Citing an anonymous “inside source,” HotHardware.com has reported AT&T could lose their iPhone exclusivity on Wednesday, when Apple is also expected to introduce its long-awaited touchscreen tablet.
a source allegedly told the Web site that AT&T is “tired of taking the heat” for poor reception from iPhone users. In short, the report claims, AT&T officials believe the iPhone is hurting the company’s image, and they are no longer interested in having exclusive access to Apple’s handset.
Possible Verizon iPhone?
On some level, having the iPhone is hurting AT&T’s image. Because they are the only company to carry it, and it’s such a data hog, it’s largely to blame for AT&T’s network troubles. The iPhone itself doesn’t really handle the switch from 3G to EDGE very well, so calls that are in-progress tend to fail whenever the 3G bands aren’t optimal and the phone attempts to step down to EDGE. It seems that AT&T is tired of taking the heat for this, and at this point, they may be smart to just let another carrier take some of those customers who are most inclined to complain.
The website also reported that when AT&T loses their grip on the iPhone, they’ll be introducing several new smartphones with new platforms in order to “compensate.” At CES, it was announced that new Windows Mobile, Android and webOS-based phones were planned for AT&T, but few details were provided as to when. Now, it seems the puzzle pieces are beginning to slot together. It’s possible that AT&T recently went searching for deals with other phone makers in order to proactively bolster its smartphone lineup for when this day-of-doom would come. AT&T has gained a huge amount of subscribers from being the only operator with the iPhone, and if it loses that advantage, it’ll need some other cutting-edge, high-brow phones to keep people’s attention. – article excerpts taken from HotHardware.com
Tags: Apple Rumors, iPhone & AT&T
There are many in my family that would welcome an option!