iphone leaving sprint?

[tinkbutt]

So has anyone else heard that iphone's contract is up with sprint and will be switching to Verizon!?! One of my friends told me this was wondering if anyone else has heard the samething?

 

[mikelan6]

So has anyone else heard that iphone's contract is up with sprint and will be switching to Verizon!?!

AT&T has the iPhone, not Sprint ... and yes, there are rumors going around.

 

[alamode]

An Apple rumour, OMG!!!

 

[WaltD4Me]

A friend of mine is with Sprint. She really wants an iphone, she called Sprint last week because her contract is almost up. She told them she was thinking about switching to AT&T, the offered her a nice deal to stay and told her things were going to change soon with the iphone because the AT&T contract is almost up.

 

[kaligal]

Believe it when you see it.

These rumors are always going around.

 

[JB2K]

This rumor has been on and off for awhile. It reminds of the rumors that were all over the place back when the Moto RAZR was the "must have" cell phone.

If Apple does want do something outside of legacy partner AT&T, it would be with one of the two "CDMA" carriers in the U.S. -- those two carriers being Verizon Wireless and Sprint (Sorry T-Mobile subscribers -- I can't see Apple ever setting-up camp with a rival GSM carrier).

Of course, this will require a completely redesigned phone, since AT&T-requistioned phones are not compatible with either VZW or Sprint's networks.

As for which of the two carriers would get the next-gen iPhone, I would have to say Verizon, because of their monstorous number of subscibers, plus, they are in the process of rolling-out a 4G network, which would be very complimentary to the iPhone.

Post #1000 for me!

 

[sc9500]

I gave legs to this rumor until the iPad was announced and the wireless deal was w/ AT&T... I cant see apple having 2 different carriers.

 

[OKW Lover]

I've heard this rumor often. But I really wonder how much is truth and how much is wistful thinking. I'm guessing the answer is somewhere in-between.

I have no doubt that at some point, Verizon will have a version of the iPhone.
Will it be this summer?
This year?
This model?
We simply don't know.

 

[timmac]

I've heard this rumor often. But I really wonder how much is truth and how much is wistful thinking. I'm guessing the answer is somewhere in-between.

I have no doubt that at some point, Verizon will have a version of the iPhone.
Will it be this summer?
This year?
This model?
We simply don't know.

We can make some educated guesses though, working through your questions:

This model? Almost certainly not. Apple dislikes (among other things) divergent hardware platforms. I can't see them having both a GSM and a CDMA piece of hardware. Keep in mind that though Verizon/Sprint are popular in the US, I believe Japan is the only other country to use CDMA at all, so the worldwide market for the device may simply not be there.

This summer? Well, when is the contract with AT&T up? Is it August? That'd be the earliest POSSIBLE date.

This year? Now you have to start doing a little guesswork and thinking things through. Assuming it's a first-version of a 4G model that ever becomes available for Verizon, and not a 3G model (see divergent hardware argument), we need to ask ourselves when Verizon's network can support that? Keep in mind that, yes, Verizon makes some good claims about having much wider 3G coverage than AT&T (and that may well be true), but that doesn't say much about network capacity. Before they can release an iPhone they're going to need to be ready to support both existing Verizon customers who want the iPhone, as well as those who want to switch away from AT&T, which could be a LOT of people. I would hope that both Apple and Verizon are smart enough not to pull an "AOL unlimited internet" kind of business move. Of course, if they did, AT&T's service would look darn good!

I would agree that an iPhone (or successor) on Verizon is inevitable on a long enough time line. Personally, I think that time line is at least a year out from now, if not longer, but that's just my best educated guess.

 

[Mickeyflower]

Apple has renewed its contract with AT&T. I can't find the article, but I did hear it on the news.............honest!!!

 

[kittycat9]

A friend of mine is with Sprint. She really wants an iphone, she called Sprint last week because her contract is almost up. She told them she was thinking about switching to AT&T, the offered her a nice deal to stay and told her things were going to change soon with the iphone because the AT&T contract is almost up.

Sprint has the Google Android phones (I have the Samsung version), and I LOVE it! The new platform is coming out in april, I'm not sure how it's supposed to be better, but it is. I love what I have, but don't have to pay for the software upgrade. My new phone only cost $99 to upgrade. Can't complain, and I have a qwerty slide, with a full touch which is the same size as the i-phone.

 

[k5jm]

This rumor has been on and off for awhile. It reminds of the rumors that were all over the place back when the Moto RAZR was the "must have" cell phone.

If Apple does want do something outside of legacy partner AT&T, it would be with one of the two "CDMA" carriers in the U.S. -- those two carriers being Verizon Wireless and Sprint (Sorry T-Mobile subscribers -- I can't see Apple ever setting-up camp with a rival GSM carrier).

Of course, this will require a completely redesigned phone, since AT&T-requistioned phones are not compatible with either VZW or Sprint's networks.

As for which of the two carriers would get the next-gen iPhone, I would have to say Verizon, because of their monstorous number of subscibers, plus, they are in the process of rolling-out a 4G network, which would be very complimentary to the iPhone.

Post #1000 for me!

The "World" Chipset has both UMTS and CDMA rf un its on it. IT will not require a redesign of the iphone, only a software change.