(Updated: Video and Gallery) Apple's iPhone 4 Coming to Verizon Early Next Month, With Wireless Hotspot
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 11, 2011 10:50 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Apple
- iPhone 4
- Verizon
- Mobile
Well, it's official - Verizon is getting the iPhone 4. The Apple/Verizon relationship developed over the last two years. The two companies began technical discussions starting in 2008 about bringing the iPhone to Verizon. The phone then spent a year in testing and design and starting early next month, the iPhone 4 will come to Verizon.
The Apple/Verizon relationship is formalized in a multi-year, non-exclusive agreement. However we have no additional details, including whether or not release schedules will be synchronized with AT&T.
At Verizon's press conference there's a lot of mutual respect sharing between the two companies. It looks like there's a desire to establish that these two companies want to work together and will continue to going forward.
Existing VZW customers will be able to pre-order the iPhone 4 online on February 3rd, 2010. A week later, on February 10th, everyone will be able to order the Verizon iPhone 4 both online and in Verizon stores as well as at the Apple store (both online and at physical stores).
The phone will sell for $199.99 for a 16GB version, and $299.99 for the 32GB version. The Verizon iPhone 4 will feature wireless hotspot capabilities allowing you to connect up to 5 devices to it over WiFi. Verizon indicated that you wouldn't be able to use voice and data simultaneously, consistent with other CDMA devices on its network.
More as we get it.
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zorxd - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
Such phone wouldn't sell here.CDMA2000/EVDO is considered a legacy technology here in Canada. Is AT&T that bad that you prefer a slower (EVDO is slower than HSPA) phone 6 months late? And that such phone can't even use voice and data at the same time?
metafor - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
Being a current 3GS owner on AT&T, I can tell you that yes it is.HSPA on AT&T or T-Mobile is nice when you're in an area with good reception, but that happens for me about 5% of the time.
Yuniverse - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
wow... 5% I guess you DO need to migrate to verizon.As for me in Seattle area, I get very good reception and data coverage ... I'd say about 98.8% of the time.
mcnabney - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
While HSPA+ is faster than EVDO rev A in theory, the undercapacity on AT&T combined with frequent connection failures decrease the perceived speed even though the AT&T device will be faster under ideal conditions than a Verizon/Sprint device under those same conditions.For example. at the Chiefs/Baltimore playoff game my Droid worked fine - receiving updated info throughout the game, numerous text messages, and several phone calls without a hitch. In contrast, my cousin's iPhone could never dial out and only established a data connection during the 4th quarter. There is a lot more to service than just speed potential.
vol7ron - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
I also have such problems at shows/concerts. Shouldn't IPv6 help this?clarketelecom - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
No, IPv6. But more spectrum per tower will. Which is exactly what us lucky ATT subscribers get here in CO - 1900 & 850, effectively doubling spectral caMonkeyPaw - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
Same deal here. Last concert I went to left my iPhone a glorified iPod. It wasn't even a large concert, maybe 8,000 people? They all seemed to have smartphones, though. It's times Luke those that I wonder if everyone could ever own a smartphone. The network probably has a long way to go. That, or they need special equipment installed in high density areas.Jacmert - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
"Last concert I went to left my iPhone a glorified iPod.... It's times Luke those that I wonder if everyone could ever own a smartphone."It's times "Luke" those? Ha ha, I think I recognize the iPhone/iOS's auto-typing/correct feature in action! I should know... I've had that happen to me enough times, myself :P
dch58 - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
AT&T is horribly unreliable here.My contract is up very shortly and I can't wait to switch to something that works.
tno - Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - link
First it's not the leap it's what we wanted last year (as in when I switched to VZW), plus it has a guaranteed six month shelf life since iPhone 5 will hopefully support LTE. And lastly, we have none of the useful information. What are the plans going to be like? This was a half-hour that could have been delayed till February and driven much more excitement. Or MWC. Something other than what amounted to a spoken press release following a really exciting (non-Apple) CES.