14 DAY TRIAL // With the iPod, every Apple competitor tried and failed to come up with an iPod killer. Apple hasn't even launched the iPhone yet, but already there are talks of 'iPhone killers' coming out. Sadly and amusingly, some of these so-called iPhone killers don't come anywhere close to what the iPhone offers despite being just as expensive. But it is not just the device that matters, for cell phones the service is just as important, if not more so, and Verizon seems to have understood this.
Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg said that his company plans to compete against AT&T, which is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, by emphasizing the company's services. The iPhone is widely regarded as the most anticipated device of the year, if not more, and surveys show that customers are willing to change the carrier if they have to.
This willingness to change the carrier, combined with information out of AT&T that almost half of the people enquiring about the upcoming phone are not existing AT&T customers should make Verizon quake in its boots, but they don't seem overly worried.
"The way we come at this is to let the iPhone hit the market," Seidenberg said. "I don't think it changes the game plan for how we approach the market. But we need to see the impact. The burden is on (AT&T and Apple) to prove the market will change. The iPhone will add excitement and stimulation to the market," he said. "If we have done our job, then we will be a beneficiary. I hope it does reasonably well."
The truth of the matter is that, regardless of how appealing the iPhone is, and how much customers will want for it, the carrier is a big part of the equation. If AT&T has poor or no coverage where they live, or prohibitive price points and service packages, the iPhone becomes a non-option. AT&T seems to be just as aware of this situation, and there have been many reports of improvements being made in preparation to the iPhone launch.