[Lotus Esprit]

According to Boy Genius Reports Verizon Wireless is now testing iPads on their network. On the heals of the AT&T announcement to discontinue the offering of an unlimited data plan this is great news.

Hopefully in the near future iPad and iPhone owners will be able to get service on Verizon's wireless network and stick it to AT&T.

[turtle777]

According to a highly placed source of ours...

-t

[Lotus Esprit]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

-t

It is their sources!

[Spheric Harlot]

Verizon doesn't actually use UMTS or even GSM anywhere except through their partner Claro in Puerto Rico, AFAIK.

So they're testing Wi-Fi only iPads in their office cubicles, I take it?

[slugslugslug]

turtle777, I don’t follow the cell-phone rumor scene that closely, but as far as I remember, Boy Genius Report has a reputation for getting lots of actual scoops. (also, IIRC, they've branched out a bit beyond phones and were the site that first reported the Social-network sharing features in iTunes 9). Maybe they've had bad calls before, but they definitely do have highly placed sources.

and Spheric Harlot, the rumor specifically mentions CDMA. Even if it hadn't, I would assume that when they say testing iPads on VZW's network, they mean a model with the right radios.

Of course, assuming the source is real and correct, it doesn't say that much about how soon iPads/iPhones will reach Verizon. "Testing" could mean they're negotiating, not necessarily that a deal's been made (especially since they certainly wouldn't get models that revealed any secret upcoming features other than new radios).

I've mostly been going with the assumption that Apple won't do anything with Verizon until there's widespread deployment of LTE (tech that Verizon and AT&T will use as "4G") on multiple networks. It would certainly simplify things on Apple's end if a single hardware configuration could work on Verizon and AT&T. As I understand, LTE isn't backwards compatible with CDMA, so if Apple wanted to get devices on Verizon this year, they'd have to go with something that can do LTE and CDMA. But if Verizon's LTE rollout is aggressive enough to mostly replace their old network (and I have no idea if this is feasible in the next 12-18 months), Apple could save on production cost.

[jokell82]

BGR is usually pretty reliable, but I don't buy this for a second.

[asxless]

For those of you who do not believe Verizon is testing iPads running CDMA. Do you believe....

a- Apple was so stupid/desperate at the launch the iPhone that it signed an exclusive contract with AT&T that not only covered the iPhone but also future devices like the iPad?

b - Apple is so wedded to GSM, that it would not build a CDMA capable iPad to defend/capture even more market share?

c - Some other reason.

asxless in iLand

[slugslugslug]

I don’t think anybody believes your “a”. I’m sure the AT&T iPad deal got rolling when Apple decided that the thing was actually going to be released, with the iPhone’s sales volume as a bargaining chip on Apple’s side.

Maybe some folks would argue “b”, but I doubt very many would. There are strong reasons in favor of staying with GSM, since it’s far more common outside the U.S. But who would doubt that Apple has at least built some CDMA prototypes? It makes perfect sense for them to at least get CDMA iPads (and iPhones) working as well as possible. That way, they’d be quicker to market if they decide to release it—just like having Intel Macs around for years before the switch.

I think the strongest reason to doubt this is a reasonable belief that Apple wouldn’t actually let Verizon touch the hardware until the deal was signed. It seems unlikely that this already happened, given how recently the GSM 3G iPad shipped. But who knows, maybe they’ve already known for weeks about the egg AT&T just threw on their face and they rushed Verizon negotiations.

[jokell82]

Verizon isn't testing anything. Apple may have cdma ipads, but they wouldn't be giving them to another company for testing.

[asxless]

Originally Posted by slugslugslug 

....But who would doubt that Apple has at least built some CDMA prototypes? It makes perfect sense for them to at least get CDMA iPads (and iPhones) working as well as possible. That way, they’d be quicker to market if they decide to release it—just like having Intel Macs around for years before the switch.

I think the strongest reason to doubt this is a reasonable belief that Apple wouldn’t actually let Verizon touch the hardware until the deal was signed.....

So assuming that Apple has some CDMA iPad prototypes. It really comes down to whether or not Apple personnel are demoing/testing these prototypes on the Verizon network to/with Verizon personnel. Or whether Verizon personnel are testing these prototypes unchaperoned. IMO the former is very believable and fits within the vague language of the BGR rumor -- "...Verizon Wireless is currently testing Apple iPad devices on their network. We have been told that the model they are testing is a CDMA-compatible device,..."

asxless in iLand

[Spheric Harlot]

If they didn't market a CDMA version of the iPhone in the past three years, why on earth would they market a CDMA iPad *now*?

[asxless]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

If they didn't market a CDMA version of the iPhone in the past three years, why on earth would they market a CDMA iPad *now*?

Maybe because AT&T had, and probably still has, an exclusive on the iPhone but NOT on the iPad.

IMO Verizon probably would like to offer both the iPhone and iPad. But half a loaf is better than none. And the AT&T exclusive on the iPhone probably does not last forever. So maybe Verizon wants to get in now with the iPad and get access later to the iPhone.

OTOH 'testing' does not always lead to 'marketing'.

asxless in iLand

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by asxless 

Maybe because AT&T had, and probably still has, an exclusive on the iPhone but NOT on the iPad.

close to 7 billion people on this planet, close to a billion on this internet thing, and people still need to have explained to them that the world doesn't end at the US border.

Even in CHINA, which AFAIK has a MUCH bigger CDMA market than the entire rest of the world put together, Apple chose to go with GSM.

They won't go CDMA.

(Now watch them introduce a CDMA iPhone on Monday, just to spite me. )

[asxless]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

.... Even in CHINA, which AFAIK has a MUCH bigger CDMA market than the entire rest of the world put together, Apple chose to go with GSM.

They won't go CDMA.....)

OK then, I'll put you down as believing "b - Apple is so wedded to GSM, that it would not build a CDMA capable iPad to defend/capture even more market share?"

asxless in iLand

[Spheric Harlot]

No. Apple is wedded to keeping costs low, margins high, logistics simple, and above all, the product line simple.

You want an iPhone, you buy an iPhone.

Asking what network technology it runs on is completely alien to most people.

I'm sure Apple *hates* having to offer a non-3G iPad, as it just complicates matters, when the ultimate goal is completely transparent access anywhere, everywhere.
I'm sure they do it solely for pricing reasons and to bridge the time until people realize that wifi-only simply doesn't make sense.

Apple isn't "wedded" to GSM; I suppose they just realize that they have much more room for growth in the GSM arena and have far less to gain by investing in CDMA than they'd have to invest. By the time they'd need to find new growth markets, CDMA might not matter anymore.

[slugslugslug]

Apple also believes in having a Plan B, as evidenced by the back story of the Intel switch. I’d be pretty surprised if they hadn’t built at least a couple prototype CDMA iPhones and iPads. (Though it’d be much harder to thoroughly test the radios without a carrier’s cooperation )

[Angelo78]

There's no need to argue back and forth. A way of finding out may be to spot an iPad user in an environment which serves alcohol and buy the person some German beer. After having a few start asking questions and see what they say. Our guess work could be put to rest...you never know

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by Angelo78 

There's no need to argue back and forth. A way of finding out may be to spot an iPad user in an environment which serves alcohol and buy the person some German beer. After having a few start asking questions and see what they say. Our guess work could be put to rest...you never know

Yes, but that one seems to end with the police raiding your house

[Angelo78]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

Yes, but that one seems to end with the police raiding your house

Yes, very true and that's not good for anyone. Of course I'm joking and wouldn't want to get anyone in the position of being drunk and overly talkative. Especially at the expense of their career. These things we love to own aren't worth it.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by -Q- 

Yes, but that one seems to end with the police raiding your house

Isn't every night out at the bar supposed to end that way?

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Isn't every night out at the bar supposed to end that way?

I actually like to call that "Wednesday."