Verizon and iPhone

Guess lots of people have run out of patience for the Verizon version of iPhone. And then comes the Droid campaign that vehemently and directly bashes iPhone (Everything iDon’t Droid does), which makes people wonder: will there be an iPhone for verizon customers even in 2010, or worse - ever? This is further complicated by the recent rumor that Verizon is closely cooperating with Apple on releasing the 4G version of iPhone.

Actually if you look at all these together it kind of makes sense, and seems the rumor (of 2010 4G iPhone) could well be true. It is obvious that Verizon wants some bargaining power with Apple in the months to come, and seriously, it is Apple that stands to lose if they don’t get Verizon as a partner.

It is all business. What would benefit Apple most? Not existing sales/relationships, but new sales. It is actually to Apple’s interest if people break contract with AT&T only to buy another iPhone with Verizon (don’t forget that those phones are not interchangeable). This is a very likely scenario given the new regulations on termination fees, and grudges about AT&T. The worst thing for Apple is that people stick with their old iPhone on AT&T. How would that happen? If Verizon and Apple are still “in talks” by next year.

True that Droid’s ad directly points out the weakness of iPhone, but that will only hurt sales of Apple, not of Verizon, because there isn't any worthwhile contestant to iPhone to date. It will hurt the relationship between Verizon and Apple, but does Apple really have a choice? A few billion dollars of new sale - I doubt Apple would forgo that however they hate Verizon.