Who Benefits Most From The Verizon iPhone?

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February 10 marks the fist day the iPhone will be available for Verizon subscribers. As the months go by and Apple nearly doubles its sales of the popular smart phone, I wonder who will be happiest from this long anticipated carrier addition:

1) Verizon - I read somewhere that Verizon will lose hundreds of millions of dollars in the first year for subsidizing the iPhone. I understand it's all about the long vision, but I know Verizon is holding their breath about their stock numbers and whether or not it was a good idea to include the iPhone in their lineup.

2) Apple - No doubt they will double their sales of the popular device and break into the Android market share, but I think they too are holding their breath a little. The iPhone may be the most popular smartphone on the planet, but it is not without it's flaws. The most popular problem is the antenna and the dropped calls. AT&T blamed Apple for the unreliable signal quality while Apple sat back and pointed the finger back. If the iPhone continues to drop calls on Verizon then Apple has a big problem on its hands.

3) Google - Android is a Google product, the biggest opponent to Apples iOS that runs the iPhone. I know Android phones are building market share at a surprising rate, but no doubt having the iPhone on Verizon will slow that increase. I liken this mobile race to that of Microsoft and Apple for the last 20 years. Apple focused on quality and design while Microsoft dominated most of the world with affordable products that everyone had access to in all shapes and sizes. I wonder if Google even cares about this Verizon/Apple partnership, further I wonder if Apple learned from it's mistakes with the Microsoft fight.

4) AT&T - These guys are probably giving a sigh of relief with the scores of people that plan to make the switch to Verizon, especially all those bitter people with terrible service in San Francisco. Still those people who are left over might see a bump in service with all the heavy users off the network. I heard AT&T has been working for years to build up their network from all the iPhone users, now they're poised to offer the best service in the U.S..

In the end the real winner will be the consumer. The battle for cheaper devices will bring the prices down along with the competition for cheaper and faster mobile Internet service. Consumers will read the online reviews and wait until summer when the next iPhone will debut. If it's a winner the eyes will be on the carriers, if it's a dog, Android will have the biggest smile.

Related articles

• AT&T May Lose 26% of iPhone Owners to Verizon, Survey Shows (pcworld.com)
• Verizon iPhone To Have Major Impact on Wireless Carriers (AAPL, VZ, VOD, T, S, DTEGY, GOOG) (247wallst.com)

Mark Z - Person of the Year

This week Mark Zuckerberg was named Person of the Year by Time Magazine. I am both excited and disappointed by this choice. On one level I am happy to see the mainstream media embrace the tech world, I think it help validates the industry and helps lift it from fun website to a global brand.

On the other side I wish Time would choose a better ambassador instead of Mark. I find his company to be unscrupulous with the way they sell user data to third parties, praying the the users who think they are contributing their content to a walled garden. If you are among the foolish that think what you write on Facebook is protected, then you need to visit Your Open Book.org. Just type something generic like, "I hate my boss" and you'll have a long list of people who write nasty things about their boss on Facebook.

Here is a short list of influencial tech people I would choose over Mark Z:

1) Steve Jobs - The iPad was one of the top products of the year. As CEO of Apple Steve's legacy is more secure than ever.

2) Eric Schmidt - Google's CEO is controversial, but their stand-off with China and other significant tech creations are changing the world in a positive way.

3) Jeff Bezos - I'm a huge Amazon fan and I think they're just getting better. The Kindle is a big hit that looks to change book publishing forever.