Apple, AT&T extend iPhone exclusivity pact?

Wall Street analyst Brian Marshall of BroadPoint securities says that Apple and AT&T have agreed to extend the iPhone's exclusivity period in the U.S. According to Marshall, the extension of the agreement by Apple was done to reward the carrier for offering a 50% discount for its 3G service to Apple's iPad buyers. The analyst adds that he now expects a Verizon branded iPhone to hit the market by Q1 of 2011 after earlier predicting an iPhone for Big Red to get launched this summer. AT&T is offering two 3G plans for iPad users. For $15, you get 250MB of data per month, while $30 buys you unlimited service. These are pre-paid accounts with no contracts being offered, which means that iPad users can stop 3G service at anytime. Of course, Apple's tablet is equipped with Wi-Fi support.

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source: ComputerWorld