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Apple COO Tim Cook and Verizon COO Lowell McAdam on stage at the Verizon iPhone announcement this morning(Credit:Sarah Tew/CNET)
At a press conference in New York City today, Verizon said it will soon begin selling Apple'siPhone.
The device will be available on its network starting in early February, COO Lowell McAdam said to a gathering of press at Lincoln Center. While it's the same model iPhone 4 that AT&T and international carriers currently sell--except that it connects to the CDMA network instead of GSM--Verizon will be selling the iPhone in black and white. The white iPhone for all other carriers has been delayed several times since June.
Starting on February 10, a 16GB model will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract, according to Verizon Wireless' Web site. The 32GB model will sell for $299.99. An extra feature Verizon will offer is the phone's ability to be a personal Wi-Fi "hot spot." Up to five Wi-Fi devices can connect to the Verizon iPhone at one time.
While Steve Jobs did not join McAdam on stage for the announcement, Apple COO Tim Cook did. He told the gathering of press that Apple is "very excited to bring the iPhone to Verizon's 93 million customers and new customers who want to use the iPhone 4 on Verizon."
Verizon's customers will get first dibs on the phone. On February 3, a week before the scheduled launch, existing subscribers will have opportunity to pre-order the phone, Verizon said.
Speculation that a Verizon iPhone announcement was coming today had been rampant following a press invitation from the carrier Friday announcing a "news" event. But rumors of such a device have been around for much longer than that. At the event this morning, McAdam said, "If the press writes something long enough and hard enough, it comes true."
AT&T had an exclusive contract to carry the iPhone in the U.S. for what was initially reported to be five years, starting in 2007.
McAdam said the journey to bring the iPhone to Verizon began two years ago. In 2008 they talked about bringing an iPhone to the CDMA network and it was designed and tested "to make sure it would come up to the standards of Verizon."
Despite its launch of almost a dozen 4G phones for its upcoming LTE network atCES last week, the iPhone Verizon sells will use CDMA technology, not LTE. Apple's Cook said there were two reasons for that: the first generation of LTE chipsets "forced design compromises," and "Verizon customers want the iPhone now."
Though it is first, Verizon does not have an exclusive contract to carry the CDMA model iPhone, Cook said. Which means we can likely expect announcements from CDMA carriers in other countries in the next few months.
More to come.
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