WSJ adds new details to Verizon-Apple talks about iPhone

Earlier today we reported on the Wall Street Journal's story about the Apple iPhone coming to Verizon in the first quarter of 2011. Now, the paper is reporting some new details about the negotiations between the two firms.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple and Verizon are having problems working out some issues such as the latter firm's desire to allow its retail partners to sell the iPhone and the carrier's propensity to promote its VCast digital on-demand store. According to the published report, "Verizon, in those earlier discussions, balked at Apple's requirement that Verizon not allow its retail partners to sell the phone, people familiar with the discussion said at the time," and the WSJ also noted that, "Verizon also declined to give up its ability to sell content like music and videos through its proprietary service, these people said."

Despite earlier reports that claimed that a Verizon branded iPhone would be a dual CDMA/GSM device, the latest news says that the phone will only have a CDMA chip made by Qualcomm under the hood. The phone, as we previously reported, is being manufactured by Pegatron

"Verizon Wireless has been meeting with Apple, adding capacity and testing its networks to prepare for the heavy data load by iPhone users, according to one person familiar with the matter," the WSJ said. "The carrier is seeking to avoid the kind of public-relations hit that AT&T took when the boom in data-hungry iPhones overtaxed its network, especially in New York and San Francisco."

As far as confirmation of the talks, Verizon COO Lowell McAdam said that any indication that an Apple iPhone is being prepared for a launch on his network would have to come from Apple itself. Meanwhile, Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi says that a Verizon branded iPhone could sell 10 million units, putting a major dent in Android's momentum.

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source: WSJ