Apple, Verizon and the iPhone LiTE

April 28, 2009 at 10:19 am PT

jobs_canyouhearmenow-250x205jpg OK. So maybe there’s something to these Apple/Verizon rumors after all. Shadowy “people familiar with the matter” tell BusinessWeek the two companies are discussing a distribution deal that would see two new devices added to Verizon’s mobile devices lineup: the first, a sort of “iPhone lite” handset, the second a high-definition media tablet. Apple (AAPL) is said to have prototypes of each and has been talking them up to Verizon (VZ) for the better part of six months.

A couple thoughts: Odd, isn’t it, that we’ve seen two stories on an Apple/Verizon deal in as many days in two major news publications? They are presumably well-sourced and bullet-proof. Could be that “people familiar with the matter” are Apple execs simply using the media to put the screws to AT&T (T) in advance of the two companies’ iPhone contract renewal negotiations.

Or is it something else?

Perhaps these pieces are the first signs of the Apple’s cunning PR machine ramping up for some big announcements this summer. An Apple tablet/e-book reader is likely different enough from an iPhone that it wouldn’t interfere with AT&T’s exclusive deal on the device. And what of that “iPhone light” mentioned in the BusinessWeek story? Could it perhaps be an iPhone LTE? Or rather iPhone LiTE? A new device designed for the LTE (long term evolution) standard Verizon will begin supporting widely right around the time AT&T’s exclusive iPhone deal expires?

Tagged with: AAPL, Apple, AT&T, BusinessWeek, deal, distribution, e-book reader, handset, high-definition, iPhone, iPhone light, iPhone LiTE, iPhone LTE, John Paczkowski, media tablet, PR, prototype, telecom, Verizon, VZ

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http://allthingsd.com/ Michael Long

Or maybe it’s just FUD spread by Verizon in an attempt to stem the bleeding.
http://blog.macb.net Mac Beach

But Verizon isn’t bleeding is it?
http://blog.macb.net Mac Beach

May also be just Apple execs (as a whole) running ideas up the flagpole to see who salutes (love that old saying).

Or, it could be competing execs within Apple trying to get momentum for their own preferences.

Or as you say it could be a ploy for negotiating with AT&T.

Regardless, it seems really stupid for Apple to stay with one carrier, unless they are planning in the near term to merge with that carrier in some way to own the whole shebang.

The ultimate “smart”phone would after all be capable of working with multiple carriers and selecting the “best” way to make the next call.

Did any of our “captains of industry” think of that?

No, didn’t think so.