GreenBkk Tech | Verizon Wireless to sell iPhone in February

Verizon Wireless to sell iPhone in February

Chief Operating Officer of Apple, Tim Cook (L) shakes hands with Verizon Wireless president and CEO Dan Mead at Verizon's iPhone 4 launch event in New York January 11, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Brendan McDermid

By Sinead Carew

(Reuters) - Verizon Wireless plans to sell Apple Inc's iPhone for as low as $200 starting next month, putting the smartphone at the center of its high-stakes battle with AT&T Inc for wireless customers.

Verizon's announcement on Tuesday that it would start selling the phone on February 10 puts an end to AT&T's three-year old status as the exclusive U.S. provider for the iPhone. Pre-orders start on February 3.

Verizon Wireless said the phone, a version of the Apple iPhone 4 designed to run on Verizon's network, will sell with a two-year agreement for $199.99 for the 16-gigabyte model or $299.99 for the 32-gigabyte model.

The prices are the same as what AT&T charges for those models.

Verizon, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, said the phone would be available at 2,000 of its stores around the country. It declined to comment on service price plans.

AT&T, which loses its cherished spot as the exclusive U.S. provider for iPhone, is expected to face its toughest year since 2004 as a result of the Verizon deal with Apple.

"The real question isn't how many iPhones Verizon will sell, but what AT&T does in response," said Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett, who attended the Verizon event.

Analysts, pointing to years of pent-up demand among Verizon Wireless customers, expect the company to sell 9 million to 13 million iPhones this year.

The new deal will hurt phone maker Motorola Mobility, which has made a comeback as the flagship phone vendor at Verizon Wireless for the past year.

Motorola phones run on Google Inc's Android software, which has become Apple's most formidable rival in cellphone technology.

Shares of Verizon were down 2 percent at $35.16, while AT&T shares were down 1.3 percent to $29.97. Shares of Apple slipped less than 1 percent to $341.50.

(Writing by Paul Thomasch. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

Credit: Reuters (www.reuters.com)