Nearing Zenith

More Verizon iPhone Questions

With this week’s confirmed launch of the highly anticipated “Verizon iPhone,” the big question (will it actually arrive?) has already been answered. Engadget has a thorough rundown on the history of this question and the inevitable conclusion, including yet more speculation about the road ahead with AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity coming to an end. I’ve got a few more questions to add to the mix.

Best of all, most of these questions will be answered in the next few weeks!

Any word about a Verizon 3G iPad?

Due for an upgrade this year, the iPad’s 3G models could be available to Verizon customers with a month-by-month data plan as they are for AT&T customers. Likely, Verizon will just continue to offer the WiFi-only iPad models with an additional MiFi device. No need to rock that boat until the new iPad models are available later this year.

Will the iPhone 3GS be offered?

Currently selling for just $49, with a two-year contract from AT&T, the iPhone 3GS is definitely old tech and will certainly be dropped by Apple when the iPhone 4 successor arrives later this year. How many Verizon customers would even consider the 3GS, should it be offered? A $49 (or free…) price tag would appeal to some customers, but it should be clear by now that the iPhone 3GS is a considerable downgrade from the iPhone 4. Getting locked into a pricy 12 to 24-month contract on an old phone doesn’t make for satisfied customers.

How will the next iPhone be addressed, if at all?

Call it the iPhone 5, iPhone 4G, iPhone 4GS, iPhone 4+, whatever. No mention of this device means that initial Verizon sales will be higher, but customer satisfaction will be lower when the new iPhone becomes available only for the customers who waited. A “new iPhone” mention in the Verizon announcement event would be awkward though, since any details are likely to be kept to a minimum. Apple/Jobs are going to keep that anticipation bottled up for their own event.

What’s the policy on iPhone upgrades?

Verizon has been quite famous for New Every Two, but they may change or even cancel this program in light of the higher cost of smartphones and Apple’s consistent upgrade schedule. AT&T made some iPhone 3GS customers, including myself, very happy by allowing us to get the iPhone 4 for the $199/$299 upgrade price just 11 months after buying the iPhone 3GS. Will Verizon be so generous? Really, this question comes down to: how will Verizon respond to Apple’s annual iPhone launches?

What are the pricing plans going to look like?

As an AT&T customer I’m hoping there will be a price war, but I would bet that Verizon will try to match AT&T’s iPhone price plans. Verizon has very little incentive to try to steal current iPhone customers and there’s likely so much pent-up demand for a Verizon iPhone that Verizon could actually charge more for an iPhone plan than their only competitor, AT&T. Besides, AT&T’s customer satisfaction rating is so bad that some current iPhone customers may leave for Verizon just to spite AT&T.

Will Verizon charge for, or even allow, 3G tethering?

AT&T’s take on tethering (which is of major benefit to your other WiFi devices) has been: you can have it if you hand over another $20 per month and don’t mind losing your unlimited data plan for a 2 GB plan with steep overage charges. That’s a pretty clear “fuck you” to dedicated iPhone users. My feeling about Verizon’s 3G tethering policy is the same as for the last question; what’s Verizon’s motivation to provide a better plan than AT&T’s?

How many Verizon customers really want an iPhone?

Certainly it’s millions, but the immediate sales may not reflect that magnitude since some Verizon customers (like my family, friends, and coworkers) will be warned to wait until the next iPhone is available and the iPhone 4 has gone through a price reduction. There are many current Verizon customers that are not at or near the end of their current phone’s contract. Another consideration is the continual improvements of the Android devices, but that deserves a question of its own…

How will having another iPhone wireless provider affect Android sales?

Common knowledge is that Android will be the most popular smartphone platform in the world, regardless of what Apple or RIM does with their platforms. It’s only a matter of time. Apple has made it clear, though, that it’s most interested in customers who have money to spend and are willing to spend it on the world’s best smartphone experience. In other words, Android is free to take the majority of smartphone customers, but Apple wants the most profitable smartphone customers to use iPhones. So the real question here is: now that Verizon customers can buy the iPhone (and Sprint and T-Mobile customers who want iPhones aren’t forced to go to AT&T), are Android sales going to level off for awhile or even, *gasp*, go down?

Will the Verizon iPhone be branded by Verizon?

One of the lesser known benefits to iPhone ownership is that Apple controls the everything about the device’s hardware and software, except the wireless capabilities and settings. Apple’s the only major smartphone provider to offer this advantage. No telecom logos plastered on the phone body, branded startup screens, ugly color schemes, altered UI elements, or undeletable adware. Verizon has been a worst offender with phone branding, but Apple has been adamant about proving all of its customers, worldwide, with the same iPhone experience. Did Apple finally convince Verizon that Apple knows what customers want and are willing to pay for, or did Apple bow to Verizon’s demands (and huge customer base potential) and let Verizon muck up the iPhone with “black and red” and V CAST and whatever else they can cram on the poor phone. I saved this question for last because I think it’s the most interesting and also the most telling about Apple’s power in the mobile device market. If Apple relented and the Verizon iPhones have the big red “V” on them, other wireless providers will soon be demanding the same privileges.

That’s a pretty good list of iPhone-related issues to watch over the next six months. These questions will mostly be answered later this week, but the marketshare questions will take months to answer. Whatever agreement Apple and Verizon have forged, 2011 will be another banner year for smartphone press coverage and app developers.

Lastly, if you or anyone you know is considering getting a Verizon iPhone immediately after the launch this week, here’s some heartfelt advice: for the love of ducks, don’t get one until the new iPhone has been launched and the iPhone 4 has its price reduction! Unless Verizon offers some super-amazing-awesome iPhone upgrade deal, you’ll be wishing you waited when the new iPhone arrives.