We may as well accept that between now and the time that AT&T’s exclusive contract with Apple actually expires next year, rumors about who gets the iPhone next are going to be running rampant. Despite the loathsome attitude that some—mostly BlackBerry devotees—take toward the iPhone, it remains one of, if not the most popular smartphone on the market. Many people who covet the iPhone haven’t yet made the switch because their dislike of AT&T and its service is enough to deter them. In fact, AT&T recently received very low marks in customer satisfaction from Consumer Reports. It’s likely that a lot of people were pretty excited about the rumors of a Verizon iPhone. That rumor has now been displaced by one speculating that T-Mobile will actually be the next carrier to offer the iPhone.
What’s interesting is that Apple Insider is one of the sites reporting this, yet their story makes no mention of their previous story about Verizon possibly being the next iPhone carrier. The previous story cited a report Apple Insider supposedly received from an industry intelligence provider saying Apple was having a new model of the iPhone built, which would be compatible with Verizon’s network.
It would make a lot of sense for Apple to allow Verizon to carry the iPhone. It’s currently the most popular wireless provider, with the largest customer base. It also has the largest 3G network, if you believe their ads. Speaking of which, there are a few other interesting developments that could be interpreted as supporting this T-Mobile iPhone rumor.
On December 1, when the rumor about T-Mobile first surfaced, Apple’s stock dipped sharply in the last few minutes of trading. It wouldn’t be the first time the stock market was influenced by a baseless rumor, but it also wouldn’t be the first time one of those rumors turned out to be true. And why would Apple’s stock tumble upon speculation of the iPhone going to T-Mobile? It likely has a lot to do with T-Mobile being the number four wireless carrier out of the four major wireless providers. Even with all the problems Sprint has had retaining customers, they still firmly maintain their third place position. T-Mobile has the fewest subscribers out of the major carriers in the United States. If they were to begin carrying the iPhone, the potential profit margin is greatly decreased over Verizon taking it to its approximately 89 million subscribers.
Also, AT&T and Verizon have been at each other’s throats lately, and not only over the airwaves with increasingly provocative ads aimed at discrediting each other and addressing both carriers’ claims about who has the better, larger, more reliable 3G network. Both companies filed lawsuits against each other which cited each carrier for, among other things, false claims made in those ads. As of December 2, both companies had dropped their lawsuits, effectively ending the current feud. When it looked like Verizon was the front runner for the iPhone, it was only natural that AT&T would go after them—and vice versa—in an effort to undermine each other now that they would be competing for customers over the same device.
Another possible roadblock to an Apple-Verizon collaboration is that with the iPhone comes iTunes. Verizon seems intent on pushing its vCast music service, and has been saying it will launch its own app store before the end of the year. Apple is definitely not giving up iTunes or its app store, so unless Verizon shows some willingness to scale back their competitive services, it seems a joint venture wouldn’t work out.
On the plus side for T-Mobile are its plans to expand its 3G network, and that it seems to be searching for a partner to boost its standing in the wireless market. If that happens, it could be just the leg up T-Mobile needs to be a viable contender for the iPhone.
As usual, until any of the major players make official statements one way or the other, this is all just conjecture, speculation, and rumor mongering. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention it—just in case.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
i want the iphone with t mobile cause they know how to be a good server and i hope they can have the iphone soon
So, what’s up with sprint. If it’s ranking over tmobile, why isn’t it being considered for a shot at the iphone…or is it?
That’s a good question. I haven’t heard anything yet about Sprint being considered. If Apple does decide to go with T-Mobile over Verizon, it may have something to do with the networks the carriers use. AT&T and T-Mobile are on GSM networks, while Verizon and Sprint are on CDMA networks. Keeping the iPhone with a GSM carrier would keep Apple from having to make changes to the phone itself. This is just speculation on my part, and who gets the iPhone next is still a rumor at this point. We’ll keep you posted.
plus people are already using iphones on t mobile unlocked and having great service go ot t-mobile apple