After months (years?) of speculation, it’s finally happened. Verizon Wireless and Apple has announced that the iPhone 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network beginning on Thursday, Feb. 10.
Qualified Verizon Wireless customers will be given the exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online on Feb. 3, ahead of general availability. The iPhone 4 on Verizon will have all the features of the AT&T version plus it will include new Personal Hotspot capabilities, allowing customers to use iPhone 4 to connect up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices.
“We are pleased to introduce millions of wireless users to the industry leading iPhone 4 on the nation’s most reliable network,” Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon, at a special press event. “This is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to the mobile landscape this century.”
“Verizon Wireless customers have told us they can’t wait to get their hands on iPhone 4, and we think they are going to love it,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer (who was on hand instead of CEO Steve Jobs). “We have enormous respect for the company Verizon has built and the loyalty they have earned from their customers.”
iPhone 4 features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 chip, a 3-axis gyro and a glass and stainless steel design. It also comes with iOS 4, which includes multitasking, folders, Game Center, AirPlay and AirPrint wireless printing. iPhone 4 customers have access — of course — to the AppleApp Store℠ with more than 300,000 apps available.
The iPhone 4 will be available on the Verizon Wireless network for a suggested retail price of US$199.99 for the 16GB model and $299.99 for the 32GB model with a new two-year customer agreement. It will be available at more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide, online at http://www.verizonwireless.com/iphone, at Apple Retail Stores, at the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com), at Apple Authorized Resellers, and by calling 1-800-2 JOIN IN.