February 3, 2011: The iPhone finally arrives on Verizon Wireless, the United States’ largest carrier, ending nearly four years of exclusivity with AT&T.
The move comes as Apple faces pressure to expand its customer base as Android phones grow in popularity. The deal commences with the iPhone 4 available for preorder by Verizon’s 93 million customers.
Verizon iPhone becomes instant hit
Expanding iPhone availability beyond AT&T proved big news for Apple customers in the United States in 2011. According to research firm Gartner, Android smartphones had passed the iPhone in sales by that time. The previous October, Apple CEO Steve Jobs even made a rare conference call appearance to blast Android — describing Google’s mobile platform as fragmented.
Tech observers viewed the Verizon deal as arriving at the perfect time. When preorders started on February 3, the Verizon iPhone became the fastest-selling debut in the wireless company’s history. This happened despite the fact that preorders took place in the middle of the night. Plus, only existing Verizon customers could buy them.
“This was an exciting day,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer for Verizon Wireless at the time. “In just our first two hours, we had already sold more phones than any first-day launch in our history. And, when you consider these initial orders were placed between the hours of 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., it is an incredible success story. It is gratifying to know that our customers responded so enthusiastically to this exclusive offer — designed to reward them for their loyalty.”
Verizon and Apple halted preorders a little over 17 hours after they started due to the massive popularity of the iPhone. General availability of the Verizon iPhone followed a week later on February 10. The phone sold directly through Apple and Verizon, as well as at Best Buy and certain Walmart stores.
Were you an early Verizon iPhone user? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
4 responses to “Today in Apple history: iPhone comes to Verizon at last”
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Ordered the Verizon iPhone 4 at 3:00 AM East Coast time as soon as pre-sales opened. Got the phone within a couple of days. Only disappointment was that Verizon’s so-called 3G network (CDMA) sucked.
I couldn’t WAIT to switch, and never looked back. Using AT&T back then, I would be on a client call as I drove, and the connection would be lost 4 or 5 times per call as I moved across San Diego. VERY annoying. When I switched to Verizon, I would only lose calls if I was at the bottom of a canyon. Forget about traveling to big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles – You were lucky if you got any AT&T signal at all, even when standing in the middle of the street, outside of your home.
The problem was, AT&T shareholders LOVED all of that iPhone-exclusive money pouring in, and bought extra mansions and yachts. They had no interest in paying anything to make the equipment on the towers any better. Verizon, at the same time, was pouring money into infrastructure. Hence, those “Can you hear me now?” ads.
After Verizon got iPhones, AT&T MAY have made things better eventually, but I don’t care. Their greed and their indifference broke this consumer’s heart.
I never subjected myself to having to use AT&T but was thrilled to trade in my slowing Blackberry Curve for the iPhone 4. Like Donald, I had my alarm set for 3 a.m. to get my order in. It was an exciting time to snag Apple gear. I miss those days.