At least three stories in recent days, all citing unnamed sources, gave three different scenarios of what Verizon may be up to. One from USA Today said that Verizon is discussing with Apple Inc. the possibility of that would work over Verizon's CDMA wireless network, as opposed to AT&T's GSM network. Analysts have said Verizon might want to work with a future variant of CDMA called WCDMA and Verizon's coming, faster, LTE network.
A second story from BusinessWeek said Verizon is working with Apple on two , one an "iPhone lite" calling device, and the other a media pad with access to music, video and phone calls over Wi-F. One of the two might appear this summer from Verizon, the story said.
Meanwhile, a third story, from Tuesday's Wall Street Journal, said Verizon is working with Microsoft Corp. on a that has multimedia capabilities to compete against the iPhone.
Verizon won't comment on any of these reports, with a spokeswoman saying flatly after the third story appeared, "we don't comment on speculation and rumor."
Apple would not respond at all.
A Microsoft spokeswoman issued a diplomatic response, which neither confirmed nor denied that the software maker is working with Verizon: "Microsoft's strategy has not changed. It is and has always been to provide a software platform for the industry. We work closely with many mobile operators and device makers around the world because customers want different experiences on a variety phones."
Some with a cynical view have suggested that all that's afoot is that Apple is talking to Verizon to pressure AT&T in its talks to get another year as the sole carrier of the iPhone, which concludes in 2010. In other words, AT&T would have than it has already, these observers said.
But that view wouldn't explain Microsoft's interest in working with Verizon. In fact, there aren't many touch-screen smartphones that can compete against the iPhone, in theory, at least.
But several analysts who have heard these recent stories all believe it's obvious that Verizon wants the iPhone or something really close to it and is working hard to get it. Unnamed sources or not, it makes sense that Verizon is working vigilantly to get this iPhone-like capability.
It's not that Verizon isn't doing well financially without the iPhone. Rather, another way to look at it is that Verizon is AT&T's staunch competitor and can't let AT&T grab a foothold in the march toward a world where the smartphone is king. Various projections and surveys, including one cited by the CTIA, the trade group for U.S. mobile operators, show that mobile devices will be used by the majority of people in the world for accessing the Internet in 2020. Analyst Jack Gold, of J. Gold Associates, says that tipping point will arrive sooner.
But why the iPhone, over all the other cool alternatives on the market? There are BlackBerry devices from Research in Motion Ltd., an array of Windows Mobile devices, and soon a running a new WebOS, not to mention a range of coming Google Inc.-supported Android devices in addition to the G1.
Verizon sells dozens of wireless phones, including several smart phones, and some that come strikingly close to the iPhone, such as the . But even the Storm hasn't caught on like the iPhone has, analysts said.
One market observer, who asked to remain anonymous, said Verizon has concluded what AT&T has already known. "The iPhone is unbeatable," he said.
However, even Apple knows it needs to keep adding and fine-tuning the iPhone, as it will with the , in order to keep the device unbeatable for the likes of Verizon and compelling for millions of customers.
The iPhone is unbeatable for now, might be a better way of stating things.