With Apple’s iPhone 5S expected later this year, carriers are beginning to shift around their plans and smartphone upgrade structure to match the upcoming refresh. On Friday, Verizon reported that they will now be extending the wait time for an upgrade to 24 months, up from the current 20 months that was required. The company released details about the extension in a report from The Verge, saying, “In alignment with the terms of the contract, customers on a two-year agreement will be eligible for an upgrade at 24 months vs. today’s early upgrade eligibility at 20 months.”

It is unclear why Verizon has decided to make this change as they did not give a reason for doing so. With this extension,the company will now require all customers with expiring contracts to wait the full 24 months. Customers with contracts expiring in January 2014 will reportedly be the first to get affected by the change. The new 24 month rule will also change a number of other things, including credits through the company’s New Every Two program, which will no longer be honored.

Customers will still be allowed to share upgrades but will be restricted by device category meaning that smartphone upgrades can be used on updating to a new smartphone. The same is also applicable to tablets, stopping the upgrades from being interchangeable. Verizon appears to be the only carrier that is adopting this new 24 month waiting period, with Sprint and AT&T keeping the same 20 month structure as before. Verizon had briefly mentioned in the past several weeks that it could easily transition to contract free plans if it wanted to, similar to T-Mobile’s new “Uncarrier” plans.

{Via AppleInsider}

Verizon has reported its earnings for the 4th quarter of 2012, becoming the first of the four major U.S carriers to report its earnings. According to GigaOm, the carrier activated over 9.8 million total smartphones, with 6.4 million or two-thirds of them being iPhones.

Verizon’s earnings are strange, however, particularly because half of the total iPhone activations consisted of the iPhone 5. This means that Verizon customers continue to purchase the older iPhone 4 and 4S, despite the newer generation enjoying majority of sales at other carriers such as AT&T and Sprint.

It sold 7.3 million LTE devices the last three months of 2012, and it activated 9.8 million smartphones in total. It activated 6.2 million iPhones, about half of which were the LTE-enabled iPhone 5.

Verizon was also one of the first carriers to start widely implementing 4G LTE in most of its new smartphone offerings. According to AllThingsD, Verizon is slowing the expansion of its 3G network in order to build its 4G LTE network and add more devices. About 23% of all devices on Verizon operate on the carrier’s 4G network, justifying its dedication to expanding its LTE network and adding more subscribers.

With Verizon reporting strong sales of not only the iPhone 5 but older generations of the iPhone, it is no surprise that Apple is also reporting its best financial quarter. Last quarter, Verizon activated 3.1 million iPhones, nearly 46% of its smartphone sales. With the carrier adding more devices to its LTE network, it will be interesting to see how its sales shift once Apple releases a new generation of the iPhone.

{Via MacRumors}

On Monday, Apple released a carrier update specifically for Verizon iPhone 5s to address an issue that caused the smartphone to still consume cellular data even while on WiFi, an issue that can be serious with Verizon’s tiered data plans.

This carrier settings update resolves an issue in which, under certain circumstances, iPhone 5 may use Verizon cellular data while the phone is connected to a Wi-Fi network. Follow these instructions to install the update.

1. Tap Settings > General > About.
2. Wait for the following alert to appear: (top right)
3. Tap OK to install the update.
4. Hold the Sleep/Wake button down until you see “slide to power off”.
5. Slide to power off.
6. After the device powers off, hold the Sleep/Wake button to turn your phone back on.

Note: To finish the installation of the update, your iPhone 5 must be turned off and then on again. After your iPhone restarts, tap Settings > General > About, then scroll down to Carrier and verify that “Verizon 13.1″ is displayed.

The update is different from other iOS updates, particularly because it applies to only one of the many carriers the iPhone 5 is carried on. It is delivered in the iPhone’s settings as an Over-the-Air (OTA) update and is marked as important by Apple, likely because the issue is sporadic and may or may not affect a user. It is unclear if this cellular data issue has appeared on other networks such as Sprint or AT&T but there is no word on that at the moment, and appears to be only Verizon at this point.

{Via MacRumors}

Apple is expected to announce iPhone 5 release date early next month, with sources pointing to the 12th September as a possible date for a media event. Earlier this week, a report from TechCrunch noted that Verizon is blacking out vacation days starting from Friday, September 21st. This is likely in preparation for the release of the new iPhone 5 and the wave of new activations that would take place that day. Rumors over the past several months pegged September 12th as a date of announcement and the 21st for release in stores. In the report, Jordan Crook of TechCrunch mentioned the following:

A trusted Verizon employee has just confirmed to TechCrunch that the carrier is having an all-staff vacation blackout from the dates of Friday, September 21 to September 30. You know what that means, right? The next iPhone, whether it’s called the iPhone 5 or simply the new iPhone, will almost certainly be available in stores (with lines wrapping around the back of them) starting Friday, September 21.

Apple’s next generation iPhone 5 is expected to include a larger 4 inch screen, a redesigned 9 pin dock connector, and relocated headphone jack as well as the latest 4G LTE networking, which has already made an appearance on the current generation iPad. This would give Verizon one of the biggest iPhone launches to date, utilizing the carrier’s newly set up LTE network and providing customers with significantly faster upload and download speeds. The next generation iPhone 5 is expected to be released alongside a new iPad Mini and the final version of iOS 6.

{Image Credit: Wired}

Apple’s iPhone 4S has experienced massive success over the last several months, with demand for the popular smartphone staying consistent and with 4S sales pushing Apple up to the number three spot in global phone sales.

Apple added Verizon to its list of new carriers in 2010 with the iPhone 4. Verizon, the second carrier to carry the iPhone in the United States reported during their 4th quarter earnings results that the iPhone represented half of the total smartphone activations, with 4.2 million activations.

On Thursday, Verizon reported their 1st quarter earnings results, and mentioned once again, that the iPhone 4S represented one half of the carrier’s total smartphone sales. The number of sales for Verizon are slightly down from 4.2 million, with Apple selling over 37 million 4S’ worldwide. Analysts expect 4S sales to be slightly down for the next quarter, which is understandable considering the decrease in demand for a product on the market for several months.

However, the Cupertino company also launched the iPhone 4S in China this past January and factoring in Apple’s major presence in Asia, 4S sales may hold strong. Verizon is only one of the three major carriers competing to sell iPhones with Sprint and AT&T competing for increased sales this quarter.

{via MacRumors}

In early January, Verizon CFO noted that Verizon had activated over 4.2 million Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2011, doubling the amount activated during the 3rd quarter of 2011. AAPL experienced heavy sales of the Verizon iPhone upon release and both companies were seeing an increase in revenue.

On Tuesday, Verizon officially announced its earnings for the 4th quarter of 2011, noting that they activated 4.3 million iPhones during the 4Q. With total smartphone sales of 7.7 million units, the iPhone comprised of 55% of Verizon’s the total amount of sales.

Smartphones now count as 44% of Verizon’s postpaid customer phone base, moving up from 39% in the third quarter. However, with this increase in iPhone sales, Verizon’s margins were affected slightly because of the upfront costs that Verizon paid to the manufacturers for their phones. This decrease in margin will later be regained from the 2 and 4 year contracts that many customers signed with the carrier.

This allows carriers such as Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to buy large shipments of iPhones with a major upfront cost, and profit on the back end. Ultimately, the carriers make more money off contracts as they activate more and more iPhones. Verizon is rumored to release a 4G LTE iPhone 5 later this year, which could potentially increase the current 55% of total smartphone sales.

{via MacRumors}

According to sources close to the situation, Apple is planning an important — but not large-scale — event to be held in New York at the end of this month that will focus on a media-related announcement.

Per the usual caveat, the tech giant is well known for moving around their public show-and-tells, so this could certainly change at any moment.

Apart from organizing major media events Apple has participated in other events in the past such as Verizon iPhone launch and the unveiling of The Daily app for the iPad. Based on the fact that the event is New York based it is being speculated that it might be about Apple’s advertising business, iAd. Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, is rumored to play an important role during the event.

The January event is expected to be a “media” only event which suggests that no new hardware will be announced. Apple has been struggling to see substantial success in mobile advertising  and with the recent news about the company hiring Adobe’s executive this event could possibly be about iAd.

A screenshot from VzBuzz revealed that Verizon may be discounting the 2 year iPhone 4 contract price to $150, down from $200. According to the leaked image, the 16 GB iPhone 4 will be reduced to $150, a 25% discount off its current $199 price tag. The screenshot was reportedly taken from Verizon’s TestMan website.

Testman is a website that Verizon uses to tweak and adjust it’s main webpage. It is not known to release any rumours on upcoming promotions, however, this just may be the case if Verizon was planning to update an image or video to reflect the promotion.

Apple has been rumoured to introduce a new CDMA/GSM iPhone 5 for launch this fall, which is why Verizon may be scaling back prices in order to jack up sales.

It’s a very steady process and was one that AT&T had done in the past in order to get rid of it’s older inventory of iPhones. The iPhone 3GS is currently on sale for $49, after a promotional discount from AT&T. Verizon may just do the same.

{via TUAW}

We will move to a more usage based model in July. We’ll share more later.

According to the source, the data caps and prices will be as follows:

2GB – $30/month
5GB – $50/month
10GB – $80/month
Tethering is a $20/month add-on and includes an additional 2GB of data.
Overages are assessed at $10/GB.

It is still unclear when Verizon will publicly announce their new tiered prices, however, based on rumors, it is pegged for a July announcement. This is will affect Verizon iPhone customers who are heavy users of data and video downloads. However, 2GB is usually the basic amount that a customer gets to in a month. This switch was a big selling point for Verizon at the introduction of the iPhone, and what prompted many customers to make the switch to Verizon. We still have yet to see any move on Verizon’s part.

Are you a Verizon iPhone customer? How many gigabytes of data do you use? How much is your current bill? Sound off in the comments below.

{via TiPb}

Verizon Wireless’ CFO Fran Shammo during an investor conference call last month noted that the fifth gen iPhone will be a dual-mode world phone. And now, Reuters is reporting that Verizon chief has reaffirmed this:

Verizon’s [next iPhone] version will also work in as many countries as AT&T’s iPhone, which has global coverage,

Additionally, while talking the possibility of LTE iPhone this year Shammo said, “I think it’s a bigger issue for Apple than it is for us,” which clearly indicates that Apple continues to feel that the current gen chips which support LTE are not yet ready for iOS devices as it could possibly lead to compromising on the devices’ “legendary battery life” and design.

Apple invests a lot of resources in designing its products and changing the design in just one year wouldn’t be something which the company would be looking into.

It is widely believed that Apple’s next phone will be called “iPhone 4S” and not “iPhone 4G” as the next generation device with support HSPA+ which is faster than 3G but not as fast as true 4G speeds.

iPhone 4S being a ‘world phone’ makes perfect sense as the Cupertino, Calif. based company could be looking at streamlining their product line further and make every iPhone model dual-mode.

Apple is expected to introduce the new iPhone this September which will support A5 processor which will boost the graphics and overall performance of the phone.

The technology to send over-the-air updates already exists. Many smartphone platforms like BlackBerry, Android and WebOS already provide this feature and Apple could be looking at introducing it as a future upgrade during iOS 5 software cycle.

One of the main reasons why Apple’s devices need to be connected to the computer before upgrade is that all contents on your phone are first backed up and then the update procedure is carried out. iOS 5 is widely rumored to introduce cloud services which could enable users to backup the contents on the cloud and thus allow Apple to eventually enable over-the-air updates.

In addition to the back up and music locker service, many believe that Apple will revamp the notification system in iOS 5 and come up with a more seamless and non-obtrusive method.

iOS 5 is expected to be announced during WWDC 2011 however, we might not hear about iPhone 5 / iPhone 4S / iPhone 4G during this years conference. Apple’s fifth gen iPhone is rumored to be scheduled for announcement during fall and will probably coincide with the annual iPod event.

Mockup via Blogs DNA

Apple today announced that Verizon’s existing 94 million customers will get an exclusive opportunity to pre-order the iPhone 4 on February 03 at 3 AM. You will be able to pre-order Verizon iPhone 4 through Apple’s online store and from Verizon’s website.

Apple and Verizon Wireless expect huge demand and will fulfill the orders on a first come, first served basis. There is no doubt that there will be many Verizon customers who have waited for this day since the original iPhone and now they can finally buy Apple’s new CDMA smartphone. On February 10th AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity deal will finally come to an end and it would be interesting to see if the sales figures encourage Apple to make iPhone available on other networks too (Sprint?).

The general sales for qualified customers will begin at 7 AM on February 10th, but you will also be able to order an iPhone 4 on Verizon for delivery or reserve for in-store pick up beginning February 09. In addition to the online stores iPhone 4 will be available at Apple’s retail stores and Verizon Wireless Communication Stores.

iPhone 4 on Verizon is priced at $199 for 16GB model and $299 for 32GB model with a new two year contract. We highly recommend that you pre-order or reserve your iPhone as these may soon be out of stock due to high demand.

Press Release

iPhone 4 on Verizon Wireless Available for Pre-Order Tomorrow

CUPERTINO, California-February 2, 2011-Apple® today announced an exclusive opportunity for Verizon Wireless’ 94 million customers to pre-order iPhone® 4 online beginning on Thursday, February 3 through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) and at www.verizonwireless.com/iphone. Due to high demand, customer orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis.

Beginning on Wednesday, February 9, all qualified customers will be able to order an iPhone 4 on Verizon through the Apple Store (www.apple.com) for delivery or reserve for in-store pick up beginning February 10.

Beginning at 7 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 10, iPhone 4 on Verizon will be available to all qualified customers at Apple’s retail stores. iPhone 4 will also be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communication Stores nationwide.

iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple’s stunning Retina™ display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone resulting in super crisp text, images and video, and FaceTime®, which makes video calling a reality. iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip and a beautiful glass and stainless steel design like no other mobile phone. Verizon Wireless customers will also enjoy new Personal Hotspot capabilities allowing them to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 4 on the Verizon Wireless network will be available for a suggested retail price of $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for the 32GB model with a new two year agreement. iPhone 4 will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), at Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 will also be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communication Stores nationwide, online at www.verizonwireless.com/iphone, select retail partners, and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Analysts have predicted that AT&T could lose more than 10% of its current iPhone subscribers to Verizon, but Stephenson remained confident that the company will still enjoy growth:

It may be rocky, volatile and hard to predict, but as the market stabilizes, we will work through it… We feel with a little volatility, we can grow… contract subscribers this year.

Despite Stephenson’s predictions, in the last quarter of 2010, AT&T experienced its biggest ever increase in subscribers, with a total of 95.5 million customers now signed up to the carrier. That’s just over the 94.1 million customers currently signed up to Verizon Wireless. Even though rumors surrounding a Verizon iPhone were rife towards the end of 2010, the AT&T still sold more than 4 million iPhones. Stephenson explained that the device “is still strong, and we had one of the best quarters ever.”

Stephenson also remained positive about the other smartphones the carrier has to offer, with the expectation of increasing its sales of Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, and Android devices throughout 2011. Although AT&T have been a little quite on the Android front to date, Stephenson said “we will be a heavy participant in the Android market this year.”

One thing for AT&T to look forward to over the year ahead is the activation of its new LTE network due this summer. The carrier will offer HSPA+ network capabilities with speeds up to 6Mbit/sec.

As time goes on it’s starting to become more and more likely that the Verizon Wireless press conference to be held on January 11th will provide the US with it’s 2nd iPhone 4 carrying provider.

A source has confirmed to Reuters that Verizon will indeed be offering the iPhone 4 after the event in New York, with reports claiming availability early in February.

Understandably the Reuters source wasn’t keen on being named…

Verizon Wireless will offer the iPhone to its customers under its existing wireless service price plans, said the source, who asked not to be named as the plan has not yet been announced.

With the announcement only days away could we finally be coming to the end of the biggest ‘will they, won’t they’ relationship saga since The Lady and the Tramp?!

Could we finally be getting an iPhone on Verizon? It’s looking like we just might. Verizon took the tech world by storm when it sent out invitations to various blogs asking them to ‘join us as we share the latest news’. The date for the event is Tuesday, January 11th and speculation is rife that this is the day AT&T will lose iPhone exclusivity.

One news source particularly sure of this is the Wall Street Journal who are citing ‘a person familiar with the matter’. Quite who these people are is a mystery, but they always seem to be very familiar with things and like to tell people about it!

If this is indeed going down as everyone thinks it is, it’s huge news for the industry. Single-carrier exclusivity is seen as one of the few mistakes Apple made when releasing the original iPhone back in 2007, and the US is the only territory where this is still the case. Other countries such as the UK saw a huge upturn in sales once more carriers came on board, and Apple will be hoping for similar results in the North America.

While many believe the Verizon iPhone is finally coming, some aren’t convinced claiming the lack of an official Apple announcement as proof that no new hardware is coming out of Cupertino. It’s worth remembering though that no such event came when similar exclusivity ended in other countries.

Whichever camp you fall in, January 11th is a day to keep an eye on no matter what.

Today bought us a new comment, this time from none other than AT&T’s own CFO Richard Lindner. Speaking at the UBS Media and Communications Conference ‘exclusive arrangements end.’ A bit cryptic perhaps, and obviously the iPhone wasn’t mentioned specifically, but rumours obviously point to the carrier’s 5 year deal possibly coming to an end. The question is, what other handset would warrant even mentioning in this context?

One thing is for sure though. Until the iPhone starts to show up in Verizon stores or in Steve’s pocket at an Apple announcement, these rumours will just keep on coming.

It’s got to happen some day, right?!

{iSmashPhone}

Now Fortune has shared its voice concerning the long-awaited Verizon iPhone 4 in a profile of Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg published today, in which it looks at the relationship between Apple and the wireless carrier.

The next step, the iPhone, remains shrouded in secrecy, and neither company will discuss it. But people familiar with its development say it is a fait accompli. Verizon, sources say, will sell its own version of the iPhone 4, which will work on Verizon’s CDMA-based 3G network. Unfortunately for globe trotters, the first version of the phone likely won’t be built to work outside the U.S. — it probably won’t carry a special chip that can turn it into a “world phone.”

The article describes how Verizon declined the opportunity to be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the United States back in 2005. The level of control insisted upon by Apple, and the demands for revenue sharing from customer’s monthly fees, influenced Verizon to turn down a partnership with Apple.

The Cupertino giant then joined forces with AT&T and negotiations with Verizon ceased until early 2007, after the iPhone was announced but before it had been released.

Seidenberg broke the silence. In the spring of 2007, months before the iPhone launch, he secured an audience with Jobs at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., and asked, “Why are we in your doghouse here?” It turns out that for all of Verizon’s concerns about ceding control and sharing fees, Apple was wary of building a device for Verizon’s CDMA network because it didn’t use technology that allowed a phone to seamlessly operate around the world, as AT&T’s network does.

Seidenberg and Jobs continued to hold meetings in the following months, and Apple began to see things from a Verizon perspective in late 2007, just as AT&T began receiving criticism for its poor network performance and its struggle to cope with excessive data consumption of the iPhone on its network.

Three years on the two companies have finally made a deal on another Apple device – the iPad – and as Verizon offer the touchscreen tablet through its retail stores, it looks promising that the hugely popular iPhone will follow suit.

The article goes on to say that the Verizon iPhone would be identical to the current iPhone 4 except for the inclusion of a CDMA chip which would be produced by manufacturer Qualcomm Inc.

Quoting people ‘briefed on the matter’, the WSJ also claims that a separate iPhone is also in the works. This mystery handset will feature an all-new form-factor according to the source, which would mean Apple stepping away from the current strategy of releasing a major iPhone revision every 2 years with a minor revision in-between.

Rumours of a Verizon iPhone have been circulating since just before the dawn of time and they show no sign of going away. It’s safe to say AT&T’s US exclusivity will come to an end sooner rather than later, but until we see the iPhone mentioned on Verizon’s website, we here at Touch Reviews Towers just won’t quite believe it.

Boy Genius Report have had an interesting tip from a source. An enterprising developer, or hacker, has found references to two new iOS devices from Apple. In a code snippet found in iOS is a hack to allow these devices to be activated without going through iTunes. Something that may be of use for field testing of preproduction devices.

Based on the timing of previous sightings of similar functionality in Apple’s mobile OS, two new devices are going to be released by Apple in the near future. From the recognisable Apple designations of the devices it is clear that one is an iPhone and the other is an iPad.

So iPad 2? Or iPad speed / RAM bump?

And does this confirm a CDMA / Verizon iPhone is in field testing right now?

What do you think these iOS devices are? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Steve Jobs interview at D8 (D: All Things Digital) was long and wide ranging. They indicate a man who is passionate about his work, perhaps to the detriment of the popularity of his products or overall market dominance. In many ways he has the job we all aspire to; he gets to go to work everyday and make what he wants, not what’s dictated by the competition. And in being that person and doing that job we see the present and future of Apple. We can say all we want about Apple not going with the flow or giving into a pundit’s wishlist but at the end of the day Jobs’ is right, if Apple wasn’t doing a good job they wouldn’t be selling an iPad every three seconds. Some may say that what we saw Tuesday night was classic Steve Jobs and they would be right. The unique combination of hard-nosed businessman and wide-eyed dreamer is what makes the Apple CEO unique. It’s what lead him to found an alternative computer company in the age of IBM’s dominance, it’s what lead him to leave the company he founded and start over again at NExT, and it’s what lead him back to his original love when it was most in trouble.

What were his thoughts on the subjects and stories we’ve obsessed about for the last year?  Let’s briefly break them down:

New iPhone Carriers – There have been two main stories in the last year around iPhone carriers; the mythical Verizon iPhone 4G / HD and AT&T. The Apple chief had nothing but praise for the iPhone’s exclusive American carrier, noting there have been some difficulties but that AT&T is working very hard to both upgrade its network and provide excellent service to its customers. Jobs didn’t talk specifically about any impending end to AT&T’s exclusivity but he did note there would be advantages to multiple American iPhone carriers. For the moment though, he seemed to indicate they were happy to stick with the company that was first willing to take a chance on the iPhone.

Google – The simmering war between the two Silicon Valley behemoths seems to be a non-issue with Steve. While he acknowledges Google’s encroachment into Apple’s spheres of influence he reiterated Apple’s decision not to encroach into Google’s. Apple’s focus is on making great products people want to use, not worrying about what the competition is doing. He acknowledges that refusing to fight a war with Microsoft in the 90s may have led to the near extinction of Apple (“Apple was about 90 days from going bankrupt.”) but says they will not get into a slugging match with Google. He also seemed to indicate Google’s removal from the iPhone was not imminent, “Just because we’re competing doesn’t mean we have to be rude.”

iPad – It’s clear the tablet plays a large part in Apple’s future plans. Steve sees the iPad as the beginning of a shift in the way we compute. Likening the shift from PC to tablet to the shift from truck to car as the primary means of transportation, Jobs sees a limited and specialized future for what we think of today as the personal computer. The iPad was the product of throwing out existing notions of tablet computing and starting from scratch. He also mentioned that research into the iPad resulted in the iPhone, not the other way around; a fact often conjectured about but never officially recognized.

Foxconn – The troubles with Foxconn seem to trouble Jobs. He states that “We’re all over this.” He points out the suicide rate at Foxconn, who has over 400,000 employees, is well below the American average. That being the case, he also points out that Apple has people specifically assigned to the case.

What do you think of the D8 interview? Did it reveal any new insight into the Apple CEO? Did the interview say more about Apple the company or Steve Jobs the man? Let us know your thoughts on these questions and any other pertaining to the D8 interview below.

Poll Question

Cast your vote and share your opinion in the comments.

Today TheStreet reported on a new research note from Rodman Renshaw analyst which suggests that Apple could be planning to launch the Verizon version of iPhone 4G in November:

The Mac maker has also told its manufacturing partner Asustek to plan on starting full-scale production of a CDMA version of the iPhone to be available at Verizon as early as November, Kumar says. The report is yet another confirmation of Apple’s long-awaited Verizon iPhone, which still awaits final approval from the two companies that have not always seen eye-to-eye.

In a note to its clients, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty raised her Apple (AAPL) price target to $310 per share (from $275) largely based on a proprietary Morgan Stanley/Alphawise survey which highlighted the fact that 16.8% Verizon subscribers said that “they are “very likely” to purchase an iPhone when and if it becomes available on their network” which could add 8 million iPhones every year.

Even though many sources have claimed that Verzion iPhone 4G could be announced during WWDC 2010, it still seems quite unlikely for Apple to make this announcement.

Do you think Steve Jobs will finally make 16.8% Verizon subscribers happy by introducing the new iPhone 4G / HD on multiple networks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATE: Apple today unveiled the new iPhone 4 and its price details. The iPhone 4 will come in a 16GB model for $199 and a 32GB model for $299 in white and black. The iPhone 3G will no longer be manufactured and the iPhone 3GS will now sell for $99. The new phone 4 will launch on June 24th to the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan with pre-orders starting on June 15th.

Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster today in a research note predicted the price of Apple’s new iPhone 4G / HD. He suggests that Apple will follow the 3GS price pattern for the new iPhone 4G.

Apple will introduce a 32GB version of the so-called iPhone 4G at $199, and a 64GB version at $299, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted in a research note published Wednesday.

The 16 GB iPhone 3GS is currently available for $199 and 32 GB is priced at $299. Although Walmart is already offering iPhone 3GS 16 GB model at $97 with a two year contract right before iPhone 4G launch.

The rumor mill is reporting an early June release date for the fourth-gen iPhone.

Would you be happy if Apple introduces the new iPhone 4G / HD in 32GB and 64GB models? Will the “one more thing” be Verizon iPhone 4G? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

As WWDC 2010 gets closer iPhone 4G rumors continue to take new twists and turns. The possibility for new mobile networks for the iPhone have always been weak but as Android continues to grow Apple might be forced to re-consider their strategy and finally end AT&T exclusivity in the US.

If recent rumors about the reason behind AT&T raising Early Termination Fees (ETF) for its customers are to be believed then the introduction of iPhone 4G might open the gates for new mobile networks like Verizon and Sprint to officially support iPhone 4G.

James Kendrick of jkontherun today claimed that one of the ‘reliable’ sources who works for Sprint confirmed that “Sprint will be getting the iPhone this summer”

It is worth noting that when Sprint’s Chief Financial Officer Robert Brust was asked about offering iPhone he said “we’d love to have it”.

Do you want Verizon and Sprint to get iPhone this year? Will WWDC keynote event by Jobs finally lead to the entrance of new mobile networks for iPhone 4G? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Today AT&T in an email to its customers informed about the raise in ETF. This increase will affect all smartphones like iPhone and will also include 3G enabled netbooks. All customers who select higher-end devices “will have an ETF of $325, reduced by $10 for each month during the balance of the service agreement.”

This doesn’t appear to be a huge surprise as Verizon also recenly raised their ETF to $350 which is $25 more than what AT&T will charge.

The raise in ETF by Verizon and AT&T will not impact existing contract customers however, if you are planning to switch your carrier in-order to buy the new iPhone 4G then this will certainly be an expensive affair!

AT&T also published an Open Letter today about this change:

We are now making changes that will lower the ETF for many customers who agree to new term commitments, and will increase it for others. Current AT&T wireless customers who are within their two-year consumer service agreement or have an existing enterprise service agreement will see no change to their current terms.

Beginning June 1, 2010, we will reduce the ETF in new and upgrade two-year service agreements for all customers who are buying basic and quick messaging phones. Whether you are new to us or upgrading handsets, the ETF will decrease to $150 from $175, and be reduced by $4 for each month that you remain with us as a customer during the balance of your two-year service agreement. After the term commitment is completed, the ETF will no longer apply.

For customers who enter into new two-year service agreements in connection with the purchase of our more advanced, higher end devices, including netbooks and smartphones, the ETF will increase to $325, and be reduced by $10 for each month that you remain with us as a customer during the balance of your two-year service agreement. After that, the ETF will no longer apply.

The change goes into effect on June 1, 2010.

[Engadget] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/att-increases-early-termination-fees-iphone-4g-launch/feed/ 0 https://touchreviews.net/iphone-4g-hd-available-june-launch/ https://touchreviews.net/iphone-4g-hd-available-june-launch/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 16:04:01 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=6584 Read More]]> iPhone 4G to be available sometime in June!

AT&T may have finally done something to make their iPhone customers happy. Ironically, though, they may have put another nail in the coffin of their relationship with their traditionally super secretive partner, Apple.

MobileCrunch are reporting that a number of AT&T customers on contract with iPhones are noticing a rather suspicious update to their upgrade status. Basically the date they are allowed to upgrade their current phone to perhaps a new iPhone.

One customer who bought his iPhone 3GS last year has had an Upgrade Eligibility date of the 21st of November since then. But today he noticed that this has changed to the 21st of June. Why could that be we have to wonder?

Apparently not everyone on AT&T is seeing this, but it is certainly not an isolated incident according to various sources.

When you add this bit of information to our report not so long ago about AT&T putting a block on staff holidays in June. Traditionally a sign of an iPhone launch. June the 21st, after Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference is looking like a likely date for 4th generation iPhone goodness of some sort.

But MobileCrunch do also point out that Apple traditionally launch new products on a Friday. So that would most likely mean that the iPhone would be available the Friday before the 21st, perhaps giving some time for retail sales from Apple first over that weekend. Apple like weekends for product launches.

Confusingly Apple’s WWDC is on the 7th of June, and Apple also have an event booked at the Yerba Buena Arts Center for the 22nd of that month too. So at the moment the actual date is anyones guess. But Apple sure is doing something in June!

What do you think? Have you had an update in your upgrade status from AT&T? Let us know in the comments.