Home > Technology > Verizon Wireless to take bite out of AT&T’s Apple iPhone 4 sales

Verizon Wireless to take bite out of AT&T’s Apple iPhone 4 sales

Calling all iPhone users dissatisfied with AT&T’s wireless service, and everyone who is interested in the iPhone, but not the iPhone/AT&T package…can you hear me now?

The nation’s largest wireless phone network is ringing you up to tell you that Apple, Inc. has an answer for you.

Beginning Feb. 10, 2011, Verizon Wireless will become the second wireless provider in the United States to offer Apple, Inc.’s iPhone 4, ending the monopoly AT&T has held since the first iPhone entered the market in 2007.

AT&T’s iPhone customers may look into buying a Verizon iPhone in hopes that Verizon’s wireless network will be more fit to support iPhone users’ heavy data demand and less susceptible to dropped calls than AT&T.

“I’ve heard complaints [from AT&T customers] that they don’t get good reception,” said Josh Bowman, 20, a liberal arts major at DCCC.

A Verizon customer, Bowman is considering getting the iPhone over other smartphone upgrade options that Verizon offers, he said, adding that his Verizon reception at school is not very good.

Time will tell how well Verizon’s 3G network will handle the iPhone 4 data traffic.

Currently, Verizon Wireless offers an unlimited data plan for its smartphones for $29.99 per month, and AT&T offers its iPhone customers 2 GB of data for $25 per month and additional data for $10 per GB.

If Verizon were to offer its unlimited data plan for the iPhone 4, current iPhone data super munchers may be tempted to switch networks to take advantage of Verizon’s’ cheaper offering.

According to Sheldon Jones, Verizon Wireless public relations manager for the Philadelphia Region, Verizon will offer an unlimited data plan for the iPhone for $30 per month, for a limited time only.

The Verizon iPhone 4 will sell at Apple and Verizon stores and online for $199 and $299 for the 16GB and 32GB phones, respectively – the going rate for the iPhone 4 from AT&T--according to Verizon Wireless’ website.

Laura Merritt, a Pennsylvania public relations representative for Verizon, confirmed via e-mail that Verizon is planning to have four new smartphones – the HTC Thunderbolt, LG Revolution, DROID Bionic, and Samsung 4G LTE--that will run on its new, faster 4G network out by early summer.

The iPhone 5 is also rumored to have a release date of sometime this summer and a better antenna design than that of the iPhone 4, which was the source of many customer complaints about instances of dropped calls and diminished reception last year.

Verizon’s iPhone 4 will differ slightly from the iPhone 4 currently offered by AT&T because the iPhone will now be equipped with a Personal Hotspot feature that will allow it to connect with up to five other devices via Wi-Fi, Merritt said.

When asked via e-mail whether the Verizon iPhone 4 would have any design modifications related to the phone’s antenna, a spokesperson for Apple did not respond.

DCCC students who were polled about whether they would consider buying the Verizon iPhone cited the price of the phone most often as the main factor in their decision.

Almost all students stated that although the Verizon iPhone 4 is not as novel as the iPhone was when it first came out with AT&T, they expect it to sell very well.

“People are addicted to technology,” said Tori Walker, 18, a paralegal studies major. “It’s the craze of getting a new phone.”

Contact Ariel Senko at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

The Communitarian Opinion Policy: The opinions expressed on the editorial and the op-ed pages do not necessarily reflect those of The Communitarian staff or college. We welcome your comments on any matter relating to Delaware County Community College, and responsible rebuttal is encouraged. Write to communitarian@mail.dccc.edu. Please write “letter to editor” in the subject box.