Should we be worried that Verizon hasn’t told us what its iPhone plans will cost?
So today Verizon and Apple held a press conference to announce that the iPhone would finally be available on Verizon’s outdated, but more reliable, CDMA network. Hooray. And as happy as I am for Verizon customers, AT&T customers looking to jump ship, app developers who will suddenly have millions more people ready to buy their apps, and everyone overseas who couldn’t care less about a Verizon iPhone and who just wants these headlines to end, I can’t help feeling that today’s announcement was kind of a let down.
Why? Well, unfortunately, as is all too often the case these days, there were few, if any surprises today, and truthfully, no real information.
When Verizon announced last week they were holding a press conference, the BIG cat was already let out of the iPhone bag. Today we saw no LTE, no Steve Jobs. The only unexpected turn today was Verizon’s announcement that it would allow users to enable a “personal hotspot” feature which will allow users to share their iPhone’s internet connection with up to 5 devices via WiFi. This would be very exciting news if Verizon had announced the one thing anyone watching the event wanted to know – “What’s it going to cost?”
We learned the iPhone hardware itself will cost the same as on AT&T, however we got ZERO info on what the Verizon iPhone monthly plans will be, what they will cost, what the data plans will cost and what, if anything that personal hotspot will cost. In fact, it looks like the personal hotspot feature will be a part of iOS 4.3, and not be a Verizon-specific feature anyway. AT&T could easily announce it will also be implementing the feature come February (although I certainly am not holding my breath).
Should potential Verizon iPhone users be worried?
Somehow the complete unwillingness of Verizon to tell us what any of us would be paying to switch to their network has me a bit wary. Sure, odds are Verizon won’t be charging (significantly) MORE than AT&T, at least for the basic plans, but personally, without a cheaper unlimited data plan, unlimited texts, or a free personal hotspot feature to serve as a carrot to dangle in front of me, I wouldn’t ditch AT&T for Verizon. Today was Verizon’s big day to grab headlines, and we learned nothing other than the iPhone was finally coming to Verizon. If Verizon had any other tricks in its bag, why wouldn’t it have used today to drive a nail into AT&T’s coffin by announcing all these new features and attractive pricing? Today the world’s media had all eyes on Verizon, and so far we’ve heard of no reason why anyone would switch from AT&T to Verizon. Sure, there are AT&T haters, but for most of us, the network has been working fine, and AT&T’s faster speeds and ability to allow voice calls and web surfing at the same time are nice bonuses we’re looking to offset with some similarly cool feature from Verizon.
So, should we be worried Verizon hasn’t told us why we should be excited about its iPhone? Is it hoping to grab double headlines in February by announcing super cheap plans? Is it scared announcing low prices now will give AT&T time to react pre-launch? Maybe. Or maybe the Verizon iPhone isn’t going to all we thought it was going to be.
Didn’t AT&T do the same thing when the iPhone was originally launched?
I don’t see why it would cost any more than their existing data plans considering it’s the same pipe that Androids and Blackberries are slurping from right now.
I’m expecting it to just be like any other phone on the Verizon network.
http://support.vzw.com/faqs/iphone/iphone_faq.html
@DangerousAI,
That link doesn’t really seem answer any pricing questions or mention the hotspot plan…
– The Doc
im not leaving AT&T. Have had the 3GS for a year now, and ive yet to have any issues with dropped calls, et al. Whereas, I know people who have droid and other phones on Verizon that have issues on a daily basis. Not leaving, even if Verizon ends up being cheaper.
Doc,
You missed the bigger point. of a multitasking phone on Verizon… CAN I TALK ON THE PHONE AND SURF THE WEB AT THE SAME TIME?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
I think at this point everyone is assuming it will cost the same as Verizon’s current plans. I’d be at least a little surprised if they introduced special iPhone plans.
You should only switch if you need Verizon’s coverage. The real big deal about this is for people like me, who only don’t have an iPhone because I couldn’t get one on Verizon.
I think the reality of the matter may be that carriers can’t afford to charge lower prices for the iPhone without taking serious hits to their margins.
Verizon’s major selling feature will be exactly what they told us it would be: it’s their network. So the only people who will be switching to it will be people using Droids on Verizon and the people who get lousy coverage from AT&T on their iPhone.
A few years back I was at Verizon getting a phone I dubbed the “V Brick.” They said that it would synch with my Macs. It didn’t–too bad, so sad was their response. A year into the lease my touch screen went bad, so having insurance, and still being under warranty, I got a replacement–and unknown to me ANOTHER YEAR was added to my contract. Again, when I complained, too bad so sad, you “signed” the digital agreement, so no matter what, you are stuck for another year. If Verizon came crawling to my door and begged me to take one of their iPhones with a lifetime free service policy, I would tell them, too bad, so sad, you lied and will never have me as a customer again.
I am going to play the waiting game as one of my co-workers is changing his razor for an iphone as see if his an mine has the same coverage. i am sure most people will wait
until their contracts are up before considering switching for verizon. those that got the new iphone 4 have a longer wait unless they want to pay 10 bux for every month they have left.
Who cares! Seriously CDMA is dying. As far as i can see, Apple is only servicing 1 market. When you look at that, its a very small market compared to the rest of the world. I really could care less and its just a really stupid move on Apple’s part.
The link has half the info we’re looking for:
Pricing
Are there minimum service and data pricing requirements?
Yes, iPhone customers will need to choose from any of the current Nationwide plans. Customers will also be required to activate a data package, pricing will be announced at a later date.
maybe these ppl will care.
http://gizmodo.com/5730579/fuck-you-att
http://www.cultofmac.com/att-iphone-4-vs-verizon-iphone-4-whats-the-difference/76676
Well not only how much will it cost (which I’m sorry to say they have already taken both my arms and legs so I have no more), but how many things will be disabled on the phone. Come on, Verizon has consistently nerfed features on phones or better yet…they make you pay ridiculous prices for features that should be free.