Without its customary shenanigans and enthusiastic fervor, Apple Inc. announced the Verizon iPhone release date earlier this month. This was one of the strangest Apple conferences of recent times, because not only was Steve Jobs conspicuous with his absence, he actually let the CEO of Verizon (Lowell MacAdam) go ahead and make the announcement. This was unlike the Apple that we have seen in recent times, especially when the announcement was about something as big as a Verizon iPhone, something which a lot of people have been waiting fervently for.
By the time this announcement was made, it was no secret that the Apple iPhone would be releasing for the Verizon network. Months of speculation preceded this development. Until this point, the iPhone was only available to work on the GSM network of AT&T, and they had an exclusive contract with them as well. That, it seems, is now history.
What It Means for AT&T
Many people had complaints with the congested network of AT&T, especially in crowded cities like New York and San Francisco. Hence they were crying out for a switch over to Verizon, or at least the option to change the operator as and when one pleases. AT&T enthusiasts argued for years that since all iPhone users were on the AT&T network it led to congestion and dropped calls, and it was no fault of AT&T’s infrastructure. This is true to a certain limit, and now when many people switch over to Verizon, we will see how true this really is.
AT&T has not endorsed Android devices until now, and with a proportion of its users soon switching to Verizon it is time for them to embrace the open sourced revolution as well.
What It Means for Verizon
Verizon has been the carrier of choice for most people who use Android phones, but many people are now going to switch to the iPhone since it is finally available. It is claimed that the network of Verizon is clearer than that of AT&T, and this will be put to the test now. iPhone users are infamous for using a lot of bandwidth, and I have a strong suspicion that the complaints that people had with AT&T will soon start cropping up with Verizon as well.
Apple Verizon iPhone Release Date and Features
The release date for the Verizon iPhone 4 is slated for February 10th 2011. The 16GB version of the iPhone 4 will cost $199 and the 32GB model will cost $299, similar to the AT&T models. These iPhones will work on the CDMA network of Verizon, and it is believed that soon other CDMA networks like Sprint will also get the iPhone functional on their services. The biggest advantage of the new iPhone Verizon release is that users will now be able to use their iPhone as a Wi-Fi hotspot (setting up a Mi-Fi connection) which will allow up to 5 other devices to connect to the network. The disappointing part is that the iPhone will not work on the 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network offered by Verizon for Android phones. All other Verizon iPhone 4 features will be similar to those on the AT&T iPhone.
There is still no official update on the iPhone 5 release date as yet, but it is widely believed that the new iPhone 5 will come with a dual-band feature that will allow it to operate on the GSM network and the CDMA network.
This move by Apple undoubtedly changes the smartphone market yet again, because now in addition to the Android vs iOS debate, we will also see more of the AT&T vs Verizon debate. With the knowledge about Verizon iPhone release date firmly in mind, the biggest beneficiary is the consumer who now has the choice of an iPhone or an Android device on both AT&T and Verizon networks.