There’s been tremendous buzz about the reported new iPhone planned from Verizon. Will it succeed where AT&T failed in terms of consistently good network service? Will it be faster? Will the data plans be unlimited? Will you be able to use it overseas?
The speculation is rife and has been rife for some time. And that begs the question: why allow the speculation to get to the point where the stories are beginning to bite?
- “Verizon iPhone – A reality check” writes PC World
- “Want to ditch AT&T for a Verizon iPhone? It may cost you” writes CNN
- “Verizon iPhone: Will It Fix Verizon’s $100 Billion Conundrum?” writes the WSJ
You have to wonder why they have let the speculation run quite so prevalent; there are now so many stories out there, that getting the facts straight is going to be a challenge for many potential customers. But finally today, the truth was revealed at a live event in New York. From the horses mouth (well, actually Verizon President Lowell McAdam’s mouth):
“The phone is a CDMA conversion of Apple’s existing tech, not a slightly-experimental LTE implementation. And it arrives February 10th, 2011. The 16GB model will cost $199.99, and comes with a two year activation requirement–paralleling the pricing and availability on AT&T. Verizon’s also teasing an “exclusive opportunity” where existing customers can “get an iPhone 4 from our reserved quantity before they’re available to everyone else.”
Over the coming months, as customers kick the tires, we will see whether by allowing all the hype and mountains of speculative coverage, Verizon has set the bar of expectation too high to not disappoint.
Everybody is now expecting the gold plated iPhone experience that Apple and AT&T promised, but failed to deliver. How will Verizon and its network fare? Are you one of the AT&T customers planning to switch or will you stand loyal?
This post was first published by Martin Jones on March Communications’ blog, PR Nonsense, and may be viewed here.