and Verizon customers (like me!) who don't want to change providers will probably eclipse the development costs by a vast amount.

          • As Verizon uses phone technology that is incompatible with the majority of the world.

            besides just that, verizon has this stupid UI that severely limits the capability people have on the phone. i can't imagine they'd let the iphone's os run as is. they'll more likely than not severely limit it like all their other phones and effectively make the iphone useless.

        • You're lucky. Really. I want to get an Android to use in Canada. None of the carriers here support it. But I can buy the developer version. And I can buy a sim from one of the GSM carriers up here and plug it into the phone and it will work. Except the 3G. Because for some reason the carriers here elected to use a 3G frequency incompatible with both the US and Europe. Grrrrrr.....
          • It's the G1 that is incompatible, because T-Mobile USA's 3G network uses 1700 MHz for the downlink frequency, which no other carrier in the world uses.

      • My experience has been not the bandwidth, but the processing power of the device itself. Slashdot comes up slower than a PC when even connected via WiFi.

  • Don't worry, AT&T (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Daffy Duck ( 17350 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:31PM (#27713621) Homepage

    You have some breathing room. It will take Verizon at least a year to figure out how to disable all of the iPhone's features so their customers have to buy them back one at a time.

    • Good point but I would assume the iphone on verizon would be just like the blackberry. AFAIK, verizon doesn't lock down anything on the blackberries (except for maybe GPS. I'm not sure about that).

      • Re:Don't worry, AT&T (Score:5, Informative)

        by aesiamun ( 862627 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:43PM (#27713759) Homepage Journal

        GPS is locked out on my 8830 from Verizon. I needed to buy a bluetooth GPS device to go geocaching.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by cawpin ( 875453 )
          Verizon has already announced that they will no longer be locking out features, specifically GPS capability, on new phones. It took a while but they finally learned. Speaking of Geocaching, the iPhone's "GPS" sucks so much you have to have another GPS device anyway. Yes, I'm speaking from experience.

          • Re:Don't worry, AT&T (Score:4, Interesting)

            by mcvos ( 645701 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @04:07PM (#27715659)

            Speaking of Geocaching, the iPhone's "GPS" sucks so much you have to have another GPS device anyway. Yes, I'm speaking from experience.

            I can confirm this. iPhone's GPS certainly doesn't work indoors, but my impression is that even the leaves of trees are enough to stop the GPS signal. It's also way too slow to use the iPhone as a TomTom replacement.

      • I was far more pissed off with Verizon's device locks that prevented me from using my own mp3s as ringtones. If I wanted them, I'd have to buy the file and pay for the airtime off Vcast. I'd have doubts about going to Verizon even if they gave me an iPhone. Totally free.

        Of course.. having been a Cingular customer, I'm certain I wouldn't go to ATT for an iPhone either. So.. android phones, I'm looking at you.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by mysidia ( 191772 )

      If Verizon tried to pull something like that, i'm pretty sure Apple would just renew their agreement with AT&T.

      They want to sell as many units as possible. It hurts Verizon so badly not to be able to sell iPhones, that they'll cave, and not demand any features be disabled.

      Sure, Apple would make a deal to turn off features in a heartbeat if they could make a profit from it and it wouldn't sully their brand.

      Letting Verizon cripple the iPhone, which is advertised as a computing device, not just a ph

      • Re:Don't worry, AT&T (Score:5, Interesting)

        by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:33PM (#27714201)

        If Verizon tried to pull something like that, i'm pretty sure Apple would just renew their agreement with AT&T.

        Verizon WILL try to pull exactly that - they've demonstrated pretty much identical behavior to this many times. I left Verizon for T-Mobile because of it - when Verizon finally released its first Bluetooth phone, it disabled basic sync between a person's phone and his/her computer. I really wonder how many non-techie Verizon are blissfully unaware of some great features their Bluetooth phones would be capable of if only Verizon didn't disable them?

        Now what I'd really like to see is the iPhone on T-Mobile's network...

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Sparky9292 ( 320114 )

          I left Verizon for T-Mobile because of it - when Verizon finally released its first Bluetooth phone, it disabled basic sync between a person's phone and his/her computer. I really wonder how many non-techie Verizon are blissfully unaware of some great features their Bluetooth phones would be capable of if only Verizon didn't disable them?

          Sprint does the same thing with all of their phones. You can take pictures and play MP3's, but you have (or they want you) to use their expensive web service to download music. If you want to actually print a picture that you took with your camera, you have to send the photo to Sprint's site (for a fee) and then go to the web and print it there. Like an earlier poster said, Verizon, Time Warner, Cox, Sprint do not want to be dumb data pipes. They want to control the content as well.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by SvnLyrBrto ( 62138 )

        Apple has caved to AT&T in ways that sully their brand before.

        The biggest example is the in-store-activation-only fiasco with the 3G launch. Compare and contrast that experience versus the original iPhone; when you could go in, plonk down your money, get the hell out of there, go home, and activate at your leisure. That idiocy alone pretty much guarantees that as soon as the iPhone is available on another carrier, I'll be dropping AT&T.

        Apple has also pulled apps from the store at AT&T's behest

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Divebus ( 860563 )

      HAH! That's why I detest Verizon and wouldn't mind trying AT&T. Verizon expects you to buy your own pictures back from them. I've [still] got one of those LG phones where Verizon forgot to turn off OBEX/OPP and I declined their generous offer for a free firmware upgrade.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by wickerprints ( 1094741 )
      It's the rare post where one cannot decide whether to mod +insightful, or +funny.
    • I was just thinking - I want an iphone. And, I want the verizon network.

      Then you reminded me of something. I had (when it was good) a v3 from AT+T. Hackable goodness, everything there. Then we switched to a v3 from VZW. What happened to my phone? What's up with this horrible interface? Where are all the features? This isn't a v3, it's an upsell device with a good network and an ugly interface.

      ATT's network is improving in this area and they just bought a local GSM provider, so I don't think it w

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Tweenk ( 1274968 )

      I'm glad this behavior is endemic to the US.

      In my country there doesn't exist a word for tethering - if you have Internet access in your phone, everyone takes it for granted that you will be using that access from your computer rather than from your phone. That's why I wondered what the hell tethering is, and when I learned I was horrified.

      On the other hand, 70% of WiFi access points in public places like galleries belong to one of the two big operators, and they charge batshit insane prices (~$3 for 1 hour

    • So true. It's like AT&T making you buy the Unlimited Data plan, and then charging you for every 140-character SMS you send.

      Sprint will makes us buy the Unlimited Data plan for the Pre, I'm sure. But that includes web, SMS, GPS, MMS, and even TV services. I'm thinking of joining them just for having a common sense plan.

  • CDMA / GSM (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jmauro ( 32523 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:31PM (#27713633)

    I thought Verizon couldn't use the iPhone because it's GSM and Verizon uses CDMA. There isn't a CDMA version marketed anywhere in the world, they're all GSM. The only options in the US are AT&T and T-Mobile, any bid from any of the other companies would pretty much require them to front the cost of making a CDMA version of the phone since it'd only sell in the US.

    • Re:CDMA / GSM (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:53PM (#27713843)

      Apple said from the beginning it did not want to use CDMA because of its limited range to only North America. GSM is used around the world. Verizon Wireless execs have recently said (check out macrumors and appleinsider.com for the specifics) they don't expect to make an offer to carry iPhones until they roll out 4G LTE technology (aka the next GSM version), the same 4G technology ATT is using.

      You won't see an non-ATT iPhone until LTE hits.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Apple went to Verizon first. They laughed them out of the room when Apple told them the terms.

        Verizon does know one thing people are fickle. The terms Apple was asking for was too big of a risk at the time. They were just finishing ridding out the razr wave. Which was GSM first... Many of the phones that Verizon has are not exactly cutting edge phones. But they are tried and true phones. Meaning the return rates/attach rates/costs are understood up front. The only thing semi cutting edge about Veriz

        • have you ever used a verizon razr and compared it to a at&t (then cingular) razr?

          The verizon razr is a piece of crap. The phone is physically different (apparently it breaks more often and IMHO the slight keyboard layout change is awful). The motorola software is replaced with the shitty verizon interface that they put on all of their phones. The verizon camera is higher resolution (although it still sucks) but I wouldnt be surprised if bluetooth transfer was disabled so you had to pay to send your

      • Verizon is supposedly rolling out LTE (same as GSM providers) in late 2010-2011. But it will require more towers than the EVDO technology so LTE technology will be spotty if it doesn't also include an EVDO chip (which runs into the CDMA/GSM problem).

        So it won't exactly be a $ vs $ comparison. Apple will also have many other choices:
        1) Stick with ATT for full LTE/GSM compatibility in countries without 4th Gen?
        2) Go with ATT LTE, but have spotty coverage in non-LTE areas around the world and the US? Could hur

  • Apple unlikely to make iPhone available to others (Score:3, Informative)

    by elektrizitat ( 849866 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @12:34PM (#27713667)
    I would personally like to see the iPhone available on other carriers, but at least for now this doesn't look likely as Tim Cook has stated that he is happy staying with AT&T and GSM technology: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/04/22/apple_happy_with_att_indicates_no_plans_for_cdma_iphone.html [appleinsider.com]
    • It makes sense for him to say they are happy with ATT. If he said they were not happy or if they were planning on offering to other customers, potential iphone buyers may be tempted to wait it out.
  • I know that Apple's overall revenue is up, but aren't their iPhone sales down substantially (albeit, expected)?

    I think, at least until another model ships, iPhone sales have peaked in the US.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      No.

      Sold 3.79 million last quarter; a 123% growth over the same quarter last year.

  • is the price of the iphone should drop because AT&T is paying more into the kickback fund at Cupertino.

    I don't see this as a particularly bad thing, as long as AT&T doesn't hike their contract cost to offset it. Chip away some of that 26% and put it back in my pocket thx.

    • is the price of the iphone should drop because AT&T is paying more into the kickback fund at Cupertino.

      I don't see this as a particularly bad thing, as long as AT&T doesn't hike their contract cost to offset it. Chip away some of that 26% and put it back in my pocket thx.

      Both of those things have already happened: iphone price drop and AT&T contract rate. You can bet that both of those things will happen again.

  • Verizon rejected.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:01PM (#27713931) Journal
    Verizon rejected the iPhone in the beginning, and they will do it again for the same reason: they want control over their network. They don't want to become just a dumb pipe, because then they are a commodity. Apple having complete control over the iPhone sets a dangerous precedent, it was the first time a phone maker had so much control.

    From my perspective the commoditization of the networks can't happen soon enough. The network maintainers SHOULD be separated from the service providers, and the service providers should lease the network from the maintainers, like Virgin Mobile does now. This will increase competition, and be the best for the customer. The same thing should happen with internet service.

    • While the latter half of you post may have merit, it is invalidated by the fact that Verizon never had a chance to reject the iPhone because the iPhone never would have worked in the Verizon network. Different technologies. Apple never seriously considered making a CDMA phone.

      • Re:Verizon rejected.... (Score:5, Informative)

        by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:32PM (#27714193) Journal
        Switching from a GSM phone to a CDMA phone is simple, on the software side it's a matter of changing a few low level AT commands, and on the hardware side it's a matter of swapping out the modem. If Apple chooses to do it, they will.

        Furthermore, you've done bad research. Not only did Apple consider making a CDMA phone, Verizon completely rejected them [engadget.com]. In essence neither the latter half nor the former half of your post has merit.

          • How does "Apple may be more likely to work with us once we roll out LTE" invalidate the fact Apple approached Verizon before AT&T? Verizon's VP confirmed they turned Apple down when the two companies couldn't agree on a deal.

            phantomfive is exactly correct. Even swapping out the chipsets is relatively straightforward. There are hundreds or thousands of phones that do just that, many from companies smaller than Apple. The hurdle is not technical, as you imply.

            • Okay, if I'm wrong, I stand corrected.

              Actually, now that I think about it and I do remember reading about the Verizon thing, so I know I'm wrong.

              But there's been multiple articles in the recent past from multiple sources that have quoted Verizon execs as saying that Apple never seriously considered a CDMA phone. That's fresh in my mind.

              To me, this is conflicting information.

        • Ring Ring (Score:4, Funny)

          by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @06:43PM (#27716749)

          Switching from a GSM phone to a CDMA phone is simple, ... on the hardware side it's a matter of swapping out the modem.

          Ring Ring!

          It's for you!

          It's analog radio engineers, everywhere, saying they want you to come over for a... a party. Yes, a party. To celebrate the ease of switching out radios.

          I think I hear the FCC in the background gathering pitchforks too. Not quite sure what the intent is there.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by andy1307 ( 656570 )
      Wireless companies are all about subscribers/quarter. There is no way Verizon will pass up on an opportunity to keep their numbers up. Take a look at what's happening to Sprint-Nextel.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ukyoCE ( 106879 )

      This attitude won't last forever. Arguably, it's already over. Verizon has made a lot of concessions on their smart phones. And they know they're bleeding customers to AT&T despite AT&T's crappier network.

      AT&T doesn't get a signal inside buildings in my region, so I'm hoping Verizon will wise up...

    • http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10222486-94.html [cnet.com]

      '(Verizon CEO) Seidenberg added that Apple never "seriously considered making a CDMA version of the iPhone because it didn't have as wide a distribution opportunity," the article said.'

      How difficult is it for the truth to be repeated as often as rumor?

  • It was always my belief that verizon did not want the iPhone because it was not a good fit. Verizon always seemed to me, at least traditionally, to cater to a group of people who did not paying more for cell phone service, and their policies do tend to limit customers, at least in my experiece. It seems that this would be the Apple group, but it really isn't, because Apple does try to reach out to all potential customers, something Verizon has only started recently.

    Before the iPhone, and after all the m

  • AT&T Crappy Service (Score:3, Informative)

    by Nom du Keyboard ( 633989 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:39PM (#27714263)
    If AT&T can't hold their customers away from Verizon (and all the current customers are locked into 2 year contracts with nasty termination fees) it's because of their crappy service and high rates. If they fixed that then they would need to worry about the competition so much. In fact, competition is exactly their problem - they don't want any!

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by anjilslaire ( 968692 )

      Indeed. I was on AT&T a year or so ago, when they announced they were prorating the early term fees. I had about 2 months left, my phone was acting up, and th wife wanted verizon because all of her family uses it, so no minutes would be used.

      So figuring I'd eat the prorated fees, I called to cancel. The phone support said the pro-rating was for new customers only. Now remember, new users get 30 days to cancel, so why give them prorated fees, and not existing users. After an hour on th phone with 3 diffe

  • Apple doesn't want to make different iphone models (Score:5, Insightful)

    by alen ( 225700 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @01:49PM (#27714355)

    just like with computers, apple wants to make only minor variations of a model. for the iphone it's how much storage you want. with their computers it's only a few minor variations as well.

    more choices means more expensive to produce, more testing, etc. Less profits due to higher costs.

    and with CDMA, why make a phone for a dying technology?

  • Apple is an unamerican, anticompetitive company .. (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 25, 2009 @02:10PM (#27714589)

    that has been manipulating the market and the public for years. Sadly, many consumers have bought into an elitist, exclusionary scheme to milk the world, all so a few people can live like kings.

    Personally, I believe Apple never would have been successfully in a free and open market. We citizens tragically have let the greedy overrun the ethics and principles that America was built upon and should stand for. Sadly, we've become tools of the overly-affluent and power-mad.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by troll8901 ( 1397145 )

      This comment is rated Funny. I've reread this twice, but I still don't understand the joke. Can someone explain it to me please?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Jonas the Bold ( 701271 )

        It's funny because free markets encourage monopolistic behavior, and any kind of antitrust activity is regulation of the otherwise free market.

  • Doesn't it seem logical that if the phone is a big money maker they would want to promote it?

    Here in California I have seen many AT&T ads for other brands of cell phones. Never for the iPhone. Is it different where you live?

    Come to think of it I've seen many Apple ads for the iPhone and AT&T is never mentioned.

    So, if these guys are making each other rich, why aren't they more friendly to each other? Makes me doubt the NYT analysis.

  • Here's the CliffsNotes version.

    If you do the calculations (insert calculations), AT&T selling a product and related services makes AT&T money. Here's the tricky part. If VERIZON were to sell those *same* products and related services, THEY would be making the money, and not AT&T. Since AT&T considers the amount of money made to be a good indicator of company success, they greatly prefer if people give THEM money, rather than Verizon.

  • iPhone on Verizon wont happen (Score:3)

    by jonwil ( 467024 ) on Saturday April 25, 2009 @08:50PM (#27717525)

    No way will Verizon be willing to give up control over app approval for phones on its network (look at the BREW crap they have on their phones now).
    No way will Verizon be willing to give up the Verizon music/ringtones/movies/tv/content store for the ITMS
    No way will Verizon be willing to allow GPS and other things without taking its cut.

  • This article assumes that there is no competition for the iPhone. As a G-1 owner, all I can do is give a hooked grin to the author and snicker just a little. Android is that good.

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