Analyst: Apple, Verizon Hit CDMA iPhone Pricing Snag

Has evidence of an iPhone 3GS successor been found?

A potential deal to bring the iPhone to Verizon’s CDMA network later this year may have hit a snag over pricing, one analyst said Tuesday. An iPhone that works on CDMA networks could appear by the middle of 2010, according to UBS.

“We believe a CDMA iPhone is also in the works,” analyst Maynard J. Um told investors. However, “Verizon Wireless and Apple may currently be apart on pricing,” he wrote. Apple receives an average of $700 per iPhone from AT&T, while Verizon pays $450 for the Droid, made by Motorola, estimates say.

Even if no deal is agreed to bring a CDMA phone to U.S. Verizon Wireless customers, a CDMA iPhone could be sold in Japan or China, according to Um.

Word of a pricing dispute between Apple and Verizon dovetails with other analysts who have downplayed talk of the iPhone appearing on the Verizon Wireless network. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu has suggested a fight for consumer control could keep the companies apart. Apple’s exclusive arrangement with AT&T is said to expire in July.

On another front, Um predicted Apple will wait until later this month to announce its tablet plans, using this week’s CES show to introduce Mac Pro and MacBook Pro upgdates, as well as a new iPod shuffle. As for any tablet expectations, Apple’s stock will rise or fall depending on the device’s “functionality and appeal,” Um said.

DON'T MISS
Report: Verizon CEO Asked Apple for iPhone

[Via AppleInsider]

7 comments »