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Apple eyes Verizon to carry iPhone
A man displays his iPhone
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TEXT OF INTERVIEW
Bill Radke: Apple's mega-hit the iPhone could be expanding its footprint. Right now to use an iPhone, you have to be a customer of AT&T wireless. But this morning's Wall Street Journal reports
Apple is working on a new iPhone for Verizon. As in the country's number-one wireless carrier and AT&T's main rival. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman joins us live from Oregon Public Broadcasting. Hi, Mitchell.
Mitchell Hartman: Good morning, Bill.
Radke: So why could this shake up the cellular industry?
Hartman: Well, keep in mind, since the iPhone debuted in 2007, it's been exclusive to AT&T. On Verizon, if you want a smartphone with Internet and fancy games and apps and all that, you have to use something like an Android or a Blackberry. So for existing Verizon customers, there's the Apple cachet and all those apps. And for AT&T iPhone users who switch to Verizon, they may get better service. We're talking the actual phone calls here.
Radke: And why is that?
Hartman: Well, to explain, we've got to get into some acronyms. AT&T and most other wireless carriers run on a network called GSM. Verizon uses a different one, it's called CDMA. Verizon's network is generally considered more reliable than AT&T's, which is prone to dropped calls and slow downloads on that iPhone.
Radke: So what are the business reasons for Apple and Verizon to get together?
Hartman: Well, you just have to look at the numbers. iPhone sales have continued to explode, but eventually Apple's going to run out of new customers if they stick with AT&T and its type of network. And for Verizon, it's got fewer smart phone users than AT&T. Verizon wants more of these customers -- they're the ones who buy expensive data plans. The Journal says a new Verizon iPhone could come out by summer or fall, but none of the companies is commenting on that.
Radke: Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman. Mitchell, thank you.
Hartman: You're welcome.
I have been with verizon for a while now and their service is excellent and I know if the iPhone is sold to verizon customer, they would bs very happy, having great service on a good phone makes a diffrence , so come on apple just let it happen, you surley won't regret it!!
Anyone who thinks private enterprise is more efficient and customer-sensitive than government has only to deal with a megacorporation to know that's SO not true. Those clowns have lost my business forever... no questions asked. The sooner Apple (and everyone else) learns this, the better. Some of us have learned our lessons and there's no going back.
