Long considered a lure for carriers, Apple's iPhone is now believed to be attracting a full third of those switching providers towards AT&T — the highest ever percentage of converts since the iPhone was released.
Even as Apple has insisted it's content to give AT&T exclusive access to the iPhone, a closer look at Apple's own devices — and a likely dead-end in growth through its existing carrier strategy — shows that Apple may have little choice but to sell its smartphone through Verizon and other carriers by 2011 at the latest.
Although his company snubbed Apple on the first go-round, Verizon's chief executive Ivan Seidenberg now says the chances of an iPhone on his network will be greater once a 4G cellular network is in place.
Having locked down the iPhone for at least three years, AT&T is now expected to take one more shot at an exclusive deal for the Apple handset and may keep it away from competitors until 2011.
Tough macroeconomic conditions are causing wireless carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile to become more aggressive with pricing of their monthly service plans, a move which could ultimately help drive down the cost of owning an iPhone.
Hoping to ride the coattails of the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch, T-Mobile's US branch is allegedly developing a unified software store that would mimic Apple's but apply to every single device in the carrier's stable.
Apple is on the hunt for an engineer familiar with WiMAX, Ultra-wideband, and other next-generation wireless technologies. Meanwhile, confusion reigned on Thursday as a lineup appeared at the Fifth Avenue store without warning, Oppenheimer Funds has opened its coverage of Apple, and a thief of 330 iPhones has agreed to surrender to local police.
An investment note by Piper Jaffray calls the new iPhone shortage a sign of an impending new model. Also, Adobe will soon announce the next major version of Acrobat with new features, Sprint and Samsung have unleashed a direct iPhone rival, and a new report says Hon Hai will produce 10 million new iPhones.
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Katie Marsal
