Edible Apple

Earlier today, Verizon releases its quarterly earnings report which was highlighted by increased revenue and subscribers.  Still, overall profits for Verizon decreased during the past quarter.

During Verizon’s earnings conference call, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg was asked about the possibility of adding the iPhone to its fleet of smartphones.  Seidenberg responded,

This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court.  Obviously we would be interested if they thought it would make sense for them to have us as a partner. And so we will leave it with them on that score. . . We want to broaden the base of choice for customers, and hopefully along the way, Apple, as well as others, will decide to jump on the bandwagon.

It’s well known by now that Verizon was actually Apple’s first choice when it was initially looking for a carrier for the iPhone.  Rumor has it that Verizon, though, was unwilling to cede to Apple’s notoriously stringent demands.  Couple that with Verizon’s own tendencies towards exerting overarching control, and you’re left with 2 companies who do things 100% their way and refuse to budge.

Lately, Verizon’s advertising has started to take a few jabs at the iPhone and AT&T, with one commercial mocking AT&T’s spotty coverage and another highlighting all the functions that the iPhone can’t do.  Add that to Verizon throwing its weight behind Android, and it’s hard to believe that Verizon and Apple will be able to reach some sort of agreement anytime soon.

Another consideration is that getting the GSM iPhone to run on Verizon’s CDMA network would require an entirely new phone.  And with Tim Cook having said in the past that CDMA is a dead technology, it makes more sense for a Verizon carried iPhone to run on Verizon’s upcoming 4G network, which as MacRumors points out, “will utilize the same standards as AT&T and other global wireless companies.”  Verizon’s 4G roll out is scheduled to begin in about 30 markets in 2010, with full nationwide support expected sometime in 2013