at&t exclusivity

Verizon may pay Apple for iPhone semi-exclusive

Verizon Wireless may be willing to pay Apple to keep the iPhone off competitors' networks when the carrier eventually gets the device in 2011, one Wall Street analyst says.

On Monday Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu published a note to investors in which he cited unnamed sources who indicated that Verizon is willing to pay Apple to keep the iPhone partially exclusive. Since its launch in 2007, the iPhone has been exclusive to AT&T in the U.S. Rumors have floated around for months that Verizon will get a version of the device in early 2011.

According to … Read more

The Verizon iPhone: Here we go again

The tech boy has cried "Verizon iPhone" so many times that this villager hardly listens anymore. Indeed, it wouldn't be a day if a new rumor didn't pop up, but just wanting a Verizon iPhone to cure the AT&T woes isn't going to make it happen.

The latest tidbit comes via TechCrunch, which reported Sunday that Apple has placed orders for millions of CDMA chips that will be used in a Verizon iPhone due next January. TechCrunch used an unnamed source so we don't get any details, but that rumor, plus a … Read more

Bloomberg: Verizon iPhone coming in January?

Verizon Wireless customers who have been holding out for an iPhone on their carrier's network may finally get their wish early next year, according to Bloomberg News.

The wire service reported on Tuesday that Verizon Wireless will start selling Apple's iPhone in January. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources familiar with the plans. The deal, if true, would end AT&T's exclusive contract for the iPhone in the U.S. since its launch in 2007.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless representatives declined to comment on the latest rumors.

Neither AT&T nor Apple has ever disclosed the length of the exclusive contract AT&T has for the iPhone. … Read more

Is AT&T losing its grip on the iPhone?

Apple's exclusive deal with AT&T to offer the iPhone may end within the year, according to a prediction from financial analyst Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray.

If Munster is correct, opening up the iPhone to other carriers in the U.S. could be a boon for Apple, which would likely see iPhone sales go through the roof. On the flipside, if this prediction were to come true, it would likely mean very bad news for AT&T, which has relied heavily on the iPhone to boost its own wireless sales and revenue.… Read more