A new iPhone… but not for Verizon

Update, 12:00 p.m.: Verizon Wireless Public Relations Manager Sheldon Jones contacted Technically Philly to make clear that the carrier has no immediate plans to make available the iPhone on the Verizon Wireless network and that the company talks to many vendors about the possibility of working together. “We have no immediate plans of offering [the iPhone] and we do talk to all of the companies. We’re very confident in the line-up we have, a porfolio which is bigger and better than anyone out there,” he said.
Yesterday in San Jose, California, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was on-hand for what has become a June tradition: the unveiling of the company’s latest iPhone.
The new smartphone has a handful of new bells and whistles: a stainless steel rim, a thinner form factor, a faster processor, better battery life, a video conferencing camera and an impressive new high-resolution display, among other technological advancements.
But one new feature that didn’t crop up was support for Verizon Wireless’s network. Currently, the coveted phone is only available for AT&T Wireless.
It’s no surprise, really. Analysts and fans have been predicting since the iPhone was first launched in 2007 that the phone will someday land on Verizon store shelves, to no avail.
So when Technically Philly spoke to Verizon Wireless regional president Mario Turco a few weeks before yesterday’s announcement, the iPhone issue wasn’t even on the docket. It seemed a tired conversation. Yet, as the call was wrapping up, a Verizon public relations rep reminded us that, yes, it was still very much on the docket for Big Red.
Read the rest at PhillyMag’s Philly Post.