So Long White iPhone…

Though Tuesday may have brought a new version of the iPhone 4 into the world, it marked the silent exit of another. Immediately following the announcement of the Verizon iPhone 4, Apple refreshed its iPhone page with information on the new CDMA compliant handset. However, in the midst of the update, all photos of the much fabled white iPhone 4 were seemingly purged. Could this be the end for the black iPhone’s ghostly cousin?

Apple last mentioned the pale device in a statement issued late October 2010. In this announcement, the tentative “end of the year” release date (previously July) was bumped to “early next year.” In the days following this press release, Apple significantly scaled back the white phone’s presence on its site, and removed the option to pre-order.

Interestingly, multiple product photos displaying the white model remained on the iPhone 4 gallery page. This move seemed almost a subtle nod indicating the device was still in the pipeline for future release. Sadly, Apple may have delivered the coup de grace Tuesday, as even the longstanding “hero” shots of the white phone were taken down.

Though some had speculated Apple had been holding the white phone back for an exclusive Verizon release, yesterday’s occurrences dismissed the claim. While Apple hasn’t officially confirmed or denied the model’s early demise, the future of the device seems appropriately snowy.

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  • iPhone 4 Comes to Verizon

    This Tuesday, Apple announced a partnership with Verizon Wireless which will officially bring the iPhone 4 to the carrier’s network. Lowell McAdam, President and COO of Verizon, made the highly anticipated announcement at a press conference held in New York City earlier this morning. Tim Cook, Apple’s COO, joined McAdam and Verizon CEO Dan Mead on stage to discuss the device’s launch and hardware details. McAdam offered the following on the newly established partnership:

    bq. “This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century.”

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    Though specific plan and rate details were not discussed, the Verizon iPhone 4 will be priced inline with Apple and AT&T’s current offerings. For qualified users, with a new two-year agreement, the 16GB version of the device will retail for $199, and the 32GB for $299. Perhaps the most exciting exclusive feature of the CDMA-based phone is its ability to act as a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot for up to five devices.

    Since the first generation iPhone debuted mid-2007 as an AT&T (then Cingular) exclusive, Verizon Wireless users have been eager to get their hands on the remarkably innovative device. While numerous third party manufacturers have attempted to clone the device for the competing carrier, none have come close to the usability and design perfection achieved by Apple throughout the phone’s lineage. After years of squashed rumors and envy, Verizon customers have finally had their day. Tim Cook commented:

    bq. “Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it. We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”

    To learn about some of the exclusive features of the Verizon iPhone 4, as well as how it physically differs from the AT&T model, click “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/verizon-iphone-4-what-s-the-difference/

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  • _Dear Friends,_

    The course of the latest storm changed just enough to change Artie’s “Nor’incher” into some substantial snow fall for Vermont. While our headquarters in Waitsfield received just under a foot of snow (meaning our internal contest for the first foot of snow in 24 hours is still alive), I found two and a half feet at my house, and I cleaned off the deck before settling down to watch the Celtics.

    The big news that was not news this week was the expansion of the iPhone onto the Verizon CDMA network. We all knew this was coming and it is a great opportunity for Apple to expand the iPhone market (which has the by-product of expanding the Mac market, too). Apple’s Mac market share continues to grow, and according to the latest reports, is now just under 10%. Even more interesting is a report from Durban Capital that says in the period of January through October of 2010 that 60-65% of the entire growth in consumer spending went to Apple.

    It will be interesting to see how the competition between AT&T and Verizon shapes up for the iPhone. While Verizon seems to enjoy a customer satisfaction advantage right now in terms of service and signal, the enormous load that the iPhone will bring to their network will also pose challenges. Out at the Consumer Electronics Show, AT&T was so overloaded by the thousands of iPhones attempting to use their network that it was nearly impossible to make a call, text or surf. It was not a great show for AT&T and if I were in that position, I would have brought in new bandwidth to cover the show.

    The most telling thing to report about CES was that despite Apple not being at the show, they dominated the show. Many (or maybe most) of the exhibitors were either showing products to work with Apple products or showing products intended to compete with Apple products. There were so many iPad cases, iPhone cases, iPod docks and tablets at the show that one would have thought it was Macworld. We had a successful show and made a lot of new contacts for our Chill Pill Audio and Hammerhead products.

  • Grace is still away in Hawaii so there will be no distractions from championship football this weekend. My Bears meet the Seahawks on Sunday, and the rest of my team likes the Pats who meet the Jets in the early game.

    I’m going to strap on the snowshoes and tromp around the yard to make a series of trails for the dogs and get some exercise before the games.

    Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes and have an awesome winter weekend.

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
    _Don, Kali, Ed and Ben_