The big question today on the Google side of the mobile world is – what will the iPhone 4, now carried by Verizon, do to Android’s Verizon share? A few things we’ve got to take into account. First and perhaps most importantly – this new Verizon iPhone 4 DOES NOT run on Verizon’s 4G LTE network, instead only running at 3G speeds. How much of a leg-up does this give the oncoming torrent of Android phones?
Next, lets consider the fact that Verizon answered a question about their exclusiveness of contract with Apple – there is none! If this also means that iPhone will be going on different networks like Sprint, should the rest of the 3G phone family be worried as well?
After that, our source at Verizon tells us that the company has told their employees that if they add an iPhone 4 to their employee account, they will blacklist the number from their employee account program – harshness!
This Verizon iPhone 4 comes in white. [UPDATE – this was just another mixup where the item was listed “accidentally”]
This Verizon iPhone 4 does not suffer from “Death Grip” destroying of its connection bars like the AT&T version did (and does.)
Finally, a small but potentially important blow to manufacturers of cases for iPhone (this has become a big industry!) – the ringer switch has been moved to accommodate a change in the antenna! Obviously this is the death of the iPhone altogether! What do you think?
Also feel free to check out the rest of our Verizon event coverage on SlashGear:
Verizon iPhone 4 vs AT&T iPhone 4
Verizon iPhone 4 Event Q and A [Why no LTE?]
Verizon iPhone 4 hands-on
Verizon iPhone 4 Prices and Specs Listed [NOT LTE!]
Verizon iPhone 4 Announced
It’s about time we waited 4 years for that just to be faced with a dilemma what to do should we buy it now or wait another 4 months for the IPhone 5 with 4G LTE and dual core processor? Edan Aharony
Hmm… what does “blacklist the number from their employee account program” actually mean? Are they saying employees can’t own one?
Death to the crappy product. Team Android
Death to the crappy product. Team Android will never die
I too, wondered what does “blacklist the number from their employee account program” actually mean?
I waited and waited for the iPhone to come to Verizon, but it was always going to be right around the corner. I got tired of waiting, and I purchaed a Droid X. I am now a HUGE Android fan, and I can’t see myself switching.
2 edan. You always have the option to get a real phone too
I think it’s gonna be a though one for android.
So iphone finally comes to verizon. Sorry Apple a little too late, got an android 3 weeks ago and there is not looking back!
Even iPhone comes to verizon. Android will always at top after 1 year…
viva la android
also we’re not exactly sure what the blacklisting means as of yet. we’ll be sure to let you know here (or on slashgear.com) when we do.
I think it’s a good and bad thing for both ATT and Verizon. Still no voice and data. People switching from ATT to Verizon will be disappointed with the speed of Verizons 3G. iPhone 5 will be here in a few months so have fun stuck in a 2 year contract with Verizon with high termination fees. Verizons network will be even more bogged down than before. I think both Verizon and Apple should have waited just a little bit longer to make this merger. This will hurt ATT for maybe 6 months, then they will bounce back when everyone is mad at Verizon because their iPhone service is terrible.
You guys really think the Droid market will increase or remain the same? Wow. If the Droid was that dominant or great, why would Verizon want the iPhone? They wanted the iPhone because their customers want it. When asked about the customer choice between a 4G Android and a 3G iPhone 4, Lowell McAdam, president and COO of Verizon said, “we all know the iconic device in the marketplace over the last several years has been the iPhone.” http://classic.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1736672362&play=1
The only reason Android exists is because Verizon needed something to compete with the fact that their customers didn’t have an iPhone. “Verizon’s been the reason that Android had life.” Some analysts estimate that “a Verizon iPhone might end up eating into 2 million Android smartphone sales every year.”
I don’t think people were lined up around the corner for their first Android, but I have a feeling that people will be in lines for their Verizon iPhone.
My point is this: Be happy with the smartphone you have. Don’t be naive about the importance of the iPhone in today’s culture. If it wasn’t for the iPhone and it’s popularity, the Droid may not have been produced for another few years.
well played rome
I really wish there was an Android phone that wasn’t huge AND had a keyboard… I’m stuck between Android and the iPhone.
A lot of customers wanted the iphone and then the Android platform grew into a better phone. Some customers will get the iphone but most will be happier with their Droids. The competition will force the Android makers to update quicker. Apple with there once a year upgrade cycle and displeasure of 4G will leave them behind. The Android ecosystem leads to faster and more advances.
Rome your last point was good but Verizon’s main interest in offering the iPhone is to ADD NEW customers. Verizon hopes that it can do that by grabbing existing iPhone loyalists from AT&T who are unhappy with that carrier.
Your initial comment about why Android exists is short sighted. Be sure to think outside of the USA because Android’s exponential growth is global/GSM, not just on Verizon/CDMA.
It means the days of settling for fake iPhones because u can’t get one on your carrier of choice are about to come to an end….
Well, I’m finally glad to see the day come when iPhone came to other carriers. I’m interested to see if it will be a success or failure on Vzw now that it is also on another carrier pitted against Android just like ATT. I did much research if I should hold out for the iPhone 4G for my wife or get a Droid Inc. A local reseller offered a free Inc phone upgrade with Verizon and I took the offer. If she doesn’t like it, I can fall back on the iPhone 4G, so far she likes Android OS. I wonder if Vzw will do some kind of QoS on the data packets for iPhone 4G – meaning they are looking at the bottom line of getting more suckers, I mean subscribers from ATT. 🙂 Having a 3G/CDMA iPhone4 may actually be a smart move for Vzw with the introduction of 4G LTE Android phones to keep the new network from getting saturated too quickly from both iPhones and Android phones and give a good measurement of data consumption between the two.
I will always be grateful for Apple changing the smartphone market, but as always something comparable and cheaper comes out. I have other products of Apple, and I am totally considering iPad 2.
I wish Vzw would’ve solved the no simultaneous data/voice – they still haven’t answered if this same limitation happens on 4G LTE – I think we’ve all assumed it solved. And yes, ATT 3G is faster (btw even faster than Tmos new 4G), but coverage is not as good, especially in buildings. When I had ATT I remember all the dead zones driving from work to home where my call would drop or conversations were cutting in and out. With Vzw I have none on my commute!
Rome an Jumpeymonkey. Two great observations/comments. In my humble opinion the reality will lay somewhere in between. Ipone is an iconnic device but its exclusivity with At&T allowed the underdog to get a considerable amount of attention creating a formidable openent. If Iphone had been released to multiple carriers android would not have gotten the attention it did stunting its development. Iphone will (for the short term) be the go to device for the uninformed consumer who generally doesn’t care about the specifics of their pretty smartphone (the iphone is a pretty phone with pretty sofware), wich is generally the majority of consumers as well as capturing the usual apple fanbase. Android on the other hand has a diversity in hardware (Qwerty keyboards, different size phones and screens) which captures another demographic. Android also captures the user who likes to tinker with their electronics.
In conclusion Iphone has a broader appeal, but I believe the impact that it will have on the sale of Android will be minimal. Android is a strong, versitile competitor.
Bananna: the Droid2 is not HUGE and has the keyboard.
What does this blacklist thing mean? Really confusing wording there??
I have been an android use for a year or a year & half ,and love it and is totally devoted. Unfortunately. I have heard of a lot of android people who will go to the IPhone if it goes to their carrier. That on top of the public (who have been begging for the IPhone to come to Verizon could play a major part in Android sales going down slightly. I don’t think this will be the RIM situation, but if it goes to other carriers I don’t think Android will be able to reach number one. The good thing that could come from this is that android can make phone more towards us. A smaller more tec/nerd (yes I am one of them) market. With Google behind them financial could make some great phones.
yeah so iphone 5 comes out with dual core . quad cores with be running on andriod phones.
With imminent android superphones (4g, dual-core, dual-cam, qHD, gingerbread, etc), i see no significant blow to verizon androids…
It is basically the same iphone same hardware, nothing major. Now if that iphone came out with LTE…that might be a different story!
@romejungle
While I agree that some people underestimate the potential backlash on Android devices when iPhone is released, I don’t agree on the magnitude. While United States is unique, iOS has less market saturation than Android worldwide (about 10% less). This is where iPhone and Android devices are both available. While iPhone will receive a lot of love from Verizon, I don’t think it’ll be devastating to Android. I think it’ll be devastating to ATT. BTW, people were lined up to buy HTC Evo 4G and the device has been sold out for several months (I think it was about 8 ~ 10 months).
“Finally, a small but potentially important blow to manufacturers of cases for iPhone (this has become a big industry!) – the ringer switch has been moved to accommodate a change in the antenna! Obviously this is the death of the iPhone altogether! What do you think?”
Chris you made great points in your article and then ended with this incredibly flawed statement about cases? Seriously?
I develop on 2 major platforms, Android and iPhone. I wanted so bad for Android to be the golden child, but it is only an alternative experience to the iPhone, not superior, not worse. Literally in a list of pro’s and con’s, it is a basic wash in terms of UI, apps, signal strength/coverage/speed, and features.
My girlfriend is a prime example of what will happen. She has a Droid because there was no iPhone on Verizon. She hates the UI, doesn’t understand it and doesn’t care about the level of control that Android offers. She will switch as soon as possible to the iPhone on Verizon because she just gets it and UI is so intuitive.
This is not far from the typical experience I run into in the development community with our test groups.
I am not saying the iPhone is the death of Android but it should create a stronger and healthier sense of competition. More importantly it should light a fire under the backside of hardware providers who have failed to build quality platforms for the Android OS(s).
The die-hard attitudes of iPhone and Android users is laughable. To be fair, developing for Android is not an easy experience and they still have a long way to go. I honestly am most excited about the growth of the Windows Mobile platform and the approach Microsoft is taking.
I think in a years time this will be a very different conversation.
@romejungle
“The only reason Android exists is because Verizon needed something to compete with the fact that their customers didn’t have an iPhone. “Verizon’s been the reason that Android had life.” Some analysts estimate that “a Verizon iPhone might end up eating into 2 million Android smartphone sales every year.”
long before iPhone i had a treo – big, clunky and clumsy but with touch screen calendar, nested SMS’s, camera etc and i was really fond of it. Then Symbian phones eclipsed Palm OS and i swapped to Nokia’s which i enjoyed (sort of). A few months ago i got my first Android, the Samsumg Galaxy S. And for all its faults (and they are legion) i love this phone. For the first time ever i don’t suffer phone envy for anyone.
Perhaps you wonder the relevance of the above? Simply this … i am aussie. And i couldn’t give a fat rat’s about Verizon or any other US carrier. I seriously doubt the relevance of it to my world. Perhaps you should consider the size and potential of European and Asian markets (even not counting Japan where apparently android has only recently begun to stir) – it is hard not to see Android OS eclipsing iphone OS within 2 year at the very latest.
Please don’t get me wrong – i quite like iphones – like all Mac stuff they are sexy and functional. I simply have no desire what so ever to own one. And perhaps more telling for the future for iPhones … i have absolutely no need to own one
* shrugs *
I wished to have a Verizon iPhone for so long, and I settled with a used original Droid in October 2010 while waiting for the iPhone4 to be released. I played with my wife’s iPhone4 all the time alongside with my Droid. Didn’t take me long to realize that iPhone is just a hype. First gen Motorola Droid beats iPhone4 so badly (besides Facetime) that I have decided to stay with Android. voice guided GPS, media format playability, Access Point capability, car dock and home dock availability, Widgets instead of icons, corporate mail and contacts integration, Google apps integration including gvoice, gdocs, gmaps, gLatitude, etc., live TV, Skype…are just a few things iPhone cannot match, and in some cases can only come close. I have got the Droid2Global on release day.
Last week, after seeing the Motorola Atrix (which REALLY changes everything without advertising about it), I think iPhone5 still have potential to catch up, but they have to work very hard.
This will be good for Verizon customers
I love Android more and more.=)
HTC and Motorola make real war machines. All my friends are happy with Android!
Can’t wait for Motorola Xoom and HTC’s tablet computers!!!
First of all, i can’t believe how many people fall victim of “iphone hype” i mean honestly it’s just a fad combined with advertisements.
it’s just a device, apple just like any other mobile phone company will not care about it after your contract is up. i dont understand how people can wait in a line for a device that is so locked down its not even funny and will be outdated in a few years anyway
they brag about how good it’s specs are but honestly many other devices beat it.
o and that retina display its almost more pixels that the human eye can see.
the iphone equals over rated and i can say this as a former iphone owner (switched to nokia i can do what ever i want with the thing :P)
so im pretty sure people are going to look over android because all their simple minded friends have an iphone. and furthermore this WILL take sales away from android because of that. but who cares Right?
remember, Android = open source
iOS = proprietary, take one guess who is greedier
apple more than likely had to make this deal (its been in the works for a very long time) because projected sales were not as good as they wanted and the reason being android.
its funny how citizens from countries around the world dont even care about an iphone but people in america (supposedly one of the greatest countries in the world) are so easily taken by the most redundant of products
I think it’s a really good thing for Android users. IPhone 4 on verizon only means more competition. Competition drives phone manufacturers to make better phones. Not only that, I know Google has a lot of tricks up their sleeves and will not be surprised if Android becomes an even better OS, as a result of iPhone 4 of Verizon.