Verizon and Apple partnership?

Yesterday rumors began swirling that Apple is considering creating an iPhone for Verizon Wireless (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/26/apple-may-hear-verizon-now/). Apple’s exclusivity deal with AT&T ends in 2010, but AT&T has been pushing hard to extend the deal into 2011. Apple would have to tweak the iPhone to be CDMA ready if it were to create a phone for Verizion Wireless. An iPhone on Verizons Wireless would be huge considering AT&T that as many as 40% of AT&T ‘s customers who sign up for iPhone contacts are new.
As much as I hope the rumors are true I am not buying them. First of all, according to Apple on Tuesday “From a technology point of view, Verizon is on CDMA and we chose from the beginning of the iPhone to go with GSM and focus on one phone for the whole of the world. We believe that CDMA doesn’t really have a life to it after a point in time.” Apple’s entire goal with the iPhone was to create a world phone and AT&T’s GSM network is the only network with the capabilities Apple wants. Apple also went on to say, “AT&T is a very good partner and we believe that they’re the best wireless provider in the US. They have done a very good job with iPhone, putting the full force and weight of their company behind it. We’re very happy with the relationship that we have and do not have a plan to change it.” With Apple’s support of its partnership with AT&T and with a network with a weak CDMA network that “has no future” according to Apple COO Tim Cook, I believe that unless Verizon changes its network to GSM, the iPhone will be an AT&T exclusive.
This relates to informatics because the Apple iPhone is such a game-changing piece of technology. With the application store it allows everyday users to leverage technology like never before b allowing them to solve everyday problem such as where to eat or how to get somewhere on their cell phone. If it were available on Verizon, the nations largest wireless carrier it would simplify the lives of millions of Americans.

The Bilski Case

Here’s a blog post from The Wall Street Journal on the recent Bilski Case, essentially outmoding the State Street Bank Case of 1998, which set a legal precedent for the patentability of business methods. This could carry considerable repercussions for software companies, including Apple (see here).

This could have some fascinating implications for competition and innovation: on one hand it could create greater competition, by allowing more companies to use each other’s practices, maybe even creating incentives for competing companies to collaborate (which itself raises issues of oligopolies); on the other hand, it could stifle innovation by offering no immediate incentive to role out new methods. Companies such as Apple might actually be doing themselves a disservice by filing these patents, if they truly cannot be protected any longer.

Stay tuned.