Verizon today announced they’re working on an app that would allow FiOS subscribers to watch the same linear TV shows on their iPad as they do on their current set top boxes. What does that mean?

At first, subscribers with an iPad will only be able to watch linear programming within their own home, which allows Verizon to authenticate and make certain that the users have access to whatever content they’ve paid for. Verizon CIO Shaygan Kheradpir said in a press briefing that the iPad app takes advantage of Verizon’s architecture, which he characterized as “cloud TV.” The experience is similar to what’s available today on FiOS set-top boxes, and takes advantage of the same software that Verizon uses for its set-tops. As such, Verizon says it should already have rights to stream the content, as it’s just another screen in the home.

In other words, it would be just like a regular TV, not video on demand or a la carte service. But it would be a TV you could carry around with you from room to room. Verizon is currently making sure their “content partners” are comfortable with the idea though. You know, those crazy backward thinking cable types can get mighty scared when it comes to their moving pictures showing up on an iPad… Sigh.

Also in the works is a video on demand service where content could be rented by the user and watched on any video capable device they own:

Under the new VOD platform, videos can be purchased through their set-top box or through Verizon.com and then be downloaded and watched on up to five different PCs and mobile devices.

We’ll believe it when we — hopefully very soon — see it. Any of you interested?

[NewTeeVee via @meinck]

Verizon app to allow FiOS subscribers to watch linear TV on iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Would you switch from AT&T to a Verizon iPhone 4 if such a mythical beastie ever proves real? You’d gain a different network footprint, which could provide better voice and data coverage in your area, but you’d also lose simultaneous voice and data as EVDO Rev A currently can’t walk and chew that gum at the same time.

You’d also trade AT&T customer service for Verizon customer service, which could be good or bad depending on your experience. Likewise, while AT&T has received tons of flack for their network, they’ve also had 3+ years of experience handling massive amounts of iPhone traffic, something Verizon may also struggle with.

We’ve already asked if Verizon Droid owners would switch to a Verizon iPhone, so fair’s fair, if you’re an AT&T iPhone owner, would you switch to Verizon iPhone? Simple answer in the poll up top, and tell us why or why not in the comments.

Would you switch from AT&T to a Verizon iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Daring Fireball has revealed that the CDMA iPhone 4 is codenamed N92 and is entering the engineering verification (EVT) stage, one step before the design verification test (DVT) stage, which is right before manufacturing — and right on time for a possible January 2011 launch.

The device itself is supposed to be identical to the current GSM iPhone 4 (codenamed N90) with the exception of the CDMA radio. While Verizon is the logical and persistent rumored carrier for the device, Sprint is also a possibility. Although not identical to US CDMA (don’t get us started on CDMA2000 vs WCDMA vs whateverCDMAwhatever) China and Korea, among others, are also possibilities.

But again, the smart money — the millions and millions of units sold smart money — is on Verizon.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber points out why:

The key bit: “At the critical juncture […], when they should have gone for market share, they went for profits.” I think this encapsulates Jobs’s philosophy since taking over Apple in 1997. Take the high end of the market first, establish a brand and presence, then steadily start to expand.

If they’re at that juncture with the iPhone now, expansion means CDMA. And in the U.S., it means Verizon.

He thinks there will be lineups. We do as well. What do you think?

[Daring Fireball]

CDMA iPhone 4 codenamed N92, in engineering verification test for possible January (Verizon?) debut is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

No one outside a very few at Apple and AT&T know exactly how long iPhone will remain exclusive in the US. While the original deal was for 5 years, deals are subject to all manner of renegotiation, renewal, termination, amendment, and service level agreements. It could run out earlier than expected or it could continue on longer. While we can’t see the dark matter that is Apple and AT&T exclusivity, we can see some of the gravitational ripples around it.

Holding out for BlackBerry, Android, and Palm heroes

Since launch in 2007 through 2009, iPhone was AT&T’s single hero phone. iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS were not only the biggest they were the one and only flagship release of the year. They were also the only real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T’s network. You went to AT&T for iPhone and some even stuck with abysmal AT&T service in their area just to get iPhone.

In 2010 iPhone 4 was still a huge deal. The hugest deal perhaps. But for the first time it wasn’t the only deal. AT&T got Palm Pre Plus. They didn’t do much with it, of course, nor with the first Android phone they got — the unfortunate Backflip. In July they added a real Android, the Samsung Galaxy S branded as the Captivate. Both the Palm Pre Plus and the especially the Captivate offer very iPhone-like experiences. They’re both real, full screen, touch-centric devices on AT&T.

Then August brought the BlackBerry Torch. Back in May we wondered what this device meant for AT&T and iPhone. While media reception to RIM’s first slider has been lukewarm to say the least, the device itself was built specifically for and with AT&T, and was introduced by AT&T head honcho Ralph de la Vega who reportedly ordered millions of them.

Again, real, full-screen, touch-centric device on AT&T’s network, and this time with a huge network push behind it.

From zero comparable devices/OS to three in a year? The pace is being picked up.

Look at the locks

In recent SEC filings AT&T has gone further than ever to try and assuage investor fears about what losing iPhone exclusivity would mean to the carrier. Much of this involves new iPhone 4 customers who are just beginning a 2 year contract stint, but also states that 80% of iPhone users are locked into hard-to-transport corporate and family plans. And there’s that new ETF.

AT&T also remains the only US carrier fully compatible with current and past GSM/HSPA iPhones. T-Mobile is compatible for EDGE data but their 3G bands are another story and Verizon and Sprint use CDMA/EVDO radios that would require a completely different radio.

That AT&T is taking the time to point all this out, and doing it now, at the same time they’re releasing other hero phones in noteworthy. That they’re pointing it out to investors — the people who know just how much of AT&T’s profits and ARPU (average revenue per user) have been tied to iPhone over the last few years — is noteworthy.

Lies, damn lies, and iPhone on Verizon

It used to be that everyone was talking about the next iPhone having a hardware keyboard. No one cares about that anymore. 4 years later and they’re still talking about the next iPhone coming to Verizon. That they care about. And the punishment for that caring is year after year, rumor after rumor, that an iPhone on Verizon is just around the corner. Always, just around the corner.

Better service is one of the most closely held hopes. Whether AT&T has a poor network or any single network would suffer under the sheer volume of iPhone usage — or both — the reality and perception is that, for many users, Verizon is their network of choice.

We heard back at CES in January, and many other outlets have heard since, that the technology for a Verizon iPhone was in place but Verizon and Apple couldn’t come to an agreement. Two such controlling companies, go figure?

Since then it’s been revealed that Apple has flirted with Verizon several times over the years but never pulled the trigger.

Follow the money

The bottom line is, there will come a point where everyone who wants to or is willing to use AT&T for an iPhone will have one. Apple will reach saturation on a single network. 4 years in, old contracts are done, new towers are in place, the price is cheap-ish and brand awareness is through the stratosphere. It’s becoming an upgrade, not a new user business for both AT&T and Apple in the US.

AT&T obviously knows this, hence the Palm Pre Plus, Android Captivate, and BlackBerry Torch. Users who actually like AT&T but for some reason don’t like the iPhone might just come on over for one of those. (And, of course, when iPhone does go non-exclusive, AT&T will have other platform bases established from which they can attempt to build).

For Apple, selling tens of millions of additional iPhones in the US means getting on Verizon. (Or, okay, Sprint and T-Mobile since why leave any money on the table?). Verizon tried and failed to appease would-be iPhone converts with the BlackBerry Storm, and tried and succeeded with the Android Droid line, but while that stemmed the bleeding it didn’t suck in the massive iPhone market. An iPhone on Verizon would.

Apple probably won’t let Verizon paint a huge logo on iPhone, stick on garbageware, or BOGO it come January, but Verizon has Droid now for all that.

It’s just, and all, about the money both will make from the deal at this point — if they can reach it.

But what about the LTE, man?

While AT&T and Verizon don’t have compatible 2G or 3G networks, they’re both moving to 4G networks based on LTE (Long Term Evolution). This makes many believe Apple will wait for LTE before releasing a Verizon iPhone.

Maybe.

It has less to do with LTE and more to do with timing. When Apple and Verizon have a deal in place, iPhone will ship on Verizon. If that’s after LTE is ubiquitous, it will be an LTE iPhone on Verizon. If not, it will be CDMA. The first AT&T iPhone didn’t even support 3G.

Sure a CDMA iPhone will be a re-design, but so would an LTE iPhone and the only thing that matters — again — is what return on that investment Apple figures they’ll make.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Time is running out on AT&T iPhone exclusivity. AT&T knows it; they’re lining up alternative hero phones and preparing their investors for the day their profit reports aren’t lined with Apple gold. Apple knows it; they’ve been talking to Qualcomm about CDMA chips and seeing what multiple carriers have done for them in almost every other market outside the US. We all know it, hence the annoying amount of rumors that keep hitting the interwebs.

It’s just a matter of time and Apple and Verizon making the deal.

Regarding AT&T, Verizon, and iPhone exclusivity is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Digitimes, which should always be taken with a huge honking grain of salt, is reporting that Apple is readying CDMA iPhone 4, a 7-inch Cortex A9-based iPad 2, and only Jobs knows what else:

• Apple is set launch an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad adopting a new ARM Cortex-A9-based processor and 512MB RAM in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the company will also launch a 7-inch iPad using the Cortex-A9 processor and an IPS panel with a resolution of 1024×768

• As for the CDMA iPhone, Pegatron Technology is expected to start mass production in December and will supply to both US-based Verizon Wireless and China-based China Telecom

• The CDMA iPhone’s back plate will be forged from metal materials and will feature an integrated antenna, according to Digitimes Research.

• Apple is also set to launch a new Apple TV using AMD’s Fusion solution and will not include a hard drive.

ARM’s Cortex A9 is the next-generation version of the current Apple A4 chipset’s CPU used in iPad and iPhone. With multi-core capabilities, it’s an obvious upgrade to make. Verizon iPhone rumors have been on the rise again in recent weeks, though CDMA can mean different things in different regions. I still think Apple won’t fracture the brand new iPad market with a 7-inch iPad any time soon. It’s not about matching resolution, it’s about pixel density — a 7″ 1024×768 screen would need a whole new UI for the buttons and other UI elements to remain usable by fingers. Apple TV running iOS would be great — but why AMD’s Fusion and not Apple’s own chipsets?

[Digitimes, thanks everyone who sent it in]

Your crazy CDMA iPhone 4, 7-inch iPad with ARM Cortex A9, AMD and iOS Apple TV, rumors of the day is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Here’s our question — if an iPhone 4 really does show up on Verizon in January 2011, how many Droid users would switch to iPhone?

Original Droid, Droid Eris, Droid Incredible, Droid X, upcoming Droid 2. The whole Moto/HTC/Lucasfilm line. Vote in the poll above and give us the details in comments!

Would you switch from Droid to Verizon iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

TechCrunch is claiming that the ever popular “sources with knowledge of the situation” have told them that Apple has submitted an order to Qualcomm for millions of CDMA chipsets to supply a Verizon iPhone 4 manufacturing run this December:

This production run would likely be for a January launch, and I’d bet the phone is nearly 100% consistent with the current iPhone 4 (with a fixed internal insulator on the antenna).

They suggest CES 2011, where Verizon’s CEO is scheduled to keynote, might be the perfect place for an announcement, but also think he might have to hold off for Macworld in February, “Apple’s historical launching pad”. However, Apple stopped attending Macworld after 2009 and in 2010 held their own iPad event during a similar time period instead.

Yes, the on again, off again rumors are on again. Sigh. Real, fake, really fake? When it comes to Verizon iPhone rumors TiPb believes now what we heard back at CES 2010 — Apple has the technology in place and can launch whenever their exclusivity with AT&T expires, and they can come to terms with Verizon (no small feat, given how stubborn and controlling both Apple and Verizon have historically been).

[TechCrunch]

Did Apple place chipset orders for a January Verizon iPhone 4 launch? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Come next week Verizon users still waiting for a mythical iPhone 4 all their own will get Motorola’s latest, greatest new Android offering — the Droid X — to hold them over. And Verizon users with no interest in anything Apple will have the new king of Google’s ever growing hill to play with.

The original Motorola Droid on Verizon was arguably the first smartphone to really give the iPhone 3GS a run for it’s money. However, it came out months after the iPhone 3GS when hype had abated somewhat, and it’s Droid Does list included things like multitasking, which iOS 4 now Does Too. That means while Droid X is a better, badder phone, it has a tougher challenge ahead of it as well.

If size matters, the Droid X is bigger… 4.3″ of screen but with less pixels, at a lower density, and without iPhone 4’s IPS Retina Display panel.

It’s got a bigger 8 megapixel camera on the back to iPhone 4’s 5 megapixels. But iPhone 4 has a back-illuminated sensor that isn’t as chopped up, which should mean better low-light pictures, and iOS 4 camera software while less feature-filled still seems to produce better images with just a touch of the tap-to-focus-and-balance. iPhone 4 also has a front-facing camera (and FaceTime), Droid X don’t.

3 external mics on the Droid X, including one for video camera work trump iPhone 4’s two mics. iPhone 4 does have a gyroscope, though. And yeah, Droid X has got dual antenna. Ouch. Otherwise they’re both monsters on the spec sheet.

In terms of apps Apple’s App Store still wins on sheer number, though Google’s Android Market retains bragging rights on being more open.

Droid X is only running Android 2.1 Eclair right now, though a turbo-boosting 2.2 Froyo update is on the horizon. So, a lot may come down to whether you like Droid X’s “don’t call it MotoBlur” UI, which seems quicker and cleaner than the CLIQ if not as spartan as the original Droid. iOS 4 on the other hand is iOS 4, there’s only one iPhone and one interface on the market at any time.

Strangely, that may mean the Motorola Droid X will face stiffer competition from something other than Apple’s iPhone 4. Verizon already has the HTC Droid Incredible, Sprint the HTC Evo 4G, and every carrier and their subsidiary seems poised to get a Samsung Galaxy S class-device, including Verizon with the Facinate. As we’ve mentioned before, in a world where Apple releases one major iPhone a year, and Android can drop 8 news phones in a weekend, it gives any one new Android as much competition from within as without. And that’s great for Android lovers.

So is the Droid X currently iPhone 4’s big nemesis? If you live in the US and don’t want AT&T, it’s definitely a phone to look at if you’re in the market today. If not, wait a week or more. AT&T might drop a tower in your backyard and Google might just drop 5 more Android’s on another carrier.

Great time to be a consumer!

Droid X review: Verizon and Motorola’s answer to iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

So much for those reports claiming Verizon was not interested in the iPhone as Bloomberg is now reporting the iPhone is indeed heading towards the carrier in January of 2011. The timing seems a bit odd to release such a device as iPhone 4 right after the holiday shopping season. Then again this timing may have been necessary as it may be exactly when AT&T’s exclusivity agreement with Apple runs dry.

They are basing this latest Verizon rumor on information obtained from two separate sources that claim to be familiar with the rollout plans. All of these back and forth conflicting rumors have been entertaining to say the least but have also gotten old really quickly. Both Verizon and Apple declined to comment.

Any of you sending back your AT&T iPhone 4 to wait for this mysterious Verizon version? Sound off in the comments below!

[Bloomberg]

Verizon to offer iPhone in January 2011? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Maybe, just maybe, these pesky iPhone 4 on Verizon rumors will finally fade away as Droid Life reports they’re fully committed to Android and their current high-end lineup of devices like the new Droid X.

“And the second part of the meeting (and most important to us) was to announce that they will not be interested in the iPhone 4 (as of now) and are putting full effort behind Android and the new lineup of Droid devices.”

In case you were wondering, the first part of the meeting was about a advertising adjustment where the “Wireless” tag is removed from “Verizon Wireless” but we just care about the iPhone part.

Personally I’ve felt since the release of the Motorola Droid last year that it was pretty evident Verizon was standing firm behind the (more controllable?) Android platform and it would be a long while before any iPhone landed on the carrier.

Rene on the other hand feels Verizon is using a bit of reverse phycology in order to get customers to stop waiting for iPhone and start buying Droids. Now if Droid Life is correct, that would mean all of those CDMA iPhones would be headed to Sprint right? You have to love rumors.

You be the judge, has Verizon really given up on the iPhone? Sound off in the comments!

[Droid Life]

Verizon not interested in iPhone 4? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog