NEW YORK—Despite freezing temperatures, shoppers lined up outside of Verizon stores and Apple Stores Thursday morning to purchase the Verizon Wireless-enabled Apple iPhone 4.
After years of speculation and months of eager waiting, the wildly popular iPhone smartphone went on sale for the first time Thursday, after three years of exclusivity on AT&T in the United States.
Customers were able to purchase iPhones starting at 7 a.m. in Verizon stores around the country and on its website. Several retailers also plan to carry the device, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores.
But glancing at a few of the Verizon locations in New York’s Midtown, as well as the Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue, the crowds seem smaller than for past Apple product releases.
The phones cost $199 for 16GB versions and $299 for 32GB models, both with a new two-year Verizon contract.
“We know people across America have been waiting for the day when they can experience iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Dan Mead, chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless, in a statement.
On Apple’s website, the electronics maker is more diplomatic, stating that the iPhone is now on “AT&T and Verizon. Two is better than one.”
AT&T meanwhile, hoped to diffuse some of the Verizon iPhone fervor with its latest advertisement—criticizing Verizon’s technology and stating that only iPhones running on its GSM network can talk and surf the Web at the same time.
In addition, AT&T this week announced a new, unlimited “mobile-to-mobile” feature allowing for free calls to any mobile number in the country. The feature is free for any customer who currently has the $20 unlimited messaging plan, although it is not automatically enabled. No doubt that the carrier is working overtime in an attempt to keep as many customers as it can.
But all this back-and-forth hasn’t dampened consumer demand for the phone. According to Verizon Wireless, last weeks’ pre-order was the most successful in company history, exceeding the demand for its previous launches such as for the Motorola Droid and Droid X Android smartphones.
Some customers tweeted that Verizon store representatives handed out handwarmers and hats to customers waiting outside in the cold.
The Verizon version of the phone retains all of the features found in the current iPhone 4 available on AT&T’s network, and adds a local hotspot feature that can act as a modem for up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.
Next: Better to Wait?
While Verizon customers who have been envying their AT&T counterparts over the past few years cannot wait to get their hands on the iPhone, some experts are urging customers to wait a few months before buying.
Buying an iPhone 4 from Verizon right now is shortsighted, according to Macworld’s Dan Moren.
“An iPhone 5 will appear this summer, as it has every year since the original iPhone’s debut in 2007. No doubt it will sport some earth-shattering new feature that will have me salivating uncontrollably. And that phone of phones will almost certainly be available on AT&T and Verizon,” he wrote in a column Thursday.
Several technology websites also point to June 5 as the launch date for the next-generation iPhone 5, and iOS 5, which will be available on both Verizon and AT&T. The new phone is also rumored to sport Qualcomm’s baseline chip, which would enable the phone to be both CDMA and GSM-compatible, eliminating the need for Apple to develop a Verizon version and a GSM version.
But that doesn’t mean Verizon won’t benefit from its iPhone launch. According to a recent survey by the Yankee Group, up to 2.5 million current AT&T iPhone owners are planning to switch. The most frequent reasons cited include dropped calls and spotty coverage.
Residents of South Dakota and North Dakota will get their first chance at owning an iPhone, as AT&T currently does not have coverage in most parts of the two states. According to a New York Times report, Verizon has prepared its South and North Dakotan stores to stock up on iPhone devices—as well as hats and gloves.
After years of speculation and months of eager waiting, the wildly popular iPhone smartphone went on sale for the first time Thursday, after three years of exclusivity on AT&T in the United States.
Customers were able to purchase iPhones starting at 7 a.m. in Verizon stores around the country and on its website. Several retailers also plan to carry the device, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy stores.
But glancing at a few of the Verizon locations in New York’s Midtown, as well as the Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue, the crowds seem smaller than for past Apple product releases.
The phones cost $199 for 16GB versions and $299 for 32GB models, both with a new two-year Verizon contract.
“We know people across America have been waiting for the day when they can experience iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” said Dan Mead, chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless, in a statement.
On Apple’s website, the electronics maker is more diplomatic, stating that the iPhone is now on “AT&T and Verizon. Two is better than one.”
AT&T meanwhile, hoped to diffuse some of the Verizon iPhone fervor with its latest advertisement—criticizing Verizon’s technology and stating that only iPhones running on its GSM network can talk and surf the Web at the same time.
In addition, AT&T this week announced a new, unlimited “mobile-to-mobile” feature allowing for free calls to any mobile number in the country. The feature is free for any customer who currently has the $20 unlimited messaging plan, although it is not automatically enabled. No doubt that the carrier is working overtime in an attempt to keep as many customers as it can.
But all this back-and-forth hasn’t dampened consumer demand for the phone. According to Verizon Wireless, last weeks’ pre-order was the most successful in company history, exceeding the demand for its previous launches such as for the Motorola Droid and Droid X Android smartphones.
Some customers tweeted that Verizon store representatives handed out handwarmers and hats to customers waiting outside in the cold.
The Verizon version of the phone retains all of the features found in the current iPhone 4 available on AT&T’s network, and adds a local hotspot feature that can act as a modem for up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.
Next: Better to Wait?
Better to Wait?
While Verizon customers who have been envying their AT&T counterparts over the past few years cannot wait to get their hands on the iPhone, some experts are urging customers to wait a few months before buying.
Buying an iPhone 4 from Verizon right now is shortsighted, according to Macworld’s Dan Moren.
“An iPhone 5 will appear this summer, as it has every year since the original iPhone’s debut in 2007. No doubt it will sport some earth-shattering new feature that will have me salivating uncontrollably. And that phone of phones will almost certainly be available on AT&T and Verizon,” he wrote in a column Thursday.
Several technology websites also point to June 5 as the launch date for the next-generation iPhone 5, and iOS 5, which will be available on both Verizon and AT&T. The new phone is also rumored to sport Qualcomm’s baseline chip, which would enable the phone to be both CDMA and GSM-compatible, eliminating the need for Apple to develop a Verizon version and a GSM version.
But that doesn’t mean Verizon won’t benefit from its iPhone launch. According to a recent survey by the Yankee Group, up to 2.5 million current AT&T iPhone owners are planning to switch. The most frequent reasons cited include dropped calls and spotty coverage.
Residents of South Dakota and North Dakota will get their first chance at owning an iPhone, as AT&T currently does not have coverage in most parts of the two states. According to a New York Times report, Verizon has prepared its South and North Dakotan stores to stock up on iPhone devices—as well as hats and gloves.
