Verizon and Apple have been running some interesting commercials lately. They are basically celebrating that the iPhone will finally be available on Verizon’s network starting February 10th and giving thanks to Verizon customers for waiting so long. Current Verizon customers will be able to pre-order the iPhone starting February 3rd (at 3 AM Eastern time!) and new Verizon customers will be able to buy starting February 10th. This turn of events will finally bring the answers to many questions, some of which have been around practically since the iPhone was originally released.
– How many Verizon iPhones will be sold?
– Will these sales cut into AT&T iPhone sales?
– How many AT&T customers will defect to Verizon?
– Will these sales cut into Android, Palm Pre, and Windows 7 phone sales on Verizon?
– In other words, will Verizon iPhone sales kill the other smartphone platforms?
– Will Verizon customers wait until the summer to buy an iPhone, since Apple generally releases new iPhones in June?
– Will those Verizon customers who buy now wish they had waited until the summer?
– Will Verizon’s network be able to handle the load, or will it buckle like AT&T’s network did in places?
– Will the fact that Verizon’s 3G network can’t support voice calls at the same time as data transmission (as AT&T’s network can do) affect sales?
The answers to these questions will very likely determine the future of the smartphone market, so keep an eye out on this developing story over the next few months.
