Craig Birkmaier wrote:
Apparently Verizon refused to take the deal Apple was offering, in
large part because of the cost and the loss of control. AT&T took
the deal.
I don't think it's quite like that.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/
Sorry Bert, but it was exactly like that.
Apple offered the same deal to both carriers - the exclusivity was the
"plum" that made the deal palatable to AT&T. Here is a succinct analysis
http://betanews.com/2011/01/08/why-verizon-won-t-let-apple-announce-iphone/
Wow, you do have a way of losing all objectivity when it comes to Apple.
Your article even confirms my point that the wireless carriers have all
the control, and you managed to miss that.
First off, that article is from last year, and it talks about the
introduction of the iPhone 4. Its focus is not on the initial deal with
the then newly branded AT&T wireless, which took over Cingular.
But specifically on the initial deal, here's what your article said:
"AT&T is different, **or was when Apple launched the original iPhone** in
June 2007. AT&T made lots of concessions to get iPhone, such as granting
Apple control over the software and updates."
It doesn't say that Verizon got the same offers. All it says is that AT&T,
**at that time** but no longer, had LESS bargaining power, and that
therefore Apple could make a sweetheart deal with them. Exclusivity for
AT&T, and Apple gets to behave more like the sucker of lemmings that is
usually the role of the MVPDs and wireless carriers.
And then comes the most important part of the article. It goes on to say:
"Perhaps 18 months ago, Verizon would have ceded more to Apple. After all,
AT&T was stealing away customers who wanted iPhone, and Verizon had
nothing even remotely comparable to offer. But then in autumn 2009,
Verizon launched the Droid -- a cool, Android 2.0 handset supported by a
$100-million marketing campaign. Other hot-in-demand Droids followed."
So importantly, the iPhone is no longer such a big deal draw. And the
carriers *have* the control. Apple tried to get that control, but they now
have much less leverage than they used to. Even today, on the Diane Rehm
Show, they had some guys on who talked about all manner of wireless comms
topics. And they too confirmed that just because 4G will be going to LTE,
the carriers are not going to allow compatibility among their nets. (Which
by extension also applies to any broadcaster-owned LTE network, of
course.)
I also wonder why anyone would take sides on this sorry state of affairs
(for consumers). Why would anyone prefer a vertically oriented, walled-in
Apple empire, to the much more open alternatives, given that they have to
deal with individual wireless carriers either way? It's like jumping from
the frying pan to the fire. How do you keep missing that?
Bert
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