In the past 36 hours, rumors have been flying around that Verizon Wireless is in talks with Apple, Microsoft, and a Google Android phone maker. So who's next?
Just in case you are having trouble keeping up, here's a summary to get you up to speed:
Late Sunday, USA Today reported that Verizon was planning to offer an iPhone on Verizon's current CDMA-based wireless network. Business Week followed on Monday with its own story that Verizon is talking to Apple about a new "iPhone-lite" phone and a tablet-Netbook-type device. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported Verizon is talking to Microsoft about a Zune-like, music playing iPhone killer. And then VentureBeat published a story saying that Verizon could also be talking to Android phone developers.
Not surprisingly, Verizon's spokesman Jeffrey Nelson declined to comment on any of these rumors.
Still, it's only Tuesday, and at this rate, I'm wondering if tomorrow we'll hear another rumor that Verizon is talking to Palm to get its hands on the new Palm Pre, which will debut on Sprint's network this summer. Or maybe Verizon is in talks to buy Yahoo. (Just kidding, but it seems like everyone is rumored to be buying Yahoo these days, so I thought I'd throw that in there.)
Seriously though, I am not discounting any of these rumors. Where there is smoke there is usually fire. And believe me there are plumes of smoke surrounding the Apple rumors. And it wouldn't surprise me one bit that Verizon is also talking to Microsoft. Of course, Microsoft is denying that it is developing its own mobile device hardware.
"Microsoft's strategy has not changed, it is and has always been to provide a software platform for the industry," a company spokesman said. "We work closely with many mobile operators and device makers around the world because customers want different experiences on a variety phones."
Also, Venture Beat's speculation that Verizon might be looking to offer an Android phone also seems plausible, given that the story cites a job description on Verizon's Web site that seeks an "Android Devices Expert." The article also points out that an unnamed CDMA carrier is getting code developed for a chip used in an Android CDMA device. This development could be for Sprint, which is a Google Open Handset Alliance member and also has a CDMA network. But who knows?
Rumor, rumors. Today's are about Verizon deals with smartphone makers.
The fact is that Verizon's executives have said they are willing to work with a variety of device makers. In fact, Verizon has developed a special Open Device Initiative to streamline the certification process to get new devices on its network more quickly. And Tony Lewis, head of the ODI division, confirmed recently that the company is talking to at least five Netbook makers. Perhaps, one of them is Apple.
Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone also said in an interview at the CTIA tradeshow in Las Vegas that Apple could theoretically use the ODI process to get a CDMA version of the iPhone on Verizon's network.
"If Apple decided that they could sell more iPhones by developing a CDMA version and then they took advantage of the ODI process, they could get a CDMA iPhone certified on the network," he said. "And maybe they would sell the unsubsidized phone in Apple stores, and you'd activate service with Verizon and pick a service plan. I suppose that's one possible model under the ODI framework."
But I think that if Verizon is really having serious talks with Apple, in particular, it is about getting the iPhone on its super speedy 4G wireless network that it will start building this year. Verizon has said it will have 25 to 30 markets up and running by the end of 2010.
Verizon's CEO Ivan Seidenberg even told the Journal that a 4G iPhone is more likely to come to Verizon's network than a 3G version of the phone.
"Apple never had any intention of making a CDMA" version of the iPhone, Seidenberg told the Journal. Seidenberg also said that "previous overtures by Apple prior to the launch of the original iPhone were meant to help Apple gain negotiating leverage over AT&T," the Journal reported.
Perhaps, Apple is at it again. The deal between Apple and AT&T is expected to expire next year, and AT&T has expressed interest in extending that exclusive deal. Maybe Apple is turning up the heat to get better terms in the next agreement.
But consumers shouldn't hold their breath. Devices for 4G networks are at least two years away.
Even though Verizon says it will have 25 to 30 markets deployed next year, the initial chips on the market will only be used for laptops. Chips made for cell phones and other mobile devices will likely follow about a year later.
Mohit Bhushan, senior director of product management for Qualcomm, one of the chipmakers making integrated 3G/4G silicon, said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February that his company is just starting to sample its 3G/4G chips this year for device manufacturers to test. Commercial products won't likely hit the market using these chips until a year later, he said.
As for the integrated 3G/4G chips that will be used in cell phones, Bhushan said those chips will be available for testing in the middle of 2010, which means commercial devices aren't likely to hit the market until 2011 at the earliest.
"The biggest challenge for us is meeting the expectations of the carriers and manufacturers," he said, "Everyone wants products earlier. But we have to build test devices. And it just takes time."
So what's your prediction for the next Verizon rumor?
Rumors have circulated since Apple's iPhone was first launched that Verizon Wireless might get its own version of the popular device. But will the elusive iPhone ever come to Verizon's network?
(Credit:
Apple)
Maybe. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg hinted that Verizon might offer the iPhone on its 4G wireless network, which the company plans to start building next year, in an interview with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Specifically, Seidenberg said that if Verizon were to offer the iPhone, it would most likely be available on its 4G wireless network rather than on the current CDMA-based cell phone network.
Now, I know this isn't iron-clad confirmation, but it's something.
Seidenberg added that Apple never "seriously considered making a CDMA version of the iPhone because it didn't have as wide a distribution opportunity," the article said. But he explained that Verizon's new 4G network will use a technology called LTE, or Long Term Evolution, which also happens to be the same technology that AT&T eventually plans to use for its 4G network.
While it may be true that Apple preferred working with AT&T because it uses GSM, a technology that most global cell phone companies use, there are also reports that Verizon actually turned down the iPhone because it wasn't willing to give up as much control as AT&T was. And these folks would argue, that this fact was the real reason that Apple struck the exclusive iPhone deal with AT&T instead of Verizon.
In any case, there is a lot of pent up demand for the iPhone among Verizon Wireless subscribers. I get e-mails all the time from readers asking me when I think Verizon might finally get the iPhone. Honestly, I have no inside information to know for sure when or if this will ever happen. But with talk that AT&T is trying to extend the exclusivity deal with Apple for the iPhone and the fact that Verizon's 4G network won't likely be ready for handheld devices until at least 2011, I'd say that anyone who is holding out to buy an iPhone in the hopes that Verizon might pick it up within the next two years, should stop waiting.
My advice is, just buy the current iPhone 3G, sign up for AT&T's two-year contract and when your contract is up, maybe, just maybe, Verizon will have a 4G version of the phone. Of course, two years is a long time when it comes to technology. So by the time your iPhone contract is finished, there might be an even cooler, slicker device on the market that trumps the iPhone.
One thing is certain, Verizon says it wants to get a whole bunch of different devices on both its current 3G wireless network through its Open Development Initiative and on its new 4G broadband wireless network. These devices include everything from Netbooks to remote medical monitoring devices to smart grid sensors to electronic book and magazine readers.
On Friday the company released initial technical specifications for these new devices so that they can run on the company's soon-to-be-built 4G wireless network.
Verizon is also planning to host a Web conference for developers on May 1 to discuss details on the LTE specifications, answer questions, and gather feedback. Verizon said this is the next phase in the company's open development program.
Verizon announced the Open Development Initiative in 2007 and has designed the program to offer a "fast track" for companies making devices and applications for the Verizon network. So far, the company says several devices have been certified, although today there are no commercial cell phones available that use Verizon's open network. Executives say this is because no device maker has come up with a business model to sell their open development devices and services.
Verizon plans to begin testing its 4G wireless network this year. And it will start building the network in several markets next year. The network uses spectrum the company acquired in the 700MHz spectrum auction, and the company is required to make a portion of whatever network it deploys using this spectrum open.
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