<p><pre><code> >>Verizon and Apple are both in strong positions they might want each other, but neither yet needs the other.
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I think he is mistaken on this. imo Apple needs to break out of its exclusive-tieup with AT&T and Apple needs this more than Verizon.<p>Being locked to AT&T has greatly reduced Apple's market share and it is the only reason why more US customers are now buying Android phones than iPhones.<p>Verizon will continue to be the #1 US carrier without the iPhone. However, if Apple continues its exclusive arrangement with AT&T for a very long period, Android will continue to gain new-smartphone market share at Apple's expense. That will also mean that more developers will migrate to Android. All of this will hurt Apple in the long run.
I have always thought this, and its just my opinion, but it makes a lot of sense.<p>Why would apple <i>just now</i> begin to offer a CDMA iPhone when LTE technology is just around the corner (early next year / kinda right now)?<p>When the original iPhone came out, there were reports of 100+ field testers testing the iPhone for at least a few months. So it begs to reason that Apple would at least require a few months worth of testing before it had a model that was suitable for production on a CDMA network.<p>You would think someone would have heard / seen someone with a verizon iphone if it was being tested.<p>If Apple waits until September (as Gruber guessed), why not wait a few more months and release a CDMA in June 2011 when your not working on the biggest change in operating system to date (iPhone / iPad OS 4)
<i>But imagine a hypothetical world where there was no Android, or where Android was utterly unsuccessful in the market. In that world, Apple would be in a much stronger position against Verizon — in that world, Verizon would need the iPhone.</i><p><i>A strong Apple does Verizon no good, regardless if they’re carrying the iPhone. Verizon’s interests are best served in a market where there are many phone makers — Apple, RIM, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, HP — none of which are in a dominant position.</i><p>Those two factors might mean that it's in Apple's best interest to wait, and only deal with Verizon once they are clearly going to win, and can dictate their terms. Whether they should do so hinges on whether or not they can beat the other platforms without access to Verizon's subscribers.
Personally, I just wish somebody would start offering the iPhone, or any smartphone, on prepaid. Until then I'm sticking with my twenty-buck LG with the broken front screen.