As AT&T continues to benefit from its exclusive contract with Apple, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg has told analysts he is still hoping to sell the iPhone. His comments suggest that Apple isn’t actively courting the carrier—no surprise given recent ad campaigns that are aimed squarely against the iPhone and AT&T’s 3G network. They also sound like so much sour grapes, since Apple originally offered to partner with Verizon for the iPhone before the deal went to AT&T.
“We obviously would be interested at any point in the future that they would be interested in having us as a partner,” Seidenberg told analysts during a conference call to discuss Verizon’s third-quarter earnings. “This is a decision that is exclusively in Apple’s court.”
Takeaway: Despite the last two stupid attack ads, and their slamming of the iPhone by pointing out all its shortcomings, they’d be happy to have it on their network. Ponder that for a moment. The whole point of the new ads is that the new Droid line of phones is more consumer-beneficial, and that the iPhone’s shortcomings make it hostile to users.
Yet here’s Verizon saying that they’d be interested in having it on their network.
Either:
1. The “negatives” from their recent ad are just marketing crap.
2. The iPhone really is that bad but Verizon doesn’t really have a whole lot of concern for its users.
Frankly, it’s probably a bit of both.