As had long been rumored to break AT&T’s exclusivity of carrying bandwidth for the device, Verizon Wireless announced 1/11 it will launch the iPhone 4 on its network sometime in early February. Pre-orders for the device will be available 2/3 with in-store availability starting 2/10. The iPhone 4 from Apple will be priced at $199 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 32GB version – the same pricing plan as currently offered by competitor AT&T and will run on Verizon’s CDMA network. Those prices include a two-year contract with Verizon.
It will have basically the same features as the AT&T iPhone released last year, however, there may be a mobile hotspot feature that AT&T has not provided, according to a ZDNet story. As mentioned, Verizon will require buyers to have a nationwide voice plan and a data plan to purchase the iPhone 4 at a discount. But on its website it does say folks will have the option to purchase iPhone at full retail price, which will not require a long-term agreement. You will also not be able to swap your AT&T iPhone into the Verizon network: “In order to take advantage of the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless network, you will need an iPhone 4 that works on the Verizon Wireless network,” added the site.
RBR-TVBR observation: This may spur on a whole new round of competitive Verizon and AT&T network superiority ad claims. As the website said, its iPhone 4 works on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network, not its 4G LTE network. We’re sure many of the media buys have already been made…
