Apple today 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:
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.
The iPhone itself, appears to be virtually identical to its current AT&T based counterpart, save for hardware modifications enabling it to run on Verizon’s CDMA based network. Among the features highlighted at the conference were the device’s 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, and A4 processor. The phone is slated to become publicly available at Apple and Verizon Wireless stores nationwide on Thursday February 10th. Qualified existing Verizon Wireless customers will be offered an exclusive pre-order opportunity beginning February 3rd–a week ahead of general availability.
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 WiFi 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 3rd 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:
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.
We’ll be sure to provide updates on additional features exclusive to the Verizon version of the iPhone 4, data plans, and rates as the information becomes available. To learn more about the iPhone 4 click here.