Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon has confirmed the details of its iPhone data pricing: $30 per month for unlimited data — and the offer’s only valid for a limited time.

The news comes from Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, who told The Wall Street Journal that if Verizon offered only a limited data plan, it would be a roadblock for AT&T customers thinking about switching to Verizon.

“I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” McAdam told WSJ.

AT&T originally offered an unlimited data plan to iPhone customers for $30 a month, but later the company switched to a tiered pricing structure. The biggest AT&T data plan you can buy is 2 GB for $25 per month; more data will cost $10 for each extra gigabyte.

An unlimited data plan on Verizon offers an incentive for AT&T customers to defect. However, McAdams added that an iPhone unlimited plan will be a temporary offer and Verizon will eventually transition to tiered data pricing like AT&T.

While we wait for a Verizon iPhone to hit stores on Feb. 10, Bloomberg is already reporting a rumor about the next-generation iPhone. Citing a consultant who claims he has connections with Apple engineers, Bloomberg says the iPhone 5 will have near-field communication technology that can be used for over-the-air payments. Corroborating the rumor, Apple recently hired an NFC expert as a product manager for mobile commerce.

Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

See Also:

• AT&T Sees No Threat in a Verizon iPhone
• Verizon Signals the End of the Unlimited Data Plan
• Verizon Wireless Finally Gets Apple's iPhone
• Many iPhone Customers Want to Hop to Verizon, But They Probably …

Hot on the heels of re-tooling its data plans Verizon is now confirming that the iPhone will indeed be eligible for the company’s $30 unlimited data plan. COO Lowell McAdam told The Wall Street Journal “I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” thus confirming what we already knew and showing his keen sense for both business and self-preservation. No comment on whether discontinuing the company’s $15, 150MB monthly data plan will result in penetration wounds to any other appendages, but time will tell on that one.

Update: As spotted by SlashGear, WSJ has posted an update indicating that the unlimited plan is a decidedly limited time thing, with tiered pricing to come in the “not too distant future.” Intrigue!

Update 2: And Macworld’s confirmed that Verizon’s iPhone WiFi data tethering pricing will be the same as all their other phones: $20 a month on top of your regular data plan, with a separate 2GB cap and $20-per-gig overage charges.

[Thanks, Mike]

Verizon confirms iPhone will get $30 unlimited data plan, we try to act surprised (update: WiFi tethering prices) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon‘s quarterly report is in, and profits are nearly twice what they were this time last year: $4.65 billion compared to $2.37 billion a year ago. Additionally, VZW added 872,000 customers, a fair bit more than the 646,000 it was expected to gain. Great news, right? Not if you’re a Wall Street analyst, who wanted to see earnings per share of 55 cents. The actual figure was 54 cents, and so down Verizon’s shares go, a 1.3 percent drop so far. Nothing particularly shocking there, but this is the last quarterly report the company will have before VZW adds the iPhone to its stable, so we’ll be very curious to see what these numbers look like three months from now.

Verizon profits nearly double, but miss Wall Street expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Verizon’s FAQ, the new iPhone 4 will cost $50 more off-contract than it does from AT&T. While the prices of the handset is the same from both carriers if you sign up for a two-year contract, the unencumbered handset will cost $650 for the 16GB version and $750 for the 32GB model. This compares to $600 and $700 from AT&T.

The FAQ also makes the launch timings clearer. As previously announced, existing Verizon customers will be able to order the iPhone on February 3rd, and everyone else can buy it from February 10th. Verizon customers will only be able to pre-order at the earlier date, though: “beginning on February 10th, you can visit an Apple Retail store to purchase and activate.”

Everything else, from purchasing in an Apple Store to iTunes activation, is the same as with the AT&T model.

So why the extra $50? My guess is that Apple may be charging Verizon more, and it is simply passing on the cost to the customer. After all, the GSM version of the iPhone sold by AT&T is exactly the same as every other iPhone sold around the world. But right now, the only company selling the CDMA iPhone is Verizon. It could just be that the typical “economies of scale” haven’t yet kicked in.

Finally, there is a little more information on tariffs. While no pricing is revealed, the FAQ says that “iPhone customers will need to choose from any of the current Nationwide plans. Customers will also be required to activate a data package, pricing will be announced at a later date.”

iPhone 4. Verizon. It Begins [Verizon]

iPhone 4 photo: Jon Snyder / Wired.com

See Also:

• AT&T Sees No Threat in a Verizon iPhone
• Verizon Wireless Finally Gets Apple’s iPhone

The unthinkable has happened. After spending 99 percent of their recent marketing budgets figuring out ways to sling mud at each other, AT&T and Verizon have now come together to dance a merry waltz — all in the name of Apple’s hallowed iPhone. The latest commercial for the phone that really doesn’t need advertising shows that you can FaceTime, read iBooks, navigate maps, and do everything else on the Verizon iPhone just as well as you could do it on the AT&T-friendly GSM variant of the device. As if you didn’t already know. Still, it’s fun to see these guys trying to turn their lack of competitive diversity into some sort of an advantage. Video after the break.

Update: Now in HD!

Continue reading Apple brings AT&T and Verizon together for a happy dance in latest iPhone commercial (update: HD video)

Apple brings AT&T and Verizon together for a happy dance in latest iPhone commercial (update: HD video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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