As expected, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell MacAdam confirmed at a press event this morning that the carrier will launch the iPhone early next month after testing the Apple device on its CDMA network for
more than year. "If the press writes about something long and hard enough, it eventually becomes true," he said. Apple COO Tim Cook added that the company has designed an Phone 4 for the Verizon
network with all the features already offered on AT&T's GSM-based network including retina display, FaceTime video chatting and a 5-megapixel camera. (What about multitasking?)
Starting
Feb. 3, existing customers can pre-order an iPhone 4 and new customers can pre-order Feb 10. The same pricing will extend to Verizon: $199 for a 16GB iPhone, $299 for 32GB, with tethering included for
up to five Wi-Fi devices.
During a Q&A session following the announcement, Cook explains Apple made adjustments to the iPhone 4's controversial external antenna design to make the device
compatible with its CDMA network. In regard to multitasking, he says Verizon iPhone users won't be able to talk and use data at the same time (as they can on AT&T's network).
As to why the
iPhone isn't 4G-capable at aluch, Cook says Verizon's existing 4G LTE technology would have required designed changes Apple was unwilling to compromise on and that customers want an iPhone now. The
Verizon iPhone will be available through outlets other than Verizon stores but data plan pricing has not yet been set. It's been reported Verizon will offer an unlimited data plan for the iPhone.
Here's the official release.